The Tribune

By JADE RUSSELL

Tribune Staff Reporter

jrussell@tribunemedia.net

A TARPUM Bay fisherman who travelled to New Providence to earn money for his family drowned yesterday morning after experiencing breathing difficulties while diving for conch about five miles offshore.

Mark Cartwright, who was in his 50s, died roughly three weeks after leaving Eleuthera to work. His death dealt a second devastating blow to a family that lost his younger brother about two years ago under what his sister described as similar circumstances.

Police were called to Montagu Dock shortly before noon after Cartwright’s body was brought ashore.

Preliminary reports indicate that Cartwright and another man left Potter’s Cay Dock around 7am in an 18-foot blue-and-white vessel and travelled about five miles off New Providence to dive for conch.

Around 10.30am, Cartwright experienced breathing difficulties as he surfaced. His companion tried to pull him aboard but could not do so alone. Passing boaters later assisted.

The men returned to the dock shortly before noon. Emergency Medical Services personnel responded and pronounced Cartwright dead.

His sister, Margo McCartney, stood at the dock with bloodshot eyes as she struggled to absorb the loss.

“I have to bury another brother,” she cried.

Ms McCartney said both brothers had travelled to New Providence for work before their deaths.

“It’s so sad that two of them came to Nassau to do the same thing to work, and now they’ve both passed away,” she said.

“One thing I can say is, I lost another brother, but God is the master of all things. I cannot question him. I only can understand what he’s doing.”

Cartwright was a husband and father who also served as a father figure to his siblings.

Ms McCartney said he left school at 14 to help their mother provide for the family and remained deeply committed to supporting his relatives.

“He would do anything for us.

“It’s nothing that we couldn’t have that he wouldn’t go out there and work for,” she said.

She said their final conversation was filled with laughter and that her brother told her he loved her.

While Cartwright was in New Providence, Ms McCartney said she tried to ensure he was comfortable. A few days before his death, she sent him a message promising to provide whatever he needed.

Police urged members of the public, particularly boaters, to ensure proper safety measures are in place because emergencies can occur at any time.