A map showing where the pirates grounded the couple’s sailboat in the Escondido Bay and were the victims left SOS signals while they hid from the pirates in the jungle. (Google Earth )

A retired Calgary couple is thankful to be alive after being attacked by pirates while on a sailing trip in Honduras.

Two weeks ago, retired nurse Loretta Reinholdt, 54, and former computer programmer Andy Wasinger, 46, set off in a 17-metre hired a boat with a captain, heading from Belize to the Honduran island of Roatan.

They had wanted to learn to how to sail. Instead, they were set upon by four men armed with guns and knives who boarded the boat and took their money.

“They were yelling,” said Reinholdt. “They were demanding more money. They didn’t believe we only had that amount. And the angrier they got, the scarier it was.

“And they actually had me, pulling my hair and a knife on my throat, demanding more money from the captain.”

Wasinger added: “I knew we had to comply with the pirates and not be heroes.”

The pirates then rammed the stolen boat into the shoreline of a remote beach in JeanetteKawas National Park.

They cut the line to the mainsail and tore out the engine wiring. They took the gasoline, the radio and the drinking water, leaving Reinholdt, Wasinger and the captain stranded in the jungle.

Peanut Butter, Cheese, Rainwater

“I mean, that was like being on Survivor, but all alone,” said Reinholdt. “We always kept thinking, they’re really going to be coming back for us.”

The Canadians and their captain lived on rationed peanut butter, cheese and rainwater for four days until their SOS messages — spelt out in branches along a park trail — were discovered by some people camping nearby.

“We hugged each other, we cried,” said Reinholdt. “And we couldn’t thank them enough for doing this for us, because they were also brave that they actually came to the area. So, it’s unbelievable. We were so happy to be alive.”

After their rescue, they even met President Juan Orlando Hernández, who happened to be staying in the town of Tela, where they were taken after the attack. He offered them a presidential helicopter ride to the nearest airport.

The Honduran government footed the bill for the couple’s flight to Mexico, where they are now recovering.

Despite their experience, Reinholdt and Wasinger say they’d go back to Honduras — but they would stick to populated areas.

“I can’t say enough about how the Honduran people helped us,” Reinholdt said. “Everyone was so friendly.”