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Yeah, the more I think about it, they are either fabricating this story, or very dumb. Put me on a boat for 5 months and I would have gotten that baby moving one way or another. Temporary sails can be erected, engines can be "unflooded",etc. After all, you have nothing to lose and lots of time on your hands.
I'm calling bullchit. There's way too much traffic out there for them not to have been picked up.
Yep. Look at MarineTraffic: Global Ship Tracking Intelligence | AIS Marine Traffic. What are the odds that they wouldn't have made contact for 5 months?
One thing that struck me as odd was "if they were going to Tahiti, how'd they end up 900 miles from Japan?" Looking at maps of the Pacific Ocean currents, it's pretty clear that they'd have drifted west, then north, putting them where they were rescued. Still, 5 months, and looking healthy after the diet they described?
Jesús Vidaña
Jesús Vidaña is a fisherman from Mexico. He, together with Lucio Rendón and Salvador Ordóñez, survived nine months adrift in a fishing boat in the Pacific Ocean before being rescued on August 22, 2006.
Lost at sea
Just before sunrise, on October 28, 2005, Rendón, Ordóñez and Vidaña, along with two other seafarers, left the Mexican port of San Blas, Nayarit, to catch sharks 30 miles south of the Islas Marías in a 28-foot fiberglass boat. But they exhausted their fuel and strong easterly winds cast them adrift in the Northern Equatorial Current which crosses the Pacific Ocean from Mexico to the Philippines Islands. Rendón's family searched for some weeks, but the castaways were blown out into the high seas too fast and could not be found. Without a radio, the fishermen had no way to raise help.
Surviving nine months adrift
The three survived for nine months on raw fish, seagulls and sea turtles and by collecting rain in empty gasoline containers. This was scarce during the first month, but with the onset of winter, successive cold fronts brought showers, enabling their survival. However, two other companions, including the vessel's owner, died from starvation after two months.
Sailing across the Pacific Ocean
Although they thought they were drifting aimlessly, the survivors had followed exactly the same path that the Nao de China travelled in the 17th century from Acapulco to Manila, discovered by Andrés de Urdaneta in 1565. Hope returned to the stranded fishermen when they saw planes flying from the west. They realized that it would be easier to cross the ocean to the west, rather than attempting to turn into the wind to return to Mexico. They fashioned a sail with blankets and continued westwards, following the wind and the currents. Over 270 days their average speed was four kilometers per hour.
The men made fishing hooks with strings and wire from the engine, and caught turtles by diving into the ocean with a rope tied to their waists. They ate everything: meat, blood, bones, eggs, and so survived for nine months crossing two thirds of the Pacific Ocean (more than 8,800 km (5,500 mi)) westwards.
Rescue at sea
On August 9, 2006, their boat was spotted on the radar by a Taiwanese tuna fishing vessel called Koo's 102 at a distance of 20 miles. The captain ordered the crew to sail towards the signal to investigate, thinking the radar signal was too strong to be a group of sea gulls. Soon they reached the stranded boat and picked up the three surviving fishermen around 14:00 local time at a point located 200 miles east of the Marshall Islands. The survivors were reported to be "very thin and hungry, but otherwise healthy". The sailors of the Taiwanese boat took them aboard and gave them food, medical care and clothes and had them rest for the 13 days until they disembarked in Majuro, Marshall Islands, on August 22, 2006, where they were handed over to the local authorities and later to an officer from the Mexican embassy in New Zealand, who arranged to have them flown back to Mexico.
After reading a second story about it, its starting to sound fishy to me too. Appel lost her phone over board on the first day? What about the other lady's phone? Then its true, there should have GPS stuff on board for exactly this case. They weren't just going out for the day, they were going out for a month. And why did they wait so long to start sending distress signals?
Its confusing to say the least.
And the sharks attacking their boat? I am not a boat person but I have never heard of that. Boat people, have you?
All of these questions, and more, will be answered when the book, movie, and TV series comes out. Suggestions for a title?
Lost In Space, by Dr. Zachary Smith
Quote:
Originally Posted by don1945
Yep. I am in the marine industry, and skilled sailors are resourceful and would have been able to get some sort of sail working. The mast looked fine in the pictures, and they said the spreader failed, but that can be jury rigged. The spreader allows you to put more pressure on the mast, but they could have run less sail, or done something........especially with 5 months time on your hands.
Also, was no one missing them ? Didn't they leave a float plan with friends or relatives to let them know where they were going and how long it should take ? And what about the Epirb? That should have been able to get a message sent. (and what 50 footer doesn't have an Epirb ?)
They and the dogs look way too healthy for 5 months adrift, even if you did have rations. Looks like someone is trying for a book and movie. I bet more comes out on this later on.
Don't forget the inspirational lecture tours.
Oatmeal, granola? Look at that woman's arms.
Quote:
Originally Posted by FrankInPhilly
Yep. Look at MarineTraffic: Global Ship Tracking Intelligence | AIS Marine Traffic. What are the odds that they wouldn't have made contact for 5 months?
One thing that struck me as odd was "if they were going to Tahiti, how'd they end up 900 miles from Japan?" Looking at maps of the Pacific Ocean currents, it's pretty clear that they'd have drifted west, then north, putting them where they were rescued. Still, 5 months, and looking healthy after the diet they described?
They probably killed the shark and ate him. Tastes like fish!
Quote:
Originally Posted by HighFlyingBird
After reading a second story about it, its starting to sound fishy to me too. Appel lost her phone over board on the first day? What about the other lady's phone? Then its true, there should have GPS stuff on board for exactly this case. They weren't just going out for the day, they were going out for a month. And why did they wait so long to start sending distress signals?
Its confusing to say the least.
And the sharks attacking their boat? I am not a boat person but I have never heard of that. Boat people, have you?
So you never saw "Jaws"?
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