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When Dubai-based couple Dacey Calisura and Jethro Friggens found their dream sailboat in Kenya, they were thrilled. The plan was simple - fly to Kenya and sail the boat, named Freya, back to the UAE. They were accompanied by two others - Euan Jarvis, a sailing expert and Dubai resident Caroline Kneitz - and were supported by an expert team back home in Dubai.
However, their dream soon turned into a nightmare when the sea turned rough and the steering wheel of their sailboat broke. The team of Freya found themselves at the mercy of the sea. “I could hear the wind howling and the waves crashing, and I was really scared whether I would be alive to hear it the next day,” said Dacey, speaking to Khaleej Times over the phone from Socotra, an island in Yemen.
With help at least a day away, a group of fishermen braved adverse weather conditions to find Freya, tie the boat to their own boat and pull the team to rescue. The gruelling rescue trip - which happened 50 miles away from shore - took 22 hours. She posted a snippet of this on her Instagram.
For Dacey and Jethro - who is a sailing instructor - it was a lifelong dream to own a sailboat. “There are not many sailboats in Dubai,” said Dacey. “So, we looked for sailboats in Europe. We looked for some in Italy, Greece and UK but nothing worked out. That is when we found the right boat at the right price in Kenya.”
The couple did their research, got together an expert crew together, prepared the boat and set sail on July 15. “Prior to our departure, we informed coastguards in several places about our trip,” she said. “This is usually to ensure our safety in case of pirate attacks or adverse weather conditions.”
The first ten days of the sail were uneventful. “The only thing was that there was no autopilot on the yacht, so someone had to steer the sailboat 24/7,” said Dacey. Over the next couple of days, the crew faced several issues including the breaking of a rigging piece. But the biggest disaster happened with the steering wheel broke. “Without the steering wheel, we were at the mercy of the sea,” she said. “There was an emergency steering system but that will not work if the wind and the waves are against us, which it was that day.”
Once the crew sent out mayday signals to coastguards, they realized that the only vessels in the area were some oil tankers and cargo ships. “These cannot help us in any way because if they come close to us, they will crush us,” said Dacey. “A Korean navy ship was in the area, but it would reach us only the next day. Also, if they rescued us, we would have to leave Freya behind. If that was our only option, of course, we would have done it.”
The group’s team then reached out to fishermen in Socotra, an island off Yemen’s coast. “It was risky and not many were willing to take that risk,” she said. However, she will never forget the nighttime when she was scared and drifting off to sleep when she heard sounds and saw lights coming closer to her. A group of fishermen had found them after searching for eight hours in a dhow boat!
“I will never forget that feeling of hope I had when I saw them,” she said. The men jumped into the vessel and tied it to their own boat. But for Freya’s team, the worst was not yet over. “The return journey took 24 hours during which we were thrown about the boat mercilessly,” she said. “We lost a lot of our things including guardrails. I was very scared almost throughout the journey.”
When they finally reached the shore, they were welcomed by the coastguards. “We are truly grateful to the people here,” she said. “They put themselves at risk to save us and I will never forget that.”
Despite the near-death experience, Dacey says she is thankful for the tip and the memories it gave her. “We crossed the equator at some point,” she said. “There is a ritual among the sailing community to celebrate this achievement with a turtle-shaped tattoo. I am looking forward to doing that.”
Now at Socotra, Dacey said the team are being treated like mini celebrities. “We have gone around the island and done sightseeing,” she said. “We were invited to a wedding where there were traditional celebrations.”
The team are now preparing to return home to Dubai on Sunday. “We will have to leave Freya behind at this time,” she said. “We will have to now wait till September to be able to bring her home to Dubai. Before that we have to take her to Oman for some advanced repair work. But for now, we are just happy to be alive and are enjoying Socotra as much as we can.”
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