# 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:** 7
**Author:** ![filmore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/7993a0/32.png) [@filmore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/filmore)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2017, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sailors-rescued-after-five-months-adrift/800019/121 "2017-10-31T13:00:10Z")
I have no trouble believing they were unprepared without a clue of what dangers they could face. I’ve seen many docu-dramas about people who survived accidents, getting lost, natural disasters, etc., and it’s quite common that their own bad choices are what makes things worse. One example was a group of guys who were flying a Cessna to Cabo San Lucas. Since it’s over water, they were required to have life vests on board. But rather than get the expensive, adult-sized life vests, they get the cheapest, kid-sized life vests from Walmart. The plane crashes in the sea and they struggle to stay above water because the life vests are insufficient. There are also many stories of hikers who decide to keep forging on even though it’s getting dark, the weather is getting worse, and they don’t have any overnight or survival gear. Ooops! It’s freezing, we don’t have any food, and we can’t start a fire. Let’s wander around the forest in the dark to try to find a Starbucks. It’s a good thing they packed so much food. They’re lucky they were vegan so maybe they thought ahead that they might not be able to restock in random islands. ---
**Author:** ![Marlonius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/838e76/32.png) [@Marlonius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marlonius)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2017, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sailors-rescued-after-five-months-adrift/800019/122 "2017-10-31T13:46:57Z")
> [@aldiboronti](#): > > The cynical part of me is beginning to wonder whether this was the whole point. Hey, let’s pretend we’re lost at sea, then get ‘rescued’ and negotiate for the movie rights. Nothing these days seems to be genuine. I was thinking the same thing. I’m starting to smell balloon boy here. ---
**Author:** ![mlees](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba8739/32.png) [@mlees](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mlees)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2017, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sailors-rescued-after-five-months-adrift/800019/123 "2017-10-31T13:47:24Z")
> [@Chicago Tribune](#): > > “We asked why during this course of time they did not activate the EPIRB,” Tara Molle, Coast Guard spokeswoman Petty Office 2nd Class, told the AP. “She had stated they never felt like they were truly in distress, like in a 24-hour period they were going to die.” > **[Key parts of women’s tale of survival at sea contradicted](https://www.chicagotribune.com/2017/10/31/key-parts-of-womens-tale-of-survival-at-sea-contradicted/)** > > Two women from Hawaii who were rescued after being lost at sea defended their account of the ordeal Tuesday, insisting that a storm was whipping up 30-foot waves and near hurricane-force winds on t… So, I am starting to get the impression that these two sailor-ettes may have been too dumb to realize how much danger they were in. (At least, until the food started to run low.) I wonder if there are people who drift through life, thinking that their positive kharma balance will protect them from harm. (This is a parallel to the New Age woo found in post #99.) ---
**Author:** ![Fiveyearlurker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/da6949/32.png) [@Fiveyearlurker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiveyearlurker)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2017, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sailors-rescued-after-five-months-adrift/800019/124 "2017-10-31T14:39:54Z")
> [@CairoCarol](#): > > If I can veer off in a Cafe Society direction for a moment, may I suggest that anyone avidly following this story might enjoy the book, “And the Sea Will Tell,” by Vincent Bugliosi? > > It’s an oldie but goodie true crime tale, and - in a feat that is pretty much the exact opposite of what seems to have happened here - includes the story of a plucky (though possibly guilty of being an accomplice to murder) young woman who basically taught herself how to navigate, mid-ocean with limited tools, to a tiny atoll. A great story, on many levels. On that note, I’d also recommend [Deep Water](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0460766/), a documentary about an around the world yacht race in 1968 entered by an unqualified sailor that ended in a hoax and death. ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2017, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sailors-rescued-after-five-months-adrift/800019/125 "2017-10-31T15:50:57Z")
> [@Fiveyearlurker](#): > > On that note, I’d also recommend [Deep Water](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0460766/), a documentary about an around the world yacht race in 1968 entered by an unqualified sailor that ended in a hoax and death. Seconded. Great doc. ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2017, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sailors-rescued-after-five-months-adrift/800019/126 "2017-10-31T16:18:00Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > If someone is so vegan that they refuse to eat meat even if their survival depends on it (not referring to this pair, but generally speaking) - well, that comes across as arrogant or unreasonable, not sympathetic. “Comes across?” Just because you haven’t given it much thought doesn’t make it “arrogant.” Imagine there’s something bad you won’t do. Maybe there’s _nothing_ so evil to you that you wouldn’t do it, even if your survival depends on it, or perhaps out of concern not to appear arrogant or unreasonable. But let’s imagine there is. I don’t know you, so I can’t say what that would be. But let’s say, “molest a child.” That’s a common one. I’m not comparing that to killing animals, human or other kinds, but simply using it because it’s a common taboo that comes up in conversations as a bright line many people will not cross. Now use it in a sentence. Let’s assume a sadistic villain is ordering you to cross that bright line, and harm that child, or else he will kill you. Would we say: “If someone is so [moral] that they refuse to [molest that child] even if their survival depends on it (not referring to this pair, but generally speaking) - well, that comes across as arrogant or unreasonable, not sympathetic.” …or would you be a hero for refusing, even at peril to yourself? > [@Velocity](#): > > Whatever or however vegan people may be, I wish they would stop imposing their views \*on their carnivorous pets. \* Dogs are _omnivorous_ and can survive well on a vegetarian diet if properly balanced and supplemented. If they were carnivorous they wouldn’t be nearly as interested in the bananas and sweet potatoes they constantly mooch from me. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2017, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sailors-rescued-after-five-months-adrift/800019/127 "2017-10-31T16:42:11Z")
