Calgary couple survive Honduran pirate attack
CLARA HO It was supposed to be a fun-filled trip on the open water for a Calgary couple, who were spending the first years of their retirement seeking adventure in warm climates.
But for Loretta Reinholdt and Andy Wasinger the adventure turned to nightmare when they were held up by armed pirates and left stranded in a Honduran jungle for four days, surviving on peanut butter, cheese and rainwater.
“This was our first sailing trip. And our last,” said Wasinger on Friday on the phone from Mexico, where the couple is recuperating after being rescued.
Wasinger, 46, a computer programmer, and Reinholdt, 54, a nurse, met a captain from Belize through a sailing website. They set sail from the Central American nation on March 27, en route to the Honduran island of Roatan.
On the first night, they encountered rough weather and didn’t get much sleep. They decided to anchor closer to shore on the second day.
“We were only half a day from Roatan. But when we got closer to shore, we noticed a fishing boat following us,” said Reinholdt.
Four men, estimated to be in their 20s, were holding up containers asking for gasoline. Even after Wasinger told the men they didn’t have any to give, the fishing boat kept pursuing their 16-metre monohull, he said.
“Minutes later, they were boarding our boat with guns in their hands,” Wasinger said. “They demanded money, which we gave them willingly.”
Wasinger said he handed over his wallet after one of the attackers pointed a gun at his head. Dissatisfied with what little money and valuables they could find, the men put a knife up to Reinholdt’s throat and demanded more cash. When the captain fetched more, the men let the trio go unharmed.
But before the attackers left, they cut the line that raises the main sail, threw away their drinking water, took gas and other supplies, and disabled their GPS and parts of the boat’s engine. They also rammed their boat onto the beach of a hidden bay, and ordered the group back below deck.
Once Wasinger, Reinholdt and the captain were convinced the men were gone, they got off the boat and fled into the jungle. Eventually, they came upon a trailhead and left an SOS sign with directions in both English and Spanish to their bay, which was discovered by students conducting research in the area. The students phoned police.
Soon, police, the coast guard and fire department, even representatives from the mayor’s office greeted them and transported them to Tela, where they met Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez, who happened to be in town, the couple said.
The president arranged for the couple to fly in the presidential helicopter to the nearest airport to Mexico, and even covered the cost of their flight, they said.
After surviving the ordeal, they still want to return to Honduras one day, buoyed by the “wonderful people” they encountered following their rescue, except they’ll stick to populated areas and not travel alone.