The Tribune

By DENISE MAYCOCK

Tribune Freeport Reporter

dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

FIVE Bimini fishermen spent a night drifting helplessly in rough seas after their boat ran out of fuel, with waves slamming the disabled vessel as they slept on its floor before local boaters found them the following morning.

Cruz Stuart, 34, who was aboard the 22-foot Boston Whaler with four other men, said the group left Bimini on Thursday morning and travelled farther than planned before exhausting their fuel supply.

“We underestimated fuel, and we went too far; we ran out of fuel,” Mr Stuart said.

The men drifted for about a day.

Mr Stuart said conditions deteriorated during the night as strong waves tossed the vessel from side to side while the men tried to sleep on the floor.

“We encountered one or two rough waves in the middle of the night when we tried to sleep on the floor,” he said. “The waves were slapping us back and forth and it feel like I could fall over.”

After the men failed to return on Thursday evening, Bimini residents mobilised and launched a search the following day.

Police said local volunteers found the men around 8am in the area of the Isaacs, about five to six miles north of Bimini. All five were in good health.

Police thanked the volunteers and others who assisted in locating the men and bringing them to safety.

Mr Stuart said the group had enough drinking water but had eaten all of their snacks by the time they were rescued. The boat also had a covering that protected them from prolonged exposure to the sun.

He did not say whether the vessel had a marine VHF radio.

Despite the conditions, Mr Stuart said the men remained confident that people from Bimini would eventually come searching for them.

“We were not scared,” he said. “We knew someone would come looking for us.”

He said three boats from Bimini ultimately reached them.

“And the next day, three boats from Bimini come and rescue us,” Mr Stuart said. “No police, no defense force.”

He criticised the official response and called for improvements to search-and-rescue efforts.

“We feel bad; the government is lousy,” Mr Stuart said. “But if they heard drugs was on the boat they was coming out from that night.”

He accused authorities of placing greater priority on drug interdiction than rescuing people in distress.

“If they had heard it was a drug deal, they would be looking for us from that night,” he said. “They more concerned about drugs; life and death don’t matter too much to the police. That’s how we feel.”

Mr Stuart said the experience had not deterred him from returning to the water.

“I’m rescued and back on the sea right now,” he said.

He said he has since equipped his boat with another means of communication.

“I have Starlink this time so someone can reach me,” he said.

Mr Stuart called for greater government attention to maritime emergencies.

“All we need to do is our government need to step up their search and rescue,” he said.

A Bimini resident who asked not to be identified said the volunteer response reflected the close ties among people on the island.

“That’s human nature,” the resident said. “Bimini is a place where as everybody's family. Everyone is basically family or friend.”

“That’s what we do when someone needs help in our community.”