Canadian Cruiser Murdered in Honduras

Canadian cruiser Milan Egrmajer, 58, was killed on the evening of December 3 as a result of being shot four times by robbers attempting to board his Ericson 35 MkII Adena at a remote cove on the northwest coast of Honduras. This according to an account published in La Prensa. Egrmajer and his daughter Myda were on their way from Guatemala’s Rio Dulce to the Bay Islands for diving, and then Panama, when they put in at Laguna Diamante to get out of rough weather. The anchorage is said to be a two-hour boat trip from the nearest civilization.

The 24-year old Myda was somehow able to scare the assailants away with a flare gun. She was physically unharmed, and was eventually picked up by an Australian cruising boat and taken to Belize. The many details of the story are expected to become know later today when Myda arrives back in Canada. For example, it’s not clear if Egrmajer actively resisted or was just shot for no apparent reason. In addition, relatives report that a half dozen "911 distress calls" were received from Adena via a satellite phone or messenger, but it’s unclear if they were sent before or after Egrmajer was shot.

Egrmajer is reported to have been well known and well liked in Guatemala’s Rio Dulce, where he spent a lot of time this summer. A semi-retired engineer who did some consulting work from his boat, Egrmajer kept a blog of his two years of cruising. His love of the cruising life was evident throughout. He and his well-traveled daughter had spent about a month together sailing and diving, and were having a great time prior to the attack.

A little more than a week before, on November 24, the French couple Jean-Louis and Cathy, last names unknown, had their catamaran Maroine boarded in the middle of the night at nearby Puerto Escondido by six men armed with guns and machetes. The couple, who speak some Spanish, tried to keep the attackers calm, and let them steal their dinghy and motor, computers, camera, telephone and other valuables.

Although it’s not widely publicized, the Central American countries of Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador have astoundingly high murder rates. As is true in most places, tourists — including cruisers — are rarely the victims. But not always. On August 9, 2008, Daniel Dryden of the Anchorage-based Southern Cross 39 Sunday’s Child was murdered on his anchored-out boat in the Rio Dulce when he resisted a group of thieves.