Green Island was witness to incidents at sea.
After arriving on the island in 1871, William Duann remained on the island until 1902, a period of 31 years. It was during his stewardship that a number of highly dramatic events took place.
In the waning hours of a stormy winter night in the early 1870s, William, his wife, and a friend were startled by a singular occurrence on an island whose sole occupants were staring at one another in anxious surprise – a frantic knocking on the lighthouse door. With some trepidation the door was opened and there before them they discovered a young man wet and shaking uncontrollably. He was a Norwegian sailor, the sole survivor of a ship that had gone down just off the island. He and a shipmate had become separated in their attempt to swim to safety in the frigid waters of Chedabucto Strait.
An immediate search led to the discovery of the body of the second sailor. When it became possible to leave the island, the remains were removed to St. John’s Anglican Church in Arichat to be prepared for interment. A lock of his hair was sent to his mother in Norway; however, she requested his remains be returned to her. Arthur H. Burton exhumed the body, and Sheriff James Power made the necessary arrangements.
The tragedy of the Norwegian wreck was not to be William Duann’s last adventure, however. In 1875 the J.R. Lithgow, a 110-ton Boston schooner en route from Lunenburg to Arichat foundered on Green Island and threatened to go down with all hands. William Duann came to the rescue. He attached a lead weight to a rope and heaved it to the distressed ship. The attempt succeeded and in consequence nine sailors were saved from a watery grave. The Lithgow had an estimated value of $5,000, a significant sum at the time. For his quick-thinking heroics, Duann was awarded a silver watch, which has become a prized family heirloom.
In 1915, in a blinding snowstorm, the Emma Belliveau, bound for Newfoundland with a cargo of molasses, came ashore at Cap La Ronde. She was skippered by Albert Nicholl of Carbonnere, Newfoundland. Three died in the mishap and the ship was salvaged by the Foundation Company of Halifax but spent the winter lodged on the shoal that had been her nemesis. Captain Nicholl stayed on, married Eva Mae Babin and lived in Arichat. He went on to captain freighters that plied the route between Isle Madame, Point Tupper, Mulgrave, and other Strait area communities.
During World War II, when Alphonse Samson was the last lighthouse keeper at Cap La Ronde, an American vessel, the Lake Allen, struck the rocks. Two men swam for help but one was injured and gradually slipped away. Samson immediately set out for Dr. Deveau and the RCMP. The weather remained so fierce that little could be accomplished by way of mounting a rescue effort. There were eight men aboard and when the ship began to break apart, they took to the sea. One struggling mariner was rescued by Leo Martell of Pondville who put his own life in peril. For his selfless heroism, he was awarded the Bravery Certificate from the Royal Canadian Humane Society.