Women And Dogs Lost At Sea For 5 Months Rescued By US Navy Tell Of Sharks Ramming Ruined Boat

Sailing the world sounds like a fantastic premise. Being on the open seas with complete freedom and being one with nature. It’s all fun and games until your boat breaks down in the middle of the ocean and you are absolutely at mercy of the seas. There might not be another human being for hundreds and hundreds of miles. All of the sudden, your cute little expedition very might be your last. That was the case for two American women and their dogs who got stranded in the middle of the Pacific Ocean and were lost at sea for five months.

Jennifer Appel and Tasha Fuiava thought it would be a thrilling jaunt to sail from the Hawaiian island of Oahu to Tahiti, some 2,600 miles away. The oceanic voyage was planned to take 18 days. Then once in Tahiti, they would spend another six months cruising the thousands of small islands in the south Pacific before returning to Hawaii. That didn’t happen. Instead, they were lost at sea for five long months.

They never thought that their 50-foot boat would break down in the middle of the failed voyage. “I had no idea what I was getting myself into,” Jennifer said. “When I asked Tasha, I told her I have no idea what’s going to happen out there and she said, ‘That’s OK, I’ve never sailed.’” So one person who has never sailed in their life and another who has “no idea what’s going to happen out there.” What could go wrong? Turns out a lot.

A piece of the mast called a spreader failed, limiting the sailboat’s maneuverability. Then a storm flooded the engine, which also compromised their communication devices. The water purifier broke. The paralyzed and hapless sailboat drifted in the middle of the Pacific Ocean for months. They would make distress calls but they fell on deaf ears since they were so isolated from the rest of humanity. “There is a true humility to wondering if today is your last day, if tonight is your last night,” Appel said.

Sharks started ramming their boat, which was named the Sea Nymph. One night, a group of tiger sharks began circling and thrashing the vessel. “I went downstairs with the boys and we basically laid huddled on the floor and I told them not to bark because the sharks could hear us breathing. They could smell us,” Appel said. The next morning, a shark returned and rammed into the boat again. “We were just incredibly lucky that our hull was strong enough to withstand the onslaught,” Appel said.

The one thing that saved them was some sage advice from other sailors. “They said pack every square inch of your boat with food, and if you think you need a month, pack six months, because you have no idea what could possibly happen out there,” Appel said. “And the sailors in Honolulu really gave us good advice. We’re here.” Yet despite bringing months worth of food, they were running out of provisions.

Finally, their boat was spotted by a Taiwanese fishing ship on Tuesday. A Navy ship based out of Sasebo, Japan, went to rescue them. “When I saw the gray boat on the edge of the horizon, my heart leapt because I knew that we were about to be saved,” Appel told TODAY. “I honestly believed that we were about to die within the next 24 hours.”

The boat was 900 miles off the coast of Japan, thousands of miles away from their planned destination of Tahiti. The Navy declared the Sea Nymph to no longer seaworthy and they had to ditch the boat. Ninety percent of the food was gone by the time they were rescued, some of it was used to feed the dogs after their pet food ran out. “The dogs turned out to really like human food,” Appel said. The dogs, Zeus and Valentine, are certainly good boys for putting up with these less-than-desirable living conditions for months.

Men Left To Die On Deserted Island Go Full ‘Castaway,’ Saved By US Navy Thanks To ‘HELP’ Sign (Pics)

[NYDN]