South Africans rescued from a sinking yacht are on their way back home

South Africans who lost everything in a yacht accident are on their way back to South Africa thanks to the kindness of strangers.

The group of South Africans who were on their way to the Seychelles, lost everything when their yacht sank off the coast of Madagascar. They spent 4 hours in the water before being saved by a passing vessel. They were then dropped off in the Comoros before finding a flight home via Kenya.

The group who were sailing the Indian Ocean parallel the coastline. They were delivering the 40-foot yacht to the Seychelles and left Hout Bay, Cape Town, on October 20.

The crew had stopped in at Mossel Bay and East London, but because weather conditions were so good, they decided not to stop in at Richards Bay and continued up to Mozambique.

On Friday, Jared Blows, head of the Maritime Rescue Co-Ordination Centre (MRCC) based in Cape Town, said they first received a distress signal from Kinda Magic just before 7am on Thursday.

The stricken yacht was reported to be about 215km from Ilha Do Fogo (Mozambique) and approximately 175km directly from the shore.

“The distress notification was received by means of an EPIRB (a vessel distress beacon) activation and relayed by means of the COSPAS-SARSAT Systems (the Satellite Search and Rescue system which is part of the Global Maritime Distress and Safety System).

“MRCC Cape Town immediately responded to the distress notification, with further investigation indicating that the yacht was in the process of sinking. After identifying vessels that might be diverted to assist, the vessel “MT MERSINI” was contacted through Maritime Radio, based in Cape Town, and requested to divert course to the assistance of the distressed yacht.

The four South Africans were plucked from their life raft by a passing oil tanker en route to the United Arab Emirates and dropped off in Comoros but without any money or supplies, they were left to rely on the kindness of strangers.

Andre Neveling bumped into two of the South Africans at an Airport in Nairobi, Kenya & took to Facebook to share their story:

“Had the strangest encounter in Nairobi Airport last night. Met these two South Africans who were en route home.”

“A few days ago, sailing from Cape Town to Seychelles, their ship sank near Madagascar and they were rescued after 4 hours in the water. They lost everything, were dropped off in the Comoros, and have been dressed in their rescuers’ clothes for 4 days without any money.”

“I bought them a six pack beers and pack of cigarettes to keep them going. If you see them arrive in Cape Town today, give them a high five. They deserve it!”