Caryn Dolley
NATALIE BRAUER of Parklands planned to spoil her husband on his 40th birthday by treating her family to a boat trip in Hout Bay.
Weather conditions were adverse on September 30, the day they were meant to go out to sea, so the birthday treat was postponed to Saturday.
That morning Brauer, her husband, Michael, daughter Hunta, eight, and son Blade, six, as well as their friends, Casper and Bronwen Armstrong-Kruger, went to Hout Bay, had a meal and boarded the Miroshga.
“I was a little concerned because there were not enough seats left. We asked if we could go upstairs,” Brauer said.
John Roberts, a crew member from Hout Bay, told her she could not go upstairs, an area with standing room, as she had children with her, so other passengers went upstairs – leaving room downstairs for Brauer’s family.
Brauer said Roberts had cracked jokes to ease passengers. He introduced himself, saying: “Hi guys, my name’s John Roberts... Don’t panic. It’s not the Titanic.”
After a “stunning” time at Duiker Island, Miroshga was steered towards the Noordhoek lighthouse and a while after Miroshga, moving parallel to the waves, “pitched heavily” to the left.
“I could hear people stumbling above... The back left engine went under,” Brauer said.
The situation calmed, but Miroshga suddenly pitched to the left again.
“I could see the wave coming... Then the [left] engine stopped.”
Miroshga slowed down and Brauer said the right engine was sputtering. Water started filling the back of the boat and eventually, the right engine went out. “At this point, people were screaming and crying.”
Her husband, who had been on the top of the vessel, suddenly appeared next to her.
She said Michael shouted to the skipper asking if the situation had been “called in”, then together with Armstrong-Kruger, helped put the anchor down.
“Michael asked the skipper where the flares are... People started scratching for the flares. Michael shouted: ‘Life jackets, people.’ The crew was almost in shock,” Brauer said.
Her husband handed two flares to the skipper and asked how to use them.
“Michael came back for more flares. He was passing out life jackets. Quite a lot of people were helping cut the life raft free. Michael set off three more flares.”
Brauer herself called an emergency number and a voice prompter told her which number to press in case of a real emergency. “While waiting [for a phone operator] the boat pitched... Everyone was trying to balance the boat,” she said.
Brauer managed to get hold of an operator, explained the situation and then fastened a life jacket on her husband, who was passing life jackets to passengers on top of the boat.
Crew members ensured that her two children had life jackets on.
“At this point, we saw a boat come after us. Blade started crying... People were crying in relief. Some wanted to run towards the boat, but needed to balance [Miroshga].”
Brauer saw people on the arriving boat, the Extravagence, making strange motions with their arms and soon understood that they were indicating to Miroshga passengers to jump into the sea.
“Michael appeared and said: ‘Okay, it’s time to swim.’”
Brauer jumped into the icy water, followed by her son and, after the current nearly swept her further from Miroshga, her daughter jumped in.
“We jumped in and the boat capsized... Casper had been on top and was on his way down to Bronwen, who can’t swim. He hit his head,” she said.
Brauer, her son, daughter and husband “swam for what felt like forever” until they got near the awaiting vessel. “One person grabbed Michael’s shoulder, one grabbed Blade, one Hunta. Michael said at that stage he was so tired, he couldn’t lift his arms,” she said.
“As people were saved, they reacted differently. Some stared, others screamed, all shivered violently.”
Eventually, the Extravagence skippered by Sean Amor, left when more boats were in the vicinity.
“I don’t know how I didn’t lose it... At no point did we panic. It was God’s glory,” Brauer said.
At the NSRI base, she saw Miroshga’s skipper, Gregg Louw, and asked if he was okay.
“He said: ‘No, I’m not okay. I lost my rasta.’ Apparently when it capsized, [Roberts’s] feet got stuck in rope and he had already given his life jacket away.
“Gregg said he had to hold [Roberts] up by his shirt, but he could see that he gave up... [Roberts’s] eyes went blank, then he went under. Gregg said he had to let him go to help other people,” Brauer said.
She said that there had been enough life jackets on the Miroshga.
However, passengers stuck in the cabin had taken theirs off in order to swim down and out of the vessel.
Roberts and Peter Hyett, 64, of the UK, died in the accident.