# Sailors rescued after five months adrift **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 27, 2017, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sailors-rescued-after-five-months-adrift/800019 "2017-10-27T20:58:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 15
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2017, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sailors-rescued-after-five-months-adrift/800019/282 "2017-11-08T14:01:06Z")
Agree with **Wakinyan** ’s point that extended time at sea contributes to, if not crazy, at least hallucinogenic situations. All the more so if someone is not keeping a detailed log. A log will reduce things like “This week I think I remember last week that we saw an island.”, followed by the same confusion next week leading eventually to the belief “we saw islands nearly every week”. Has there been any evidence of either of them keeping any sort of a log or journal or diary? Beyond that, the less stable the person is to begin with, the greater the likelihood of problems. Given, \*pace \ ***Colibri** , that Appel was a loonie before she set sail, it’s a good bet her recollection of the voyage is, at best, more fantasy than reality. Add in some face-saving and some desire for instant fame, and any resemblance between the story and reality is pretty much accidental. I’m not too interested in watching a bunch of vids, but has any material statement come out from Fuiava? If so, what’s the capsule summary of that? Any word on their physcological relationship? Captor/slave, extrovert leader / introvert follower, love birds? Or was Fuiava just an inert lump about like the dogs? ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2017, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sailors-rescued-after-five-months-adrift/800019/283 "2017-11-08T15:37:13Z")
On a vid from the navy vessel, Appel said that she kept a detailed log. ---
**Author:** ![mlees](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba8739/32.png) [@mlees](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mlees)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2017, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sailors-rescued-after-five-months-adrift/800019/284 "2017-11-08T15:45:59Z")
How did she navigate across the open ocean? Was it six different sets of comm gear that failed? If she bought crappy gear (or failed to keep the stuff calibrated and maintained) for comms, I wouldn’t be surprised if any electronic navigation aids were crappy, too. ---
**Author:** ![Desert\_Nomad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desert_nomad/32/177_2.png) [@Desert\_Nomad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Desert_Nomad)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2017, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sailors-rescued-after-five-months-adrift/800019/285 "2017-11-08T18:41:21Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > The weather started getting rough, > the tiny ship was tossed. > Here’s where the story gets a little thin, > For five months they were lost. > For five months they were lost. Wonderful. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Filbert](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/filbert/32/3433_2.png) [@Filbert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Filbert)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2017, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sailors-rescued-after-five-months-adrift/800019/286 "2017-11-08T18:47:55Z")
> [@Wakinyan](#): > > I don’t get it. Are you making fun of my post? It may not have been the most well written reply in SDMB history, and rereading it I would like to spend a few more minutes on it to explain what I mean. > > But the main point is that if people are isolated (a cabin at winter, a boat at sea, an austronaut [I assume] in space), the mind starts to play tricks on you. Those “tricks” are experiences, and those experiences becomes memories, and then these experiences are shared. When confronted with the unplausibilty of them, they adjust on the fly as most would do. > > Certainly it is a well established fact that people isolated at sea (etc) for a long period of time may go “mad” (see link in post above for examples on the sea). Isn’t a plausible thought that that is what happened here? > > I’m not saying that that is what happened here, I don’t know what happened here, but I’m suggesting that that is as a plausible thought as any other theory in this thread – i.e. they are contemptuous, stupid hoaxers etc. It was a reference to ‘[Life of Pi](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Life_of_Pi)’, not a joke at your expense 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2017, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sailors-rescued-after-five-months-adrift/800019/287 "2017-11-08T21:27:00Z")
> [@Muffin](#): > > On a vid from the navy vessel, Appel said that she kept a detailed log. I recall that as well. She should have brought it with her but I haven’t heard any reference to it since. > [@mlees](#): > > How did she navigate across the open ocean? > > Was it six different sets of comm gear that failed? If she bought crappy gear (or failed to keep the stuff calibrated and maintained) for comms, I wouldn’t be surprised if any electronic navigation aids were crappy, too. She’s now saying that it wasn’t the communication gear that failed themselves, but that it was a faulty antenna that was the common factor in none of them working properly. I don’t know how credible that is, or how she found out that was the problem. > [@LSLGuy](#): > > I’m not too interested in watching a bunch of vids, but has any material statement come out from Fuiava? If so, what’s the capsule summary of that? Any word on their physcological relationship? Captor/slave, extrovert leader / introvert follower, love birds? Or was Fuiava just an inert lump about like the dogs? She has said very little in the interviews. Appel does almost all of the talking, and Fuiava chimes in once in a while. From [here:](http://people.com/human-interest/jennifer-appel-tasha-fuiava-rescued-at-sea-after-five-months-speak-out/) > [@](#): > > The frustrating and stressful circumstance—as well as the cramped quarters—led to shouting matches, but the two say having the dogs with them helped