Cuban fisherman recounts the odyssey experienced by him and a teenager during seven days adrift at sea

Carlos Francisco Rodríguez González and Yusuan Fundora Massaguet were adrift at sea for a week after going fishing from Playa del Chivo in Havana. The man recounts the story of the shipwreck that nearly cost them their lives.

Fisherman Carlos Francisco Rodríguez GonzálezPhoto © Girón Newspaper

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“Respect for the sea is essential!” confesses the Cuban Carlos Francisco Rodríguez González, who, along with another amateur fisherman, just 15 years old, was adrift at sea for seven days and survived to share the ordeal they experienced.

Rodríguez, 55 years old, a resident of Cerro, Havana, and a professional in gastronomy, along with the teenager Yusuan Fundora Massaguet, were the subjects of a recent shipwreck, from which they were rescued by a ship in waters near the Bahamas.

After being found on January 23, they were transferred to the city of Matanzas, where they received medical attention.

In the Provincial Hospital Faustino de Pérez, where he was recovering from the injuries he sustained, the man recounted to journalist Ana Cristina Rodríguez from the newspaper Girón the adventure that almost cost him and his young traveling companion their lives.

They had gone out fishing separately on the night of January 16, unaware that they would spend seven days adrift at sea with no hope of being found. Their families, in desperation, were searching for them and reported their disappearance on social media.

Rodríguez started fishing only three years ago. When he went out for his usual work at midnight on the 16th, he thought he would have “a quick catch” and be back the following morning. But “everything got complicated.”

"I was fishing in the Bay of Havana and wanted to go in through Playa del Chivo, but the flippers were small and broke. A kid came over in another raft, tried to help me, and then the current started pulling us because the wind was too strong," he recounted.

Rodríguez and the boy were not acquainted previously, the adult claims, but they had seen each other a few times at Playa del Chivo.

“Normally, we fish in pairs, and in my case, I do it with a bricklayer who lives in my building. Each of us has our float [a rustic raft made of foam], which we leave stuck in the grass," he explained. "But my partner that day was further out, and the boy approached me out of curiosity because I had caught two large fish, and he wanted me to help him catch one. When my frog legs broke, everything got worse. The last thing I hooked was a needlefish, which pulled harder and dragged us a little further out until it released us.

He recalled that the current was pulling them eastward and "out to sea; and nothing, not a single boat around to give us a hand," he said. "The kid didn’t have any experience either. We were overpowered by the current and exhaustion."

The following night, their boat "completely opened up" and they had to settle on the teenager's "cork." "And so we drifted for a week, practically without food or water."

How did they survive?

Rodríguez explains that his boat was one meter wide by 1.70 meters long, while the boy's was 0.90 by 1.70, making it thinner. "Notice that the first night, when we were getting settled, we capsized," he revealed. "In the end, we had to position ourselves in a way that we couldn't even move: he with his head this way and I that way, almost hugging each other."

Contrary to his usual practice of taking a gallon or a bottle of water every time he went fishing, this time he didn't because he intended to return quickly. Without water or food, they turned to nature. “The day after being out at sea, I cast a bare hook and caught a mahi-mahi. We removed the skin with a knife, placed it on the cork to dry a bit, and we ate it raw. He ate more, even the roe, while I felt nauseated. He even drank seawater,” he confessed.

Meanwhile, danger seemed to lurk around them. "You couldn't put your foot in the sea because there were so many sharks. You could see the beautiful ones jumping and the fins in the water," he recalled.

However, he assured that he did not feel fear: “I’ve seen that if I don’t give it reasons, the shark won’t attack me. If there isn’t a wounded fish above and bleeding, there’s no reason to be afraid. I was more afraid of dying there from dehydration than being bitten by a shark.”

In the mornings, they would watch the horizon. "Cruise ships passed by, neither too close nor too far, to which we signaled, but nothing: no one heard us, no one saw us."

Desperation was getting the better of them. “At one point, the kid even told me he wanted to hang himself, that he couldn't take it anymore. And I didn't let him give up,” Rodríguez confessed.

Due to the depth of the sea, they also had no means to "anchor" the boat. "The depth didn’t allow for throwing a 'potala' (a weighted object tied to nylon or thick rope to moor a small boat)," he said. "I threw a 40-pound weight with a large rock attached, and it got completely swallowed up. We considered staying there until someone came to scold us and we could ask for help if we found any fishing gear to cling onto, but we didn't come across any."

So, with nothing else to do but pray "to all the virgins," they were swept out to sea until they were found "somewhere in the Bahamas." “Look at all the twists and turns the current took us! I wouldn’t even want to remember all those nights. The rolling waves (...) that soaked you completely, and you could feel it coming… coming… and then bam!… We tried to hold on tightly to avoid falling into the water,” he described.

The rescue

The Cuban swears they were born when, on the 23rd, he saw the ship near them. "We spotted a light, a large ship that the current itself pushed us towards. Then, with our little frog legs, one propelling and the other steering towards the center of the ship... there... there... until we started yelling at the top of our lungs: 'Help! Help!'. Someone peered out and called the captain. In the middle of the open sea. And that rope they threw us was a lifesaver."

After the rescue, the child was admitted to the Eliseo Noel Caamaño Pediatric Hospital, while Rodríguez was transferred to "Faustino Pérez." The adult suffered superficial burns caused by salt and the conditions of the rubber raft he was on; the Cuban state media did not publish information about the child's health status. On January 25th, both were discharged.

Rodríguez stated that he had never experienced a scare like this before: “The most dangerous thing that had happened to me was being dragged a little by the current to the Pan American Village, about five meters from the shore. From the Chivo, it's around three bus stops. That had been my biggest scare.”

Despite having turned to fishing three years ago in search of food, the ordeal he has experienced has made him change his mind: "I’ve told everyone: I’m done. But I’m not going to starve; if I ever have to go back, I will. It will take a long time, no doubt! You have to respect the sea!"

Frequently Asked Questions about the Shipwreck of Cuban Fishermen

How long were the Cuban fishermen adrift?

Cuban fishermen Carlos Francisco Rodríguez González and the teenager Yusuan Fundora Massaguet were adrift for seven days at sea before being rescued near the Bahamas.

How did the Cuban fishermen manage to survive their shipwreck?

During the seven days adrift, the fishermen survived by eating raw fish and facing a lack of drinking water, in addition to avoiding dangers such as sharks, until they were finally rescued by a ship.

What lessons did the Cuban fishermen learn after their experience at sea?

Carlos Francisco Rodríguez González expressed that the experience taught him that "the sea deserves respect" and that, although he does not plan to stop fishing forever, he will do so with more caution in the future.

Where did the fishermen receive medical attention after their rescue?

After being rescued, the fishermen received medical attention at hospitals in Matanzas. Carlos Francisco Rodríguez was treated at the Faustino Pérez Provincial Hospital, while Yusuan Fundora Massaguet was attended to at the Eliseo Noel Caamaño Pediatric Hospital.

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CiberCuba Editorial Team

A team of journalists committed to reporting on Cuban current affairs and topics of global interest. At CiberCuba, we work to deliver truthful news and critical analysis.

CiberCuba Editorial Team

A team of journalists committed to reporting on Cuban current affairs and topics of global interest. At CiberCuba, we work to deliver truthful news and critical analysis.