Sailors tell of 25-hour ordeal on raft
Two sailors who spent 25 hours on a life raft after their catamaran capsized, have shared their harrowing ordeal.
|||Cape Town - Two sailors who spent 25 hours on a life raft after their catamaran capsized off the coast of East London have shared their harrowing ordeal, saying they were lucky to be alive.
Jean Sitruk, 65, from France and Kyle Castelyn, 19, from Strand arrived at the Table Bay Sea Rescue base in Cape Town on Tuesday.
On Saturday, their catamaran capsized when it hit a whale about 80km off East London which tore a hole in the vessel’s port side, causing it to flood.
The sailors were found adrift by the bulk carrier CMA CGM Rossini.
Castelyn could not hold back his tears when his parents welcomed him home on Tuesday, saying the only thing that kept him alive was knowing that his family was waiting for him at home.
Recounting the terrifying experience, Castelyn said it made him realise how lucky he was to be alive.
“It was a normal day sitting in the catamaran listening to music when I was roughly swayed back and forth in the boat, at that time I knew that something had gone wrong,” Castelyn said.
He noticed that the boat was turning upside down: “I quickly rushed for my life bag, I took food and water as quickly as I could and Sitruk was trying to call for help on the radio but no-one responded”.
“We were cold and we tried to use only what we needed, we could see there were people looking for us but they were too far (away). We were lucky that the CMA CGM Rossini found us”.
Sitruk said he was relieved when help arrived.
“I felt a sense of relief when I got onto the safe boat.
“I took a moment and breathed because I realised I was still alive,” said Sitruk.
At the reunion on Tuesday, Castelyn’s mother, Linda said she was happy that her son was home safely: “I wouldn’t have imagined my life without him. I thank everyone who made me see him again,” she said.
“I knew he would make it home safe, I had to stay positive for my boy, now I’m overwhelmed to see him strong and happy,” Castelyn’s father, Raymond, added.
viwendongeni.vn@gmail.com
Cape Argus
* E-mail your opinion to IOLletters@inl.co.za and we will consider it for publication or use our Facebook and Twitter pages to comment on our stories. See links below.