HI->Tahiti Dingbats found after 5 months

[sailorcherry]

Holy crap, get this, they DID have an Epirb but never used it! I'm starting to get whiplash from shaking my head so much reading and watching all this drivel.

"U.S. Coast Guard spokesman Lt. Scott Carr told the Associated Press that their review of the incident and subsequent interviews with the women revealed that they had the Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon (EPIRB) aboard but never turned it on. The women said they chose not to activate the device because they never feared for their lives."
- https://www.google.com.tr/amp/www.sf...t-12318778.php

[GTom]

Originally Posted by sailorcherry

The women said they chose not to activate the device because they never feared for their lives."
- https://www.google.com.tr/amp/www.sf...t-12318778.php

Or they didn't know what the yellow box is for...

[SV Siren]

I can't wait to read about this story in another couple of weeks, or months, to see what really shakes out.

I am surprised the Coast Guard cutter didn't put a few rounds into their abandoned boat like they have with floating hulks after Fukushima that they came across off the coast of Alaska.....

[brookiesailor]

We have a saying for this in our household...."wrong and strong"

totally committed to their wrongness

[Tetepare]

Originally Posted by Cherod

that is probably a good idea until you at least learn some of the facts.

Facts seem to be in, at least enough for the USCG and Navy to say (in a PC manner) that these two are FoS.

Lost sailors’ story’s list of inconsistencies cast doubt on tale of survival | Fox News

No doubt the Navy figured out the scam well before announcing it, but good on many CF members who saw through the charade.

[Pete7]

Originally Posted by SV Siren

I am surprised the Coast Guard cutter didn't put a few rounds into their abandoned boat like they have with floating hulks after Fukushima that they came across off the coast of Alaska.....

Actually, it would be kind of nice if the yacht does end up salvaged in Alaska next year. We could then find out what really was going on with the engine, rigging and EPRIB etc.

Pete

[Tetepare]

Originally Posted by Pete7

Actually, it would be kind of nice if the yacht does end up salvaged in Alaska next year. We could then find out what really was going on with the engine, rigging and EPRIB etc.

Pete

I'll bet you they ran out of fuel.

[DeborahLee]

I think these two watch tooo reality TV and thought wow this would be a great way to get a book or movie deal. Great plot two women and their dogs lost at sea recused just hours before they thought they would die. Some body would have bought that story.

[Don C L]

Originally Posted by Tetepare

I'll bet you they ran out of fuel.

I think they said they were close to running out of food, and no more dog food. So maybe that’s why they had 24 hours to live? Who wants to be on a boat with two large very hungry dogs?

[goat]

Originally Posted by Don C L

I think they said they were close to running out of food, and no more dog food. So maybe that’s why they had 24 hours to live? Who wants to be on a boat with two large very hungry dogs?

They said they had eaten 90% of their food. They started out with a year's supply. I'm no rocket surgeon, but didn't they still have food for 36 more days?

[Cadence]

The only thing I could find that might lend some credence to the scam would be what appears to be growth up high on the hull. Sat anchored in the islands till rations got down then began the trip.

[Tetepare]

Originally Posted by goat

They said they had eaten 90% of their food. They started out with a year's supply. I'm no rocket surgeon, but didn't they still have food for 36 more days?

A year supply of human food. They said they ran out of dog food, so clearly they didn't have a year supply of dog food. Then they started tapping into their food to feed the dogs. 36 days of food for two but used to feed four means 18 days of food.

Except, of course, for the loads of food reportedly living below the hull...duh.

[Tetepare]

"When asked if the small island would have been a good place to land and repair their sails, Appel said no. "Kiribati, um, one whole half of the island is called shipwreck beach for a reason."

Christmas Island has a place called Bay of Wrecks on its northeast side.

So, instead of stopping for help, they say they set a new destination about 1,000 miles (1,609 kilometers) away and a few hundred miles beyond their original target of Tahiti. They were headed to the Cook Islands."




From Kiritimati, it's shorter to Tahiti than to Rarotonga. Granted, Penryn might be closer, but they weren't going to get repairs or granola there. So if you can't make Raro due to wind, wouldn't it make sense to bear off to Tahiti- the claimed initial destination anyway?

[Sailmonkey]

Originally Posted by Tetepare

From Kiritimati, it's shorter to Tahiti than to Rarotonga. Granted, Penryn might be closer, but they weren't going to get repairs or granola there. So if you can't make Raro due to wind, wouldn't it make sense to bear off to Tahiti- the claimed initial destination anyway?

Maybe they were looking at the chart upside-down

[Tetepare]

Originally Posted by Sailmonkey

Maybe they were looking at the chart upside-down

Then they would have wound up back in Hawaii, but as they said the harbors in Maui and Kauai aren't deep enough for their boat.

So if they were at Kiritimati and lost their motor "a couple days later" they'd still have been in the line islands; the current would have taken them through Marshall Islands and Marianas before taking them north to Japan. They're lucky they didn't hit an island on that route!