# 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:** 9
**Author:** ![HurricaneDitka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/96bed5/32.png) [@HurricaneDitka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HurricaneDitka)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2017, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sailors-rescued-after-five-months-adrift/800019/161 "2017-11-01T16:58:13Z")
> [@QuickSilver](#): > > And, you know, actual sailing and navigation experience. Yeah, that too. ---
**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 1, 2017, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sailors-rescued-after-five-months-adrift/800019/162 "2017-11-01T17:10:37Z")
> [@Tom\_Tildrum](#): > > I don’t take the fact that the story from the sailors is disjointed and internally inconsistent to mean that there are conflicting reports waiting to be sorted out, such that we’re wrong to start thinking whether there’s some sort of hoax. Rather, that’s just more evidence of the unreliability of their account, which in my view raises the possibility of a hoax of some sort rather than reducing it. It might be good to clarify what people mean by a “hoax of some sort.” I think it’s very unlikely that this pair set out with the plan to drift around or stay on an uninhabited island for five months just for publicity or a book deal. That’s exactly _because_ their account is so disjointed and inconsistent. If you were planning a hoax from the outset, you wouldn’t go almost to Tahiti (which seems to be confirmed) and then end up off Japan. You wouldn’t include details like the storm that could easily be fact-checked. You wouldn’t admit that you had an emergency beacon that you never used. You wouldn’t admit that you didn’t have a clue as to what you were doing, but you would portray yourself as surviving through ingenuity and courage. On the other hand, their account is not just implausible, it clearly does not conform to reality and in some ways is self-contradictory. They are certainly making their situation to have been more dire than it actually was. So if you mean by “hoax” that their account they’ve given is untrue in many respects, then I agree with that. ---
**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 1, 2017, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sailors-rescued-after-five-months-adrift/800019/163 "2017-11-01T17:14:26Z")
> [@snowthx](#): > > I am getting that they did not think their situation was life-threatening, but near the end of their oddysey, they encountered a fishing boat, and instead of boarding that boat (maybe due to language differences, or the presence of the dogs), were being towed by it. But in the process of being towed, their sailboat was getting damaged, so they untied and were adrift again until the US ship found them. > > If their boat was damaged during towing, and they were adrift again with a damaged boat, why not THEN activate the beacon - that is what I am wondering as well - because then they would have been in a life-threatening situation, as claimed. As I understand it, Appel swam to the Taiwanese fishing boat, and despite the language difficulties convinced them to allow her to use their radio, which put her in touch with the Ashland. So they knew the Ashland was on its way without needing to activate the beacon. ---
**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:** [November 1, 2017, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sailors-rescued-after-five-months-adrift/800019/164 "2017-11-01T17:27:20Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > As I understand it, Appel swam to the Taiwanese fishing boat, and despite the language difficulties convinced them to allow her to use their radio, which put her in touch with the Ashland. So they knew the Ashland was on its way without needing to activate the beacon. Ah, makes sense. The initial report I read (may be unreliable), was that she swam to the fishing boat after they started towing them, because their boat was getting damaged in the process. So, they chose to untie from the fishing boat and remain in their damaged vessel and await the Ashland. But, if they were only 24 hours away from certain death, why did they not remain aboard the fishing boat? ---
**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 1, 2017, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sailors-rescued-after-five-months-adrift/800019/165 "2017-11-01T17:40:10Z")
> [@snowthx](#): > > Ah, makes sense. The initial report I read (may be unreliable), was that she swam to the fishing boat after they started towing them, because their boat was getting damaged in the process. So, they chose to untie from the fishing boat and remain in their damaged vessel and await the Ashland. But, if they were only 24 hours away from certain death, why did they not remain aboard the fishing boat? From the link in post #156, they are changing their story once again. Now they are claiming they felt threatened by the fishermen. But I think their “fear of certain death” was due to the roughness of the tow from the fishing boat. About the only unquestionable fact in this whole story is that these folks are several fries short of a Happy Meal. ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2017, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sailors-rescued-after-five-months-adrift/800019/166 "2017-11-01T17:45:49Z")