> [@aldiboronti](#): > > The cynical part of me is beginning to wonder whether this was the whole point. Hey, let’s pretend we’re lost at sea, then get ‘rescued’ and negotiate for the movie rights. Nothing these days seems to be genuine. That happened recently with this story of a [paralyzed hiker completing the Pacific Crest Trail solo](http://abcnews.go.com/US/facebook-group-members-accuse-paralyzed-hiker-lying-completing/story?id=50031481). It’s hard to tell the motivation for this sort of thing. Book deal? Movie rights? Speaking tour? However, I will reserve judgement on these two dufuses until more facts emerge. They very well could have survived as they said in spite of their own ignorance and mistakes. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2017, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sailors-rescued-after-five-months-adrift/800019/128 "2017-10-31T16:50:07Z")
Weren’t they claiming that they thought their boat was on the verge of sinking when they were rescued? AFAIK it is still floating out there. Also, is there any footage of the two dogs when they first got back to dry land? After 5 months at sea I would expect that they would have great difficulty standing up, let alone walking, on dry land. ---
**Author:** ![Xema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9de053/32.png) [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2017, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sailors-rescued-after-five-months-adrift/800019/129 "2017-10-31T16:50:58Z")
> [@Fiveyearlurker](#): > > I’d also recommend [Deep Water](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0460766/), a documentary about an around the world yacht race in 1968 … An interesting book about this has the engaging - and apt - title [A Voyage For Madmen](https://www.amazon.com/Voyage-Madmen-Peter-Nichols/dp/0060957034) ---
**Author:** ![Xema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9de053/32.png) [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2017, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sailors-rescued-after-five-months-adrift/800019/130 "2017-10-31T16:53:28Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > After 5 months at sea I would expect that they would have great difficulty standing up, let alone walking, on dry land. Why would that be? The dogs would have surely been regularly on deck, getting more than enough exercise to allow standing and walking ashore. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2017, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sailors-rescued-after-five-months-adrift/800019/131 "2017-10-31T16:53:35Z")
In fact, those dogs were in amazingly good shape for not having been running for 5 months…and what was it they fed the dogs that kept them in such unbelievable health? ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2017, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sailors-rescued-after-five-months-adrift/800019/132 "2017-10-31T16:55:33Z")
> [@Xema](#): > > Why would that be? The dogs would have surely been regularly on deck, getting more than enough exercise to allow standing and walking ashore. I was thinking about “land legs” and “land sickness”. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2017, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sailors-rescued-after-five-months-adrift/800019/133 "2017-10-31T17:57:55Z")
> [@Xema](#): > > Parts of that video interview put me in mind of a conversation several years ago with an NPS ranger in Yellowstone Park. > > She said that a small but increasing park problem concerns “New Age” visitors and their run-ins with Yellowstone wildlife. They tend to take the view that the warnings about bears, bison, etc. - which all visitors read - shouldn’t apply to them: “I’m a sensitive, ‘natural’ creature just like the grizzly bears. We natural creatures recognize and identify with our kindred spirits. So while its proper for normal people to heed the standard warnings, the bears will understand that these don’t make sense for someone like me.” Clearly, Darwinian selection in action. I like nature and crunchy granola, too, but I’m under no illusions that the “natural world” is a peaceful and gentle place. It will freakin’ kill you if you get stupid, or just get unlucky/have a bad day. ---
**Author:** ![SpoilerVirgin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2017, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sailors-rescued-after-five-months-adrift/800019/134 "2017-10-31T20:55:56Z")
Since there have been several mentions of the 1968 yacht race and related hoax in this thread, I just wanted to add that this story has been made into a [movie](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3319730/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1) starring Colin Firth and Rachel Weisz which is supposed to be released this year or early next year. Here’s an article from today’s [Washington Post](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/checkpoint/wp/2017/10/30/lost-sailors-who-braved-sharks-squalls-and-months-at-sea-finally-reach-land/?utm_term=.4de2747b07b5) discussing the rescue of the two women and the doubts about their story. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2017, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sailors-rescued-after-five-months-adrift/800019/135 "2017-10-31T21:03:46Z")
> [@](#): > > When the dog food ran out, Zeus and Valentine made do with the women’s provisions — mostly dry goods like oatmeal, pasta and nuts. Dog experts-How healthy would those dogs be after months of eating this? ---
**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:** [October 31, 2017, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sailors-rescued-after-five-months-adrift/800019/136 "2017-10-31T21:09:38Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > Dog experts-How healthy would those dogs be after months of eating this? Why would the dogs lie? ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2017, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sailors-rescued-after-five-months-adrift/800019/137 "2017-10-31T21:11:16Z")
> [@QuickSilver](#): > > I hope you’re not accusing the dogs of lying. Of course not. Now, if it was _cats_… ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2017, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sailors-rescued-after-five-months-adrift/800019/138 "2017-10-31T21:32:30Z")
> [@QuickSilver](#): > > Why would the dogs lie? Were they sleeping? ---
**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:** [October 31, 2017, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sailors-rescued-after-five-months-adrift/800019/139 "2017-10-31T21:39:54Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > In fact, those dogs were in amazingly good shape for not having been running for 5 months…and what was it they fed the dogs that kept them in such unbelievable health? Dog food, probably for much of the voyage. They switched to human food only when that ran out. I don’t find it at all implausible the dogs were in decent health after the voyage. It’s not like they were confined in a small kennel. Since when do dogs need to run to stay in good health? ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2017, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sailors-rescued-after-five-months-adrift/800019/140 "2017-10-31T21:40:46Z")
They are resurrecting the Golden Globe Race for next year. Entrants will be tracked by satellite this time to avert shenanigans, though the sailors themselves will only (more or less!) have access to what was available last time (1968) so no GPS &c. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sailors-rescued-after-five-months-adrift/800019.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sailors-rescued-after-five-months-adrift/800019.md?page=8)