EXCLUSIVE: Female sailor, 34, endures terrifying ordeal after her boat caught on FIRE and nearly sank leaving her stranded with a bacterial infection – and nothing to eat but rotting food

A sailor recounts the terrifying moment she found herself stranded off the coast of Yemen – before being rescued by a group of fishermen on a desperate 22-hour mission.

Caroline Kneitz34, told DailyMail.com she was helping man a boat from Kenya to Dubai when things started to go wrong and it was “like a scene from The Perfect Storm.”

While Caroline and her three sailing companions who were aboard the 12-meter ship – called Freya – were most afraid of a pirate attack before they left, it was faulty parts and bad weather that ended up wreaking havoc on their journey 12 days in.

Recounting the sequence of events, Caroline said, “It turned out to be a sailing trip from hell!” The weather was like a movie set from The Perfect Storm of Armageddon.

“The boat began to fall apart every day…first the rigging broke, then the engine, then we had fires, floods, and finally we lost control.

A sailor has revealed her fear after being stranded off the coast of Yemen by a broken steering wheel, prompting a 22-hour rescue mission

Caroline Kneitz, 34, told DailyMail.com she was helping man a boat from Kenya to Dubai when things started to go wrong and it was ‘like a scene from The Perfect Storm’

While Caroline and her three sailing companions aboard Freya feared a pirate attack the most before they set sail, it was faulty parts that ultimately halted their journey.

Caroline told DailyMail.com: ‘Socotra as a place is not on the traditional tourist map, but the nature is simply breathtaking’

‘Five meter waves and strong winds plus a current that dragged our boat like it was a toy!

“To make matters worse, our fridge stopped working too, so the food started rotting and we got salt rashes and I got a bacterial skin infection on my leg.”

Dubai-based Dacey Calisura, who bought the boat with partner Jethro Friggens in Kenya, revealed she was momentarily terrified when they could no longer control their vessel.

She told the Khaleej times: ‘I heard the wind howling and the waves crashing, and I was really afraid if I would live to hear it the next day.

‘Without a steering wheel we were at the mercy of the sea.

“There was an emergency steering system, but it doesn’t work when the wind and waves are against it, and that was that day.”

When the boat broke down, Caroline, Dacey, Jethro and their other crew member, Euan Jarvis, sent a distress signal to the Coast Guard.

At the time, they were about 50 miles (80 km) from Socotra, an island in Yemen sandwiched between Somalia.

The sailing crew, all based out of Dubai, soon realized that the only vessels in that stretch of water were oil tankers and freighters, too unwieldy to assist in a rescue.

They did find a Korean Navy ship nearby, but it was about a day away and they should have abandoned and sunk their boat.

Caroline said that if they had chosen this option they ‘probably would not have survived as the boat would have floated for 12 hours in severe weather’.

“We didn’t have that much time left,” she explained.

Finally, a team of fishermen from Socotra agreed to carry out a rescue operation and tow Freya back.

Caroline continued the story saying, ‘Luckily the dhow fishing boat arrived at 1am.

“We fired several rockets to indicate where we were and we were so surprised that they found us.

Dubai-based Dacey Calisura, who bought the boat with partner Jethro Friggens in Kenya, revealed she was just as scared when they could no longer control their vessel

When the boat broke down, Caroline, Dacey, Jethro and their other crew member, Euan Jarvis, sent a distress signal to the Coast Guard.

The sailors tried to sail from Kenya to Dubai. From left to right: Euan Jarvis, Jethro Friggens, Caroline Kneitz, one of the Yemeni rescuers, and Dacey Calisura

When they arrived in Socotra, Caroline said they received a very warm welcome from the locals and made them feel like mini-celebrities.

Now back in Dubai, Caroline recalled, ‘Yemen was great! The people were so warm and kind and also very generous. We were even invited to a local wedding party’

‘The towing started and we attached two lines from their stern to our bow and were towed for about 22 hours.

“That in itself was a horrible experience, because we were tossed around and could hear the boat falling apart.

“Many of the guardrails have broken down. It was not a pretty sight. But we came ashore again on July 28th.’

The dangerous rescue cost the Freya sailing team a total of $5,000 and then they also had to find accommodation on Socotra and arrange their flights to Dubai from there.

“These were all costs we hadn’t factored in, but honestly, we were lucky to be alive!” Caroline said.

When they arrived in Socotra, Caroline said they received a very warm welcome from the locals and made them feel like mini-celebrities.

Now back in Dubai, the sailing expert recalls: ‘Yemen was great! The people were so warm and kind and also very generous.

‘We were welcomed with open arms and even invited to a local wedding party.

‘Socotra as a place is not on the traditional tourist map, but the nature is simply breathtaking.

‘Of course it is not a place where you will find luxury, life is very basic and many supplies are very limited.

“But despite the simplicity and the lack of wealth, everyone is happy – the communities are very strong and that’s so beautiful to see.”

Dacey and Jethro plan to take their boat Freya to Oman for some advanced repair work before sailing her back to Dubai in September.

Caroline says the sailing experience has taught her to “take a lot more precautions about in-season travel.”

She concluded: ‘I felt very reassured knowing I had a very experienced crew with me, but the weather was just too much that even the boat said, ‘no, I’m not doing this.'”