to relieve the tension. > > “We would be lying if we didn’t say that two women in a close space of 500 feet didn’t get into it every once in awhile, but we didn’t catfight or pull hair—we just threatened to throw each other overboard!” Appel says while laughing. “By having the two dogs with us, they instantly recognized a situation going south and they would intervene by coming to give us kisses, playing with us and getting us to change our mood.” And: > [@](#): > > Surviving the experience has bonded the two “friends at first sight” who have been close since they met in December 2016 while Fuiava was a security guard at the facility where Appel was doing work on her boat. > > “I think the third night that I saw her, she asked me to go on this trip!” Fuiava recalls, adding that she had never before gone sailing. “Everyone thought I was crazy!” And they were quite right. Appel says she would work on the boat at night because during the day guys at the boatyard would tell her she was doing things wrong. (One suspects in this case they might not have just been being sexist.) Fuiava was the night security guard. ---
**Author:** ![jerry150](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/258eb7/32.png) [@jerry150](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jerry150)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2017, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sailors-rescued-after-five-months-adrift/800019/288 "2017-11-09T13:19:52Z")
Sorry I just cannot help myself on this topic. comment on all the comms failure was due to a faulty antenna, Had to google marine antennas and from being a ham radio guy years ago I rememberd that the vhf and ssb antennas are two different systems a vhf antenna for marine is around 3 feet while the ssb marine antenna is listed at 17.6 feet. not to mention that the sat phone uses its own short one foot or so antenna. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2017, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sailors-rescued-after-five-months-adrift/800019/289 "2017-11-09T15:08:00Z")
> [@jerry150](#): > > Sorry I just cannot help myself on this topic. comment on all the comms failure was due to a faulty antenna, Had to google marine antennas and from being a ham radio guy years ago I rememberd that the vhf and ssb antennas are two different systems a vhf antenna for marine is around 3 feet while the ssb marine antenna is listed at 17.6 feet. > > not to mention that the sat phone uses its own short one foot or so antenna. Thanks. This suggests that Appel doesn’t know how any of the systems actually work. Perhaps someone on the Ashland suggested to her that a faulty antenna was the source of her problems with one piece of equipment. When someone expressed incredulity that all her equipment failed to work she seized on that explanation for all of it not working, not realizing that it was ridiculous. ---
**Author:** ![mlees](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba8739/32.png) [@mlees](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mlees)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2017, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sailors-rescued-after-five-months-adrift/800019/290 "2017-11-09T15:23:52Z")
> **[Rescued sailors: 'If you were there, you would say the same thing I did'](https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/american-women-rescued-sea-stick-their-story-you-would-say-n818531)** > > Two American sailors who survived a five-month ordeal shot down skeptics Wednesday, reiterating that they had survived squalls, sharks, and more. > [@NBC News](#): > > Instead of obeying standard regulations for the distance a vessel is supposed to keep while towing a boat, the Taiwanese vessel purposely rammed against them, she said, overpowering their significantly smaller boat. > > “The Taiwanese fishing vessel was not planning to rescue us,” she continued. “They tried to kill us during the night.” > > It was then that Appel said she decided to alert the U.S. Coast Guard. But she claimed there was an explanation for why she still didn’t use the EPIRB and instead used the satellite phone on the fishing vessel. > > “I was able to get on a surfboard and get on their boat, make an actual phone call. Because no one spoke English, it was easier and safer for me to relay the information to the U.S. Coast Guard-Guam sector that we were in danger without them realizing what we were saying. If I had thrown the EPIRB at that point, he [the captain] would have known.” So… wait. Someone is trying to kill you with ramming attacks, and your answer is to surf over to the attacking craft, climb on board, and use their radio, secure in the knowledge that they don’t sprenkzie anglais to realize what you are doing? My brain hurts. ---
**Author:** ![mlees](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba8739/32.png) [@mlees](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mlees)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2017, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sailors-rescued-after-five-months-adrift/800019/291 "2017-11-09T15:33:16Z")
In that same story I linked above, they seem to be doubling down on all previous claims. (And apparently, their GPS navigational aid still worked.) > [@NBC News](#): > > “The sharks were six inches away. And using an EPIRB in the location where we were, it’s probably four hours to a day before the Coast Guard would have found us,” she said. So, the sharks would become even more aggressive if they heard the EPIRB being activated? Edit: misspelled “Sprechen sie” in previous post. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2017, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sailors-rescued-after-five-months-adrift/800019/292 "2017-11-09T15:37:20Z")
Oh that’s just silly. Everyone knows that sharks use clamcell phones not EPIRBs. ---
**Author:** ![mlees](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba8739/32.png) [@mlees](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mlees)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2017, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sailors-rescued-after-five-months-adrift/800019/293 "2017-11-09T15:39:00Z")
Maybe the sharks were hoping that the two ladies would toss them the doggies. “Hey… are you gonna finish [eating] that? Like, mind if I…?” ---
