Lost Hawaiian Sailors

[TomK]

Eric - you don't even have to go into the details of what they might have done if a storm hit them. There was no storm.

[Mr nice guy]

"They also made a bizarre claim that if they hadn't been rescued with they were, they "would have been dead within 24 hours." Yet they were very healthy, had plenty of food and water, so ... death by boredom?"

The may have made a statement similar to this, but I do recollect that they mentioned something to the effect that the epirb was not activated because they were not in imminent danger within the next 24 hours.

The story does sound a little whacky.

How much food does a typical boat with a point a to point b in a certain timeframe plan set out with?

[Eric1600]

Like I said, I normally give people the benefit of doubt, but there is nothing about this story that makes any sense -- nothing.

TomK - There can be localized squalls on the ocean that can be very intense and feel like a big storm and they are never seen by the officials. It's not unusual at all, especially in the tropical convergence zones in the open ocean where there is not much instrumentation or attention paid.

Mr. Nice Guy - that was a direct quote from them in the video. They've also gone on to tell bigger stories now. One involves their boat being attacked by a school of sharks working together, which has never happened, ever. Sharks don't work together to attack things that are not alive or bleeding. They bump rafts and boats from time to time, but that's one shark and only because they are curious about what this floaty thing might be. The more they talk the crazier their stories become.

Typically a sailboat with a crew that knows what they are doing will provision for 2x the expected journey plus any extra time it might take to get to a decent location for restocking. Since they were going to Tahiti (good supplies there), you'd carry around 2 months of food with the idea that if you got into trouble you ration it. Someone super new (like them) or paranoid and afraid, might take a years supply. It's not unheard of, but typically not done.

[TomK]

Eric - they said the storm lasted for three days. That's not a localized squall.

[Rob Tucker]

Picking apart their story may be entertaining but the bottom line is they, kooky or not, are home safe. Whatever took place they lost their sailboat which I assume to be a major financial loss.

[EightFingers]

...and they got our attention!

[randomq]

It is reassuring to know even the kooky can be rescued at sea.

[kalakoa]

even the kooky can be rescued at sea

Exactly: if you go far enough away, emergency services will be provided.

[Eric1600]

TomK - "storm" can mean a lot of things when you're alone on the open ocean. I've had people sail on passages with me that are freaked in 20 knots of wind and others that set out to sea when it's blowing 40+. So when she said 60 knot storm, immediately I knew that was't possible, however violent squalls can do that easily. Especially in the ITCZ. My assumption is it was cloudy, rainy and then a few squalls for 3 days. That's the only possible scenario, really. Considering the other woman "slept through it all", I can only image either nothing happened, or it was a brief. Considering the lack of damage and the continuous creative story telling...well, nothing is more likely.

[Guest]

Amazing what ladies might say and do when being rescued by Young and possibly handsome Navy men after several weeks in the open ocean. I believe the Navy made this a public story, the ladies may have only tried to impress a few Navy men when rescued. To much of the woman's story doesn't add up and is a bit strange or exaggerated, even for me. Jmo