25 years ago.

It seems to be something of a Newfoundland tradition or part of the condition that days celebrated elsewhere are remembered here for tragedy. Valentine's Day is one.

On the night of February 14/15, 1982, the Ocean Ranger, an offshore drilling rig on the Grand Banks, was lost, with no survivors. Of the crew of 84, 56 were Newfoundlanders.

I was in my first year of university here in St John's. The beginnings of the offshore oil boom were an infectious chance at joy to those of us brought up with family members working away, in Labrador or Alberta or even further afield. Suddenly, there seemed to be a chance there might be a reason to stay.

My roommate Chris's boyfriend, Bill, worked on the rigs - so did his three roommates. One of them died that night. I went home for the weekend, and the storm that night was such that I was in fear for my life as Carl and I drove out towards home. I am very much not a nervous passenger, and it is one of very few times I felt that way while travelling. The weather was beyond wild - the winds, snow and ice were treacherous on land. It's difficult to imagine how it must have seemed on the sea.

We all woke that morning to hear of the disaster, and I don't think anyone I knew was unaffected. To this day, it is a memory that colours today's date.

The CBC has an archive of the events: http://archives.cbc.ca/IDD-1-70-349/disasters_tragedies/ocean_ranger/

And Rexton on Flickr has a touching memorial: http://www.flickr.com/photos/rexton/115617919/

Wikipedia's article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ocean_Ranger