The granddaughter of a German sailor who survived a shipwreck off Cornwall more than 100 years ago has learnt while on holiday in Malta that another survivor was Maltese, and is now trying to track down his granddaughter.

It was the name of a boat that triggered her search.

Only five men emerged alive from the German cargo ship Hera after it hit a reef on February 1, 1914. Nineteen crew members died in the freezing waters.

Ute Lassen Poechman’s grandfather, 19-year-old August Lassen, survived by clinging on to the ship’s mast for hours along with another four young men who included Joseph Cauchi, also 19.

The captain pushed my grandfather up on the mast and gave him a whistle and told him to blow it so that anyone there would swim towards the sound- Ute Lassen Poechman

Over the years, Cauchi’s granddaughter, Rita Agius, has written about her grandfather’s story. But this only came to the attention of Ute, 69, by coincidence a few days ago while she was on holiday in Malta.

“To be able to meet with Rita would be incredible. We’re a world away. It’s 109 years later. It would be exciting. It would wrap up the story,” she told Times of Malta on Thursday.

Ute, who now lives in Hanover, Canada came to Malta on vacation with her partner earlier this month. After recovering from jetlag, they decided to take a harbour cruise.

A tourist ship also called Hera

It was then they spotted a tourist cruise ship also called Hera.

The name has been part of Ute’s life ever since she can remember. She was brought up hearing stories of her grandfather’s epic survival from the shipwreck. 

In 1914, the Hera had been 90 days into a voyage from Chile, carrying a cargo of nitrates, when it hit thick fog, striking a reef that runs out from Nare Head, in Cornwall.

“My grandfather died in 1951 – two years before I was born. Any of the stories I have were related by my family. I remember my father talking about how the captain pushed my grandfather up on the mast and gave him a whistle and told him to blow it so that anyone there would swim towards the sound,” she recalls.

That whistle saved lives. Today, it is on display in the Schiffarhrtsmuseum, in Flensburg, Germany.

Ute inherited the newspaper clippings of the wreck, which she still treasures. Years ago, she shared copies of them with the website submerged.co.uk, which tells the stories of wrecks in UK seas.

She returned to the site out of curiosity after she came across the Hera leisure boat in Malta.

And below the story of her grandfather she spotted a comment, dated 2009, by a certain Rita Agius, who said: “When I started reading, I realised that this was the story my grandfather Joseph Cauchi used to relate for many years with pride. I recognised the photos in the website because they are the same as the ones I have at home which my grandfather gave to my mother.”

Ute could not believe the coincidence – that she had found out about the connection to Cauchi while on holiday in Malta.

“There’s gotta be some kind of an omen here,” she said. So she contacted Times of Malta to help with her search for Rita Agius or anyone who could know her. 

Two strangers, connected by history

Ute feels she and Rita have a lot in common. Both their grandfathers were aged 19 when they survived.

Ute’s grandfather got married and had two children, one of whom was Ute’s father. Ute was born in Glücksburg, a small town near the German-Danish border, and the family lived there until they emigrated to Canada when she was a child.

According to an interview carried out with Cauchi (before he passed away at the age of 84 on August 9, 1979) the Maltese sailor travelled the world before settling down in Malta, getting married and having two children including Rita’s mother.

Both granddaughters would not exist had their grandfathers not held on to the mast, as recounted to them both.

The details are outlined in the interview given to Maltese newspaper It-Torċa in 1964 when Cauchi was 70 years old. The interview was translated into English and reproduced in submerged.co.uk.

Cauchi recalled how, on that night, it was his turn to sleep from 1pm to 7pm but, due to certain circumstances, he had to go to sleep at 11pm.

He was finally getting some shut-eye when he was suddenly woken up again. The ship was very close to some high cliffs and the sea currents were pushing it against the rocks and damaging the hull.

“It was misty that night and as I headed towards the stern I bumped into the second mate, who told me to run to the stern and wear a life jacket and get into a lifeboat.

“I managed to get hold of the last jackets and, although they had a broken cord, I did my best to wear them as I did not know how to swim,” he recounted.

The Hera tilted and started to sink towards the stern.

“I started to make a great effort to climb the bow mast and on succeeding I found out that there was someone else above me,” he said. As Cauchi climbed higher, he joined two others who were clinging to the mast.

“The second mate had a whistle in his mouth and gave it to the others for them to use it and to call for help.”

At around 5am, in the darkness, a small boat from the National Life Boat Institution approached them.

“Only five of the original 10 remained on the mast. The lower five persons drowned because the Hera continued sinking during the night,” Cauchi recalled.