JAMES GRINDYFisherman James Grindy from Brixham in Devon lost his life after falling overboard in atrocious weather while working in the English Channel on 6 November, 2009.
In a moving tribute to her son, the 24-year-old’s mother said: “He always made me proud whatever he did. There was not a bad bone in that boy's body.
"Whenever I was feeling stressed he always showed me a better way of dealing with things. He was an inspiration to me and he was my son, it should have been the other way round."
Mrs Leaman said she would like to thank his fellow crew members for their efforts in trying to save her son.
"I know that they are absolutely devastated," she said.
"I want them to know that I will be forever thankful for their endeavours to do right by James. I hope they can recover from this. My thoughts are with them."
Mrs Leaman said James was in the Royal Navy for three years and that may have been what attracted him to fishing.
She said he loved it in the navy and left when his son was born in 2006.
He also loved the crew of the fishing boat and wanted to do it despite the dangers of the job.
"I used to say to him 'come home and get off the boats because it is so dangerous'. But he would say to me 'when it's your time it's your time'."
She added: "I am really proud of the man he became. I hope I played a small part in helping him get to that.
"James was James and we loved him and will miss him very much.
"I am absolutely devastated and shocked by what has happened."
Boat owner Neil Watson also paid tribute to James saying: "I sailed with him a week to 10 days ago. It was great. He was a good guy. I only got to be with him for two or three days but I found him to be a very nice man and good fun to be with — a very nice person."
Jean Adamson, the landlady of the Globe Hotel in Brixham where Mr Grindy's girlfriend works, said: "He was a happy, fun-loving lad. He was helpful and would help any body out and make friends with anybody."
http://www.thisissou thdevon. co.uk/news/Tribute-s ea- tragedy-fisherman/ar ticle- 1494467-detail/artic le.html [thisissouthdevon.co .uk]
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