The Tribune

By TANYA SMITH-CARTWRIGHT

ts-cartwright@tribunemedia.net

THE Royal Bahamas Defence Force is investigating a visiting yachting couple -  Captain Brian and Karin Trautman - who have been ‘stranded’ on an uninhabited island in the Ragged Island chain for over 100 days.

The American couple were featured in a video put together by the BBC World Service and posted to Twitter. In the video, the Trautmans tell their story of being caught in the COVID-19 lockdown and running out of certain supplies. The video caused a stir on social media, with some questioning if the couple were in the country legally.

“There is basically nothing here,” Captain Trautman said in the video. “It’s just us, a bunch of beaches, some sharks, some rays and some turtles, no people, no nothing. So it’s a kind of idyllic paradise where we are.”

The couple and their infant had planned to stay in the country for one month before the government’s emergency orders changed those plans. According to reports, they have been living on an uninhabited island near Ragged Island for about 100 days.

“When it (pandemic) first happened, the government acted very quickly and set in place rules,” Captain Trautman continued in the video. “They did things like, first of all put the entire country on a lockdown. So they closed the borders and inter-island travel on all sorts of transportation.”

In the same video, Captain Trautman’s wife, Karin, spoke of how they managed on the island.

“We’ve been able to stay very isolated,” Mrs Trautman said. “We’ve been able to stay very self-sufficient, catching our own food and making our own power with solar and wind, we are making our own water with our desalination plant. So we thinking like, ‘well if we can stay here and we can stay safe and healthy then it sounded like a much better place than heading off to some marina or dock in the US where we are just literally trapped on board.’”

Captain Trautman expressed concern about the approaching hurricane season and how the Bahamas has had two massive storms in recent times which passed right through where he, his wife and their nine-month-old baby are positioned.

“We have a baby, Sierra, and she is nine-months-old now,” the captain’s wife continued. “There are a lot of things with babies that you have to consider. Vitamins and diapers are to be considered. Obviously we cannot buy diapers out here so we have had to use cloth diapers.”

Her husband added: “We are in an extremely isolated place and the chance of getting infected is pretty low. On the other hand if we do get infected, help is three days away. At some point we will have to make a decision to leave because I don’t want to stay here through hurricane season. It sounds like a terrible idea. Hopefully things will improve towards the end of this month.”

Many Bahamians took to social media in outrage after viewing the video, accusing the couple of everything from illegal entry, to poaching to catching crawfish after the season is closed. The BBC tweeted back in the couple’s defence.

“Thank you for raising your concerns regarding the legality of the Trautmans’ stay on the island,” the BBC tweet said. “The Trautmans have confirmed with us that they have cleared customs and immigration and were provided with a ‘cruising permit’ which allows them to be in The Bahamas waters.”

In another tweet, the BBC said the Trautmans “notified the relevant authorities and had agreed a plan where they would remain where they are until further guidance is issued. “They also have a fishing permit, which allows them to collect a certain number of lobster, conch and also spear fish. Footage of fishing and eating lobster in the video was filmed in March.”

The Tribune could not reach the couple for comment up to press time, however Capt Trautman told Eyewitness News that his family was in the country legally and that all footage of them catching lobsters was filmed in February and March, before the season closed.

A RBDF officer, however, said the situation was still being investigated.

“The matter is still under investigation,” said Chief Petty Officer Rolle, RBDF public relations officer. “The couple has cleared customs earlier. The matter is being investigated and that is as much as can be said at this time.”

The couple has been living on their boat, SV Delos, for 10 years.