(CMR) A GoFundMe page has been set-up to assist a local business owner, Benjie Bodden, after his boat Bankdraft sank early Friday morning at the Cayman Islands Yacht Club.
The community has been asked to come together to assist the Bodden family after this tragic incident now leaves them vulnerable to complete financial loss during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The family uses the boat for fishing, snorkeling or anything that could help the family make ends meet. Like most local boat operators Bodden would be coming out of months of not being able to go on the water to fish. Now, just weeks after the lifting of the coronavirus restrictions tragedy has struck in the most awful way. The boat was observed with its hull underwater on Friday morning.
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The recovery of the boat was completed late Friday afternoon after 2:00 pm. Eyewitnesses indicated that she was lifted using airbags and a water pump. It appears the cause of the incident may have been a small leak in her stuffing box which combined with a pump issue lead to the vessel sinking.
The boat was discovered submerged in the ocean after taking on water and received extensive damage. The damage has completely destroyed the electronics of the boat and CMR understands that significant repairs would have to be undertaken in order to salvage the boat. The boat is the family's sole source of income. The fund has been set up with aims of raising at least $50,000.
Bodden is a father of two and “has helped trained many young Caymanians as boat handlers and fishermen.”
CMR will be hosting a local on-air fundraiser for the Bodden family on Friday morning's THE COLD HARD TRUTH starting at 7:15 am.
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