**Author:** ![mlees](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba8739/32.png) [@mlees](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mlees)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2017, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sailors-rescued-after-five-months-adrift/800019/294 "2017-11-09T15:56:01Z")
For clarity, I am not seriously suggesting that the two ladies should sacrifice their pets to the shark god(s). However, I am trying to imagine why the “experienced” sailor is claiming that she thought that the sharks could hear them turning on their beacon. Are we to believe that the dogs remained absolutely still during these shark encounters? Did the dogs somehow realize that an Alpha Predator was on the other side of the hull, on the prowl? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2017, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sailors-rescued-after-five-months-adrift/800019/295 "2017-11-09T16:04:11Z")
Just watched the 5+ minute interview with Matt Lauer. They’re dropping brand names like they think they’re going to get a sponsorship deal from Garmin and Katadyn. Obvious attention whores are obvious. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2017, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sailors-rescued-after-five-months-adrift/800019/296 "2017-11-09T16:18:07Z")
> [@mlees](#): > > So… wait. Someone is trying to kill you with ramming attacks, and your answer is to surf over to the attacking craft, climb on board, and use their radio, secure in the knowledge that they don’t sprenkzie anglais to realize what you are doing? > > My brain hurts. I must apologize to shithouse rats everywhere for comparing Appel to them earlier. Shithouse rats are considerably saner. Some tidbits from the NBC interview: -Fuiava says that Appel told her to 'bunker down with the boys [the dogs]" when the “Force 11 storm” blew up, and since she was a heavy sleeper she slept through it (apparently for three days, which is how long Appel says the storm lasted). It seems there actually was a small craft advisory for squalls in the area, which Appel converted in her mind to a near hurricane: > [@Jennifer Appel](#): > > “I understand fish stories. I believe that the storm advisory that the U.S. Coast Guard did say that they put out … was anticipated to be smaller than some of the downdrafts that we saw,” Appel told TODAY on Wednesday. “If you were there, you would say the same thing I did. It really felt a lot bigger.” -She confirms they were at Kritimati (Christmas Island) rather than just some island in Kiribati but says she was “denied access.” She previously said they didn’t seek to repair their mast there because their keel was too deep to enter the channel into the lagoon. If they were “denied access” presumably they were in touch with someone there. But who knows what she means. Maybe it was the gods of the sea that denied them access. -It appears that it will be possible to confirm their route, since Appel brought at least one of their GPS units with them: > [@](#): > > Appel denied that that [contact with the Coast Guard near Tahiti in June] happened. Holding up a GPS that was aboard her boat, she said Wednesday, “Our GPS shows we were nowhere near Tahiti.” Let’s see if she allows independent evaluation of the GPS data. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2017, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sailors-rescued-after-five-months-adrift/800019/297 "2017-11-09T17:27:14Z")
> [@mlees](#): > > Edit: misspelled “Sprechen sie” in previous post. Actually you misspelled 说英语. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Xema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9de053/32.png) [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2017, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sailors-rescued-after-five-months-adrift/800019/298 "2017-11-09T19:14:56Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > … since she was a heavy sleeper she slept through it (apparently for three days, which is how long Appel says the storm lasted). This may qualify her for the heavy sleeper hall of fame. > [@](#): > > She confirms they were at Kritimati (Christmas Island) rather than just some island in Kiribati but says she was “denied access.” She previously said they didn’t seek to repair their mast there because their keel was too deep to enter the channel into the lagoon. Googling suggests the harbor has a depth over 50 ft, and handles ships up to 500 ft in length. So the “denied access” story perhaps works slightly better. ---
**Author:** ![Spiderman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiderman/32/230_2.png) [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2017, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sailors-rescued-after-five-months-adrift/800019/299 "2017-11-09T21:44:38Z")
The latest bombshell in this story… > [@NYPost](#): > > One of the two women who spent five months in a sailboat adrift in the Pacific was an inexperienced sailor who once worked as a professional dominatrix, joining a local fetish group online called “Kinky Sailing,” I feel that I should put a Smilie in after that, but I honestly have no clue as to which one to use. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2017, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sailors-rescued-after-five-months-adrift/800019/300 "2017-11-09T22:45:06Z")
The one with bared teeth, purple lipstick, & tall pointy shiny boots. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2017, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sailors-rescued-after-five-months-adrift/800019/301 "2017-11-09T23:01:41Z")
> [@Spiderman](#): > > The latest bombshell in this story… That actually apparently comes from a Daily Mail story (NSFW): [Jennifer Appel was a kinky sailor and dominatrix | Daily Mail Online](http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5063707/Bungling-yachtswoman-kinky-sailor-dominatrix.html) Daily Mail, I know, but the photos seem to be authentic, and there is a lot of detail.:eek::eek::eek: [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sailors-rescued-after-five-months-adrift/800019.md?page=14) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sailors-rescued-after-five-months-adrift/800019.md?page=16)