On 10 November 1944, a 5.5 metre open wooden fishing boat named 'M' departed from the Roja fishing port on the West coast of the Gulf of Riga. On board were 17 refugees, including 5 children. On the bow of the boat was a small Latvian flag, made from cloth found at the Roja Elementary School. The refugees had a 'navigation chart' - a map torn from a school textbook - and a permit from the German Coast Patrol to travel to Germany. The real destination was Sweden. Having rounded the northernmost tip of land at Kolka, off Mazirbe the boat changed course and headed out to sea in a snowstorm. After 20 hours it made landfall in Slite harbour on Gotland November 11 at 11 a.m. With the refugees safely ashore and no one bailing, the boat sank to the bottom within the hour. About 150,000 inhabitants of Latvia Left the country in the final year of the war - escaping from war action and fleeing from Soviet terror.