With a broken mast rigging, a disabled engine and with distress calls out of range, two American women have been rescued after being at sea for five months, the U.S. Navy and the lucky mariners said Thursday.
Jennifer Appel, 48, and her friend Tasha Fuiava were found by a Taiwanese fishing vessel around 900 miles southeast of Japan, and a U.S. Navy ship based out of Sasebo, Japan, rescued them on Wednesday morning Japan time, the Navy said.
"It was incredibly emotional, and it was so satisfying to know the men and women that serve our country would come and assist us — it was actually quite mind blowing and incredibly humbling," Appel said in a conference call from aboard the USS Ashland after their rescue.
The women set off from Oahu bound for Tahiti on May 3, but problems arose. First, a piece of the mast called a spreader failed, Appel said, limiting the sailboat’s maneuverability, and on May 30 a storm flooded the engine. Communications were also impacted.
Appel and Fuiava described a sense of despair at times after making daily distress calls for 98 days straight, but the calls were out of range. They spotted other ships that did not or could not respond, and fired at least 10 flares. Twice the ship was attacked by Tiger sharks, they said.
"It was very depressing and it was very hopeless but it’s the only thing you can do, so you do what you can with what you have,” Appel said. "You have no other choice."
On the 99th day of distress calls, a Taiwanese fishing vessel found them, they said. It began towing the sailboat but by that time Appel said the ship was in such poor condition she estimates it wouldn’t have lasted another 24 hours.