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Dutch Couple Lost at Sea

The bodies of Ria and Waldy Finke, a Dutch cruising couple on the Netherlands-based yacht Talagoa, were found floating off Isla San Andrés, Colombia, on April 1. Although owned by Colombia, San Andrés is off the east coast of Nicaragua.

The Finkes’ sloop, a 48-ft steel Van de Stadt design, was found not far away, overturned on a reef minus her keel. As this point the Colombian navy does not suspect foul play. The extremely experienced cruising couple had left the Panama Canal on March 25.

The 48-ft sloop was discovered on a reef near San Andrés minus her keel.

© 2016 Colombian Navy

Singlehanded TransPac vet Steve Hodges of the Santa Barbara-based Islander 36 Frolic reports that the Finkes had been dismasted off Eureka in the fall of 2013 and subsequently spent about six months at the Svendsen’s yard getting their mast replaced.

“My wife, Susan, and I had a wonderful time visiting with them at their home in the Netherlands in October of 2014,” says Steve. “The last I heard from Waldy and Ria was late 2015 when they were in Chiapas, Mexico, dealing with an engine problem and getting ready for the Canal transit. They had so many plans for their time after getting Talagoa back to The Netherlands. I’m just sick at heart at the idea that they are lost.”
 

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