(Trinidad Guardian) Today, Dutch couple Fred Godecke, 67, and Caroline Maffert, 65, are thanking God for life after an early Christmas miracle.
This after they were rescued by members of the T&T Coast Guard, with help from other locals, and brought to Trinidad and Tobago on Saturday night, after the engine blew in their yacht and left them floating aimlessly between Venezuelan and T&T waters.
The couple was on their way from the Netherlands to Trinidad onboard their yacht, Mustang Sally, when the engine blew, forcing them to use its sail. However, they got a bit of a challenge because they were sailing against the wind and also got little wind.
Their yacht began heading towards Venezuela and in quick time they were deep in that country’s waters, so far that by the time they contacted for help and the T&T Coast Guard got their GPS points, they were told there was no help for them unless they could head further north.
“Heading further north meant heading away from Trinidad but we had to go further north in order for us to get back enroute to the east, which would have been closer to Trinidad. So we were getting away from Venezuela,” a relieved Godecke told Guardian Media yesterday.
Yacht Services Association vice president Jesse James, who spearheaded the rescue mission, said he was worried when he heard they were in Venezuelan waters.
“From the co-ordinates, I could have tell that they were heading to that area where there are pirates in the waters waiting to attack. So, at that point, we knew we had to get them out and back to Trinidad waters so that the Coast Guard can help,” James said.
Maffert said she and Godecke were angry and tired but prepared for attacks.
“We are not the scary kind of people. We were angry that the engine blew, tired and there were many other problems like a line was broken and other small stuff on top of each other but we were very alert of our surroundings and were on the lookout for small boats coming in. We were prepared.”
Godecke said at first they did not remember they had new technology onboard for communication.
“There’s something called Starlink where we can be able to get a high-speed connection anywhere on earth. So by the time we remembered about it, I sent out a WhatsApp message to Jesse and then the communication started back and forth until we were found and brought to Power Boats Marina in Chaguaramas,” he said.
James added, “I got the first message after 6 am Saturday and got in contact with Captain Don Polo, who is the commanding officer of the Coast Guard and our liaison officer with the Yacht Services Association of T&T, Lt Commander Daniel Castagne. The rescue fishing vessel named Perseverance was captained by Frazer and there were other visiting cruisers from various countries, including US, Canada, Germany, New Zealand, UK and France.”
Godecke said eight years ago, he and Maffert decided to sell everything they owned in the Netherlands and buy a yacht. They’ve been sailing the world since then and this was their second trip to T&T from Bonaire, Netherlands.
James urged cruisers, local and international, to invest in Starlink.
“This is a game changer and it gives that fast internet in the middle of the ocean. If all goes down, it works.”
Godecke and Maffert are now looking forward to a Christmas dinner and their yacht repaired.
