Local tsunami survivors return to Thailand with donations

By: CANDICE REED - For the North County Times | Friday, April 1, 2005 4:05 AM PST ∞

OCEANSIDE ---- After Julie Sobolewski and her son Casey helped pull more than 50 people out of the ocean off the island of Phuket during the December tsunami, their first thoughts were to get home to tell their friends and family that they were safe and grateful to be alive.

But once they arrived home ---- after the shock of surviving the catastrophe while on a chartered sailing vacation had passed ---- their thoughts turned back to the people of Thailand.

Today, Julie Sobolewski and her San Diego friend John Henke, who was also aboard the sailboat that day, will return to the demolished fishing village of Ralley Beach in the province of Krabi, one of the areas hard hit by the Dec. 26 tsunami. And they'll be bringing some relief for some tsunami victims in the form of more than $20,000 they collected in fund-raisers.

On Thursday, Sobolewski and her son met with the media at the Motorcycle Cafe in Oceanside and explained that the money will help the locals purchase new long boats, which they depend on for fishing and transporting tourists.

"When we came home it was very emotional ---- we had survivors guilt," said Casey Sobolewski, 25, who is attending college and will return at a later date. "For myself, I had several weeks of trauma and I knew we had to help any way we could."

The Sobolewski's live within walking distance of the Coast Highway cafe and it didn't take much to persuade owners Mike and Helen Fischetti to put out a collection jar on their wooden coffee bar.

"A lot of people donated because they knew Julie and Casey were going to take it back personally," said Mike Fischetti. "They didn't want their money to go through all the red tape and the government bureaucracy, so giving it directly to people who were there was a no-brainer."

The mother-son team collected money from all over North County and San Diego as well as at the Oceanside cafe. They are still accepting donations, which can be made on their Web site, www.thaiboatfund.org.

"Hearing the estimates of 2,000 longtail boats lost in the region we had visited, it was an easy decision to start the Thai Boat Fund," Julie said. "When we saw all the boats just blown apart and splintered that day, Casey came up with the idea."

Sobolewski, her son and Henke boarded a 35-foot sloop on Dec. 26 and were sailing along the Indian Ocean on a warm, sunny day on their way to do some snorkeling on Koh Dam Khwan.

The water went from calm to a nightmare in seconds when a wave crashed down near a group of longtail boats, breaking them apart and tossing villagers and tourists into the sea.

Immediately, Sobolewski, her son and friends jumped into the water and began pulling people from the ocean and onto their boat.

When the Sobolewskis and Henke return to Thailand this week, they hope to find a village being rebuilt and the locals ready to buy new boats with donated money.

"We're really excited that we can help replace the boats for these people," said Julie. "It's really cool to see our local community step up to the plate by helping out and it's refreshing to see something wonderful instead of all the bad news out there."

Candice Reed is a freelance writer. You may contact her at femmewriter@cox.net.