Three shipwrecked sailors who spent a night in shark-infested waters and heavy swells found shelter on a remote tropical island … named after none other than Robinson Crusoe.
The real-life castaways — a man and woman from Australia and another woman from New Zealand ranging in age from mid-20s to mid-40s — returned to Brisbane this afternoon after an amazing rescue story fit for the pages of Defoe's famous novel.
Trouble began for captain Cameron Slagle and crew mates Elizabeth Schoch and Alison Timms while sailing their 10m ketch Timella through rough seas in the Fiji Islands late on Sunday.
The three friends left Suva in the morning and were heading south to Kandavu Island in rough winds when the yacht experienced engine problems and boiling water burst from the radiator, scolding Mr Slagle on the face and legs.
"We decided we weren't going to make it to port," he told ninemsn.
He turned the boat west with the 70km/h wind and headed for a nearby cove, on the south-western coast off Viti Levu island.
But this meant steering late at night through a treacherous passage between two islands.
Shortly before midnight on Sunday the yacht struck a reef and began to sink amid five-metre swells.
"The boat was thrashing up hard against the reef," Mr Slagle said.
As the deck slipped below the water line, the three friends decided they couldn't stay aboard any longer.
The yacht's inflatable dinghy was big enough for only two people, so Ms Schoch and Ms Timms climbed in as Mr Slagle clinged to the side.
"That's when we started talking about sharks," he said.
They didn't know the Beqa Island reef where they were stranded is world famous for man-eating sharks, with diving enthusiasts drawn to what is commonly advertised as the "bad shark dive" — and it wasn't long before all three were treading water in their life jackets.
"The dinghy was still tied to the boat [and] the sea was so vicious, it dragged us back towards the boat as the mast came smashing down and punctured the dinghy," Mr Slagle said
The trio were now clinging to a deflating dinghy whose emergency supplies — first aid, food and fresh water — had already been flung overboard by the rough swells.
The reef underneath them cut their feet as they bobbed among the huge seas and the effects of severe cold set in, with Ms Timms showing signs of hypothermia.
"Ali was on her way out — we were trying to keep her warm," Mr Slagle said.
"All we had left was each other."
The Fijian navy was unable to launch a rescue ship so Mr Slagle's mayday call was eventually relayed to a cruising catamaran captained by an American on holiday with his wife and two children.
Maurice Sonti sailed for two hours to reach Beqa reef and pull the shipwrecked sailors aboard at around 6.30am on Monday.
"His exact words were: My name is Maurice, I'm your rescue this morning," Mr Slagle said.
"It was a teary moment.
"Funnily enough, as we were getting rescued there was a dolphin swimming around the catamaran — I'm not sure if she was looking after us [from sharks] or not."
Mr Sonti, an experienced rescue diver, administered first aid and sailed the stranded crew to nearby Robinson Crusoe Island — a 28-acre tropical island with traditional thatched bure accommodation that serves as a popular day cruise destination.
Paul McCulloch, the island's owner, said the shipwrecked sailors arrived on the island with only the clothes on their backs and their passports and other paper documents in a sealed plastic bag.
"They were totally shellshocked," he said.
"We gave them a cold beer, a feed and some lodgings."
Mr Slagle, Ms Schoch and Ms Timms left the island by boat today and flew to Brisbane this afternoon.
Mr McCulloch said the New Zealand High Commission in Suva and the New Zealand Search and Rescue were "integral" to the rescue effort, and that the commission is recommending Mr Sonti for a bravery award.
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