“I am not going back. It was the first time I ventured out so far and it will be the last,” an elderly fisherman told this newspaper yesterday.
Richard Etwaroo aka ‘Sugary’, 63, a fisherman of Paradise Jib on the Essequibo Coast, yesterday related to this newspaper his horrific experience after the fishing boat he was on ran out of fuel and drifted all the way to the Venezuelan coast. The elderly man said he had feared for his life, not knowing where the wind would take the boat and was grateful that a Venezuelan coastal native rescued them by giving them fuel to return home.
Etwaroo said he had fished for his livelihood since he was 17 and always enjoyed it, because it is what he was taught to do as a boy.
He related that he and four other men — two from his village — set sail around August 28. The man said the exercise started like any other. They caught some 400 pounds of Gilbacker, a freshwater fish, before they realised that they were running out of fuel.
He said two of the fishermen then left on another boat to get some fuel. But before they could return the fuel on the boat finished and the boat started to drift.
Etwaroo said the boat started to drift somewhere in the vicinity of the Waini area. He said the crew members then made a makeshift sail and so the boat was able to drift towards Venezuela.
The man said a native from the Venezuela coast then ventured out to meet them. After they related their plight, the man took one of the crew ashore and gave him half a drum of fuel. He also said that not knowing how long they would have had to stay on the water, the crew had decided to economise on the food they had, cooking only once daily. Etwaroo said he feared for his life because he was unsure of where the wind would have taken them and if they would ever be rescued.
The man said he is thankful to God for sparing their lives and ensuring their safe return.
Etwaroo, Gope and Robin, the captain, all of Paradise/Paradise Jib returned home earlier this week. This newspaper was not able to catch up with the two other fishermen and villagers since they had already ventured out to the sea again to earn their daily bread.