I suspect it may have been self exploration like a vision quest: The emergency beacon they carried seem to indicate their story is real to some degree in that it appears they may have put themselves in these circumstances intentionally knowing that if it came down to it they could hit the emergency beacon at anytime. An exploration of what it would feel like to be lost at sea without the real risk of it. Not so unrelated to a vision quest where one journeys into the wilderness to seek themselves (who they are), knowing they can end it at any time easy, but willing to go through with it till such time which it naturally ends. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2017, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sailors-rescued-after-five-months-adrift/800019/167 "2017-11-01T18:14:15Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > So if you mean by “hoax” that their account they’ve given is untrue in many respects, then I agree with that. On the other hand, as others have mentioned, part of the problem with being skeptical is that there’s no readily-imagined alternative to their story. If they weren’t just drifting all that time, what were they doing, and why would they conceal it? I guess I feel like I’m being hoaxed, but I admit that I have no idea what the scam – if there is one – would be. ---
**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 1, 2017, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sailors-rescued-after-five-months-adrift/800019/168 "2017-11-01T18:31:46Z")
> [@Tom\_Tildrum](#): > > On the other hand, as others have mentioned, part of the problem with being skeptical is that there’s no readily-imagined alternative to their story. If they weren’t just drifting all that time, what were they doing, and why would they conceal it? I guess I feel like I’m being hoaxed, but I admit that I have no idea what the scam – if there is one – would be. The story has been portrayed as them “drifting,” but they weren’t really. It’s unclear at what point their mast spreader became damaged (if it ever did). They said it was after they left Hawaii but before they reached Kiribati. But they also said they had “limited maneuvering ability.” That was clearly enough for them to decide to carry on and go to Tahiti (but for some reason not land or do repairs). Then they evidently voluntarily headed to the northern Cook Islands. As I’ve mentioned, getting from the Cooks into the [North Pacific Gyre](http://www.seos-project.eu/modules/oceancurrents/images/gyres1.png) pretty much requires some active sailing rather than passively drifting. The biggest mystery is why and how they got from the northern Cooks to near Wake Island, which they say they reached (but have given contradictory accounts of whether or not they tried to make contact). ---
**Author:** ![Orwell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/dfb087/32.png) [@Orwell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Orwell)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2017, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sailors-rescued-after-five-months-adrift/800019/169 "2017-11-01T18:38:42Z")
> [@Tom\_Tildrum](#): > > On the other hand, as others have mentioned, part of the problem with being skeptical is that there’s no readily-imagined alternative to their story. If they weren’t just drifting all that time, what were they doing, and why would they conceal it? I guess I feel like I’m being hoaxed, but I admit that I have no idea what the scam – if there is one – would be. I don’t know for sure if there is a scam - though I wouldn’t be surprised at all. Getting a book deal, or appearing on Steve Harvey, The View, etc. would seem to be the goal. ---
**Author:** ![doorhinge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a5b964/32.png) [@doorhinge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doorhinge)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2017, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sailors-rescued-after-five-months-adrift/800019/170 "2017-11-01T19:02:30Z")
If a ship/boat were to sink, a marine EPIRB will automatically release from its mounting bracket, and will automatically begin sending a distress signal. \*Activation There are two ways to activate a beacon: manually automatically Automatic EPIRBs are water activated, while automatic ELTs have impact monitors activated by g-force. Some EPIRBs also “deploy”; this means that they physically depart from their mounting bracket on the exterior of the vessel (usually by going into the water.) For a marine EPIRB to begin transmitting a signal (or “activate”) it first needs to come out of its bracket (or “deploy”). Deployment can happen either manually where someone must physically remove it from its bracket or automatically where water pressure will cause a hydrostatic release unit to separate the EPIRB from its bracket. If it does not come out of the bracket it will not activate. There is a magnet in the bracket which operates a reed safety switch in the EPIRB. This prevents accidental activation if the unit gets wet from rain or shipped seas. Once deployed, EPIRBs can be activated, depending on the circumstances, either manually (crewman flicks a switch) or automatically (when water contacts the unit’s “sea-switch”.) All modern EPIRBs provide both methods of activation and deployment, and thus are labelled “Manual and Automatic Deployment and Activation.”\* > **[Emergency position-indicating radiobeacon](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emergency_position-indicating_radiobeacon_station)** > > An emergency position-indicating radiobeacon (EPIRB) is a type of emergency locator beacon for commercial and recreational boats, a portable, battery-powered radio transmitter used in emergencies to locate boaters in distress and in need of immediate rescue. In the event of an emergency, such as a ship sinking or medical emergency onboard, the transmitter is activated and begins transmitting a continuous 406 MHz distress radio signal, which is used by search-and-rescue teams to quickly locate the... Appel has said that if they hadn’t been rescued when they were, they would have been dead within 24 hours. Since an EPIRB also has a manual activation switch, I wonder why the EPIRB was never activated. ---
