U.S. Tourists Swim 14 Hours to Survive Caribbean Shipwreck

The fishing trip off the rugged north coast of St. Lucia was supposed to last all day, but about four hours into the trip, the boat's electric system crackled and popped.

Dan Suski, a 30-year-old business owner and IT technician from San Francisco, had been wrestling a 90-kilogram marlin in rough seas with help from his sister, Kate Suski, a 39-year-old architect from Seattle.

He was still trying to reel in the fish when water rushed into the cabin and flooded the engine room, prompting the captain to radio for help as he yelled out their co-ordinates.

The waves kept pounding the boat that the Suskis had chartered from a local company in the eastern Caribbean island called Reel Irie. It was April 21 around noon, and the trip was supposed to be a highlight of their sunny vacation.

As more water flooded the boat, the captain threw life preservers to the Suskis.

"He said, 'Jump out! Jump out!"' Kate Suski recalled in an interview Thursday with The Associated Press.

The Suskis obeyed and jumped into the water with the captain and first mate. Less than five minutes later, the boat sank.

The group was at least 13 kilometers from shore, and waves more than twice their size tossed them around.

"The captain was telling us to stay together, and that help was on its way and that we need to wait," Kate Suski said.

The group waited for about an hour, but no one came.

"I was saying, 'Let's swim, let's swim. If they're coming, they will find us. We can't just stay here,' " she recalled.

St. Lucia's tourism minister called it a miracle, and the island's maritime affairs unit is investigating exactly what caused the ship to sink. Marine Police Sgt. Finley Leonce said they have already interviewed the captain, and that police did not suspect foul play or any criminal activity in the sinking of the ship.

The brother and sister said they don't blame anyone for the shipwreck.

"We are so grateful to be alive right now," Kate Suski said. "Nothing can sort of puncture that bubble."

Upon returning to their hotel in St. Lucia earlier this week, the Suskis were upgraded to a suite as they recover from cuts on their feet, severe tendonitis in their ankles from swimming and abrasions from the lifejackets.

"It's really been amazing," Dan Suski said. "It's a moving experience for me."

On Saturday, they plan to fly back to the U.S. to meet their father in Miami.

Once a night owl, Kate Suski no longer minds getting up early for flights, or for any other reason.

"Since this ordeal, I've been waking up at dawn every morning," she said. "I've never looked forward to the sunrise so much in my life."

Source: The Associated Press