Rescued, the wife who tried to swim af ter cruise liner
A BRITISH woman spent four hours floating in the Atlantic after attempting to swim out to a cruise ship because she thought her husband was on board.
Susan Brown was kept afloat by her handbag – and was rescued only because fishermen heard her cries by chance.
The 65-year- old was ‘ barely conscious’ when she was found, and was so cold she could hardly speak. ‘I don’t think she’d have lasted another 30 minutes,’ her rescuers said.
Mrs Brown had been on a fourweek cruise around the Caribbean with her husband Michael, 69, to celebrate their anniversary.
But just days before the end of their trip on the luxury Marco Polo, the couple apparently had a row and decided to cut their holiday short.
By this point the ship was heading back to the UK, and the couple got off at the Portuguese island of Madeira – planning to fly home instead.
However they then became separated, and Mrs Brown apparently thought her retired publisher husband had returned to the liner.
Spotting it leaving port, she threw herself into the ocean to chase it – swimming a third of a mile out before finding herself stranded in the early hours of Sunday morning. Felix Marques, maritime police commander at Madeira’s Funchal port, said: ‘We only know Mrs Brown’s version. She had decided with her husband to stop the cruise.
‘We confirmed that Mr Brown had booked [plane] tickets to go back on Saturday night. His wife must have got a little lost and, when she saw the ship at a distance, threw herself into the sea trying to reach it.
‘She had a little bag with her documents in. We think one of the reasons she stayed above water for so long was that it kept her afloat.’
Mrs Brown’s husband had not returned to the ship and caught the flight home alone. He is thought to have heard what had happened when he received a call from the holiday firm, Cruise & Maritime Voyages, after landing back in Britain.
Last night, Mr Marques said Mr Brown was still in the UK and Portuguese authorities had not yet managed to speak to him. The fishermen who came to Mrs Brown’s rescue told local media that they originally thought her screams belonged to a bird. One of the men, Marildo Freitas, said: ‘I just saw her pale face bobbing in the water. She was barely conscious – she’s lucky to be alive.’
He added: ‘At first we thought she had fallen from the liner. She just said, “Thank God, thank God” when we found her. She was so cold she could hardly say anything. We wrapped her up and phoned for help.
‘It was very scary seeing this white face bobbing above the water – it reminded me of the film Titanic.’
Neighbours at the couple’s £300,000 home in Fontmell Magna, near Shaftesbury, Dorset, described Mrs Brown as a Christian who was actively involved in church life. They said that the couple have no children.
One friend added: ‘ Sue was very much looking forward to the cruise. She was over the moon with it.’
Mrs Brown was admitted to hospital on Sunday and diagnosed with hypothermia. She was later transferred to a psychiatric hospital.
A spokesman for CMV confirmed that the couple had disembarked ‘for personal reasons’ on Saturday. He added that after the firm heard about the drama, ‘Mr Brown was contacted by CMV, who offered assistance’. ‘CMV also liaised with the Foreign Office who will be making arrangements for her repatriation,’ he said.
A Foreign Office spokesman said: ‘We are in regular contact with a hospital in Madeira to check on the welfare of a British national.’
Mr Brown was not available for comment last night.