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When the trip was finished, they also spoke on how, from their perspective, the Guatemalans rammed their boat as a justification to use force. Here's their account:

Audrey Matura-Shepherd - Participant, Sarstoon Expedition
"Well I say what happened when they realize that the other smaller vessels took away and break away because we saw when they were trying to push the other smaller vessels into their waters to try and bully them. But the problem is our vessel was bigger, so Wil said well we are moving ahead. But we told them when they came, we are going in Belizean waters. They came and brought their vessels as to come and jammed us. But of course we can't afford for them to jam us, so we kept going more to the side, but then we had to stop because the water would have been too shallow. So what we told them then is that you are in Belizean waters. You need to move. We made 7 attempts right Wil? The last one we did it in front of the OAS for them to see that these people are in our waters and refuse to give us passage. Every time their intention is to jam our boat. Three times we almost made contact and different one of us push the boat."

Wil Maheia - Co-Leader, Sarstoon Expedition
"One time we made contact and then they said 'look you touch our boat, we have the right to shoot.' they did say that. They say 'you touch our boat, we could act.'"

Mike Rudon
"Now in terms of the OAS, what were they doing all this time?"

Audrey Matura-Shepherd
"Well they had gone ahead with the other 4 vessels. They left us behind. So once they realize that the OAS went with the other 4 vessels, they got farther more aggressive and they kept pushing us, so that they know that our vessel is bigger and we can't make it in that shallow water. So they found a way to push us in the shoal. So clearly we have to pull back because we have to think about the safety of everyone, we have to think about the fact that they have weapons and although it's only 5 of them on the vessel and we have to think about the fact that we don't have back-a-tive from our government. Because if our coast guard was out there to say no wait, this is Belizean territory. So I said to them show us your GPS. Show us your coordinates. We were talking to them in Spanish. You could never have been in your waters in we can see that you are less than 200 feet from our coast."

Wil Maheia
"When we were looking the Sarstoon Island was to the left of us. So there is no confusion. There was absolutely no confusion. Guatemalans came into Belize territory and bullied Belizeans."

Mike Rudon
"Wil talk to us about the conversation? There was a high ranking officer with the Guatemalan boat that approached your vessel."

Wil Maheia
"Actually, almost everyone on the Guatemalan boat were military officers. Not ordinary infantry men, because when they rammed our boat and we continue to try and push, then he told the captain to get the infantry ready."

Audrey Matura-Shepherd
"I said look they are calling the infantry. But when they decided to get more aggressive was when they saw the other vessels were coming and the OAS was coming and we weren't backing down and then when they saw the OAS was actually coming close, then I don't know if they call infantry or not, but they pulled back a little, because they didn't want the OAS to witness that they are in Belizean waters - they pulled back. So when we saw them pulled back, we say okay this is our final attempt to make it across. When we tried to make it across that when they came and they did it in the presence of the OAS, who then circled around our boat and we kept asking them 'so are we in Belizean waters?' and they shook their head and say yes when I ask them. But people before were asking, because I was at the bow of the boat. Then I said to them 'are you all seeing what they are doing to us?' - People on the boat were asking why aren't you (OAS) intervening. Why aren't you saying anything?"

And, while that's their narrative of the encounter with the leading Guatemalan Navy Officers, the Guatemalan Press has its own account. One story we've seen from a Guatemalan Broadcast News channel, Canalantigua TV, broadcast a story in which the volunteers are described as scaring the fishermen who were in the river. Their spin on it is that the Belizeans tried to raise flags in Guatemalan territory.