**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 1, 2017, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sailors-rescued-after-five-months-adrift/800019/171 "2017-11-01T19:50:40Z")
> [@doorhinge](#): > > Appel has said that if they hadn’t been rescued when they were, they would have been dead within 24 hours. Since an EPIRB also has a manual activation switch, I wonder why the EPIRB was never activated. Because Appel’s statements can’t be taken at face value. They were no more in danger of dying at that point than they were when the 30-foot tiger shark was about to jump into the boat. ---
**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 1, 2017, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sailors-rescued-after-five-months-adrift/800019/172 "2017-11-01T19:54:57Z")
The boat never sunk. ---
**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:** [November 1, 2017, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sailors-rescued-after-five-months-adrift/800019/173 "2017-11-01T20:57:31Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > From the link in post #156, they are changing their story once again. Now they are claiming they felt threatened by the fishermen. But I think their “fear of certain death” was due to the roughness of the tow from the fishing boat. > > About the only unquestionable fact in this whole story is that these folks are several fries short of a Happy Meal. Or several trotter short of a luau. ---
**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 1, 2017, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sailors-rescued-after-five-months-adrift/800019/174 "2017-11-01T21:32:12Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > Or several trotter short of a luau. We’re doing this?! Oh goody! …Or coming down heavy on three engines. ---
**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:** [November 1, 2017, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sailors-rescued-after-five-months-adrift/800019/175 "2017-11-01T21:34:33Z")
[Best write-up on this I’ve seen so far.](https://unreasonablydangerousonionrings.com/2017/10/31/19-reasons-this-survival-story-smells-fishy/) ---
**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 1, 2017, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sailors-rescued-after-five-months-adrift/800019/176 "2017-11-01T22:01:15Z")
Pretty pretty pretty good. ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21906_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2017, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sailors-rescued-after-five-months-adrift/800019/177 "2017-11-01T22:10:26Z")
\*\*Czarcasm \*\*- thanks for that link. The author offers some well-reasoned arguments against the womens’ story. ---
**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:** [November 1, 2017, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sailors-rescued-after-five-months-adrift/800019/178 "2017-11-01T22:27:05Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > [Best write-up on this I’ve seen so far.](https://unreasonablydangerousonionrings.com/2017/10/31/19-reasons-this-survival-story-smells-fishy/) A good run-down. Most compelling for me are the part about their (and the dogs’) health (take a look at the photo of the dog - it’s nails look quite trim and equally so, as if they are worn down by natural forces like walking and not being trimmed with a clipper - I would expect the dog’s nails to be quite long being on a boat for so long), and this part: _They say that their tech was all broken before May 30, which is why they didn’t see the storm coming, but then they say they sent out distress calls for five months. On what?_ Motivation: Perhaps one of them wanted to be alone with the other for a long time. Just sayin’.😉 ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2017, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sailors-rescued-after-five-months-adrift/800019/179 "2017-11-01T22:44:41Z")
> [@](#): > > Motivation: Perhaps one of them wanted to be alone with the other for a long time. Just sayin’. That… actually makes a frightening amount of sense. It explains why someone who supposedly has lots of experience would invite along someone who had no experience at all (and hence wouldn’t be able to spot inconsistencies), why she’d pack so much food, why they would fake emergencies when there weren’t, and why they wouldn’t call for help in any way. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2017, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sailors-rescued-after-five-months-adrift/800019/180 "2017-11-01T22:58:01Z")
> [@jerry150](#): > > In looking at the boat it appears to have some kind of moss or growth on the hull. > > I have seen that on boats that have been tied up for a long time or beached with one side exposed I just wonder if that growth is the same on the other side of the boat. > > The story may never be proven to be false but the Post story sure raises some red flags. > > also how do you know you are going to die within 24 hrs after having food water etc. > > They also claim to have contacted someone and were told they would have to get to the other side of the island before they could be helped? > > just guessing that in a few weeks they will be found out as frauds if they try to make money off this deal. Maybe somebody will figure out what island they stayed on for the last few months Your first and last sentences say it all. Someone in the know could find out rather easily. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sailors-rescued-after-five-months-adrift/800019.md?page=8) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sailors-rescued-after-five-months-adrift/800019.md?page=10)