A man and his wife were stranded at sea for nearly five months after leaving Honolulu on their sailboat last spring. The two mariners were well off course when they were found many months later by a Navy ship and rescued. Jennifer Appel and Tasha Fuiaba and their two dogs were stranded at sea when their boats power went out and they became disabled.
<img src="https://8ch.net/file_store/3f510b11087b6eaac058cd3d1b6983a34aaecb02c039e21bc7cebdec4433b040.jpg" style="max-height:640px;max-width:360px;">
<span style="margin-top:15px;rgba(42,51,6,0.7);font-size:12px;">Credit: Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Jonathan Clay/Navy</span>
They were bound for Tahiti in the South Pacific, a full 2,600 miles from where they started in Honolulu. It was during a storm on May 30 that their sailboat lost power but the pair continued on sailing believing they could make it. They began to make daily distress calls 2 months in after there was no sight of land but no ships were close enough to hear the signal. It wasn't until last Tuesday that a Taiwanese fishing vessel found the two drifting along in their disabled sailboat and radioed the Coast Guard for help. They were nearly 500 miles from their planned destination when the USS Ashland was tasked to pick up the sailboat Tuesday morning and after the craft was determined to be unseaworthy they took Appel and Fuiaba aboard. They were given check ups and a warm meal and are riding with them until their next port of call.
<img src="https://8ch.net/file_store/fcc0cd2ce4ec9a4f9800a8aad787bcbcf4147d2b2228bf10a34e2618cdfd702b.jpg" style="max-height:640px;max-width:360px;">
<span style="margin-top:15px;rgba(42,51,6,0.7);font-size:12px;">Credit: Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Jonathan Clay/Navy</span>
Appel said after being rescued, "I'm grateful for their service to our country. They saved our lives. The pride and smiles we had when we saw [the Navy] on the horizon was pure relief."
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Source: http://abcnews.go.com/International/us-navy-rescues-sailors-lost-pacific-months/story?id=50734707
