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Kader Williams, right, skipper of the Spirit of Izivunguvungu, hugs his sister Mezyda Samsodien. Photo: Tracey Adams

Massive waves and gale-force winds battered the Spirit of Izivunguvungu, breaking the mast in three.

In the turmoil that followed, the mast went over and a piece pierced the hull. As icy water started seeping into the yacht, the four crew members aboard the vessel kept trying to empty it.

“I spoke to the guys every day and told them we’re not going to die,” the yacht’s skipper, Kader Williams, 30, of Strandfontein, said on Wednesaday shortly after he and his crew had arrived in Cape Town.

Williams and Anthony Edwards, Kenwyn Daniels and Joweal Klasse, of Ocean View, arrived in Simon’s Town on the SA Navy vessel, the SAS Amatola, which had fetched them off a Liberian-registered ship in False Bay.

The ship rescued the four a week ago from the sinking Spirit of Izivunguvungu, a yacht sponsored by the City of Cape Town, that was stuck in the remote southern seas.

On Wednesday, their relatives were lined up on the quay at Simon’s Town, waving to the crew as the SAS Amatola neared land. The four crew, who could be seen standing on the ship, cried when they saw their families.

Anthony Edwards, left, hugs his fianc�e Dorianne Delcarme. Photo: Tracey Adams

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When their parents hugged them for the first time on the ship, muffled sobs could be heard. Gasps could also be heard as relatives remarked how thin the men had become.

Moments later Williams, still holding his mother Mariam’s hand, explained how he and his crew had got into difficulty as they were travelling back from Brazil after participating in the Heineken Cape to Rio yacht race earlier this year.

“We were in very rough seas. It was storming. There were big swells. The mast broke in three pieces. The sharp end of one piece scraped under the boat and the rudder also broke off. We couldn’t steer the yacht.

“For two weeks we were just drifting. We tried to get to the island nearby (Tristan da Cunha) and sail a bit each day, but the current was too strong. We had enough food and water for about two more weeks,” he said.

To keep their spirits up, the crew had chatted about what they would do when they were back at home.

“We’d joke and say, ‘What are you going to do tonight?’ We also sang quite a lot,” Williams said.

He said after they had been drifting in the open sea for about two weeks after the mast had broken, they spotted the Little Prince which had been sent to help them. “It was such a relief,” he said.

Klasse said they had not known the ship was heading to them as the yacht’s communication systems had broken. “We didn’t know anyone was looking for us. That was hard. It did go through my mind that we could die. But we just stayed calm.”

Water had seeped into the yacht before they were rescued and Klasse said they had tried to empty it by using buckets. “But the water just kept coming in,” he said.

Daniels, who turned 21 two days ago while at sea, sat quietly near his mother Charmaine as he spoke about his ordeal. He had spent his birthday watching movies with his mates and sailors aboard the SAS Amatola had baked him a birthday cake.

“I’m just very happy to be home,” Daniels said, wiping away tears.

His mother said the family planned to have a week-long celebration to mark her son’s 21st.

caryn.dolley@inl.co.za - Cape Times