Women, 2 dogs found after 5 months drifting in Pacific

[JerseyGirl]

Archived NASA satellite images confirm there were no tropical storms around Hawaii [on May 3]. Ms Appel expressed surprise that there was no record of the storm. She said they received a Coast Guard storm warning while sailing after sunset on May 3.
The pair said they thought about turning back, but the islands of Maui and Lanai didn’t have harbours deep enough to accommodate their sailboat [because she modified it].

Days later, after parts of their mast and rigging failed, they sailed up to another small island, still with a working motor, but decided against trying to land, believing the island was mostly uninhabited with no protected waters. “It is uninhabited. They only have habitation on the northwest corner and their reef was too shallow for us to cross in order to get into the lagoon,” Ms Appel said.

But Christmas Island, part of the island nation of Kiribati, is home to more than 2000 people and has a port that routinely welcomes huge commercial ships. “We could probably nurse it down to the next major island in Kiribati,” Ms Appel said. “Then we’ll be able to stop there and seek safe haven and get up on the mast and fix it.” The island has at least two airfields, and women had flares aboard to alert people on land. Plus, its widest point spans about 48 kilometres, a day’s hike to safety from even the most remote area. When asked if the small island would have been a good place to land and repair their sails, Ms Appel said no. “Kiribati, um, one whole half of the island is called shipwreck beach for a reason,” she said. 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 1609 kilometres away and a few hundred miles beyond their original target of Tahiti.

They were headed to the Cook Islands. “We really did think we could make it to the next spot,” Ms Appel said. Then, they say, another storm killed their engine at the end of May. The Coast Guard made radio contact with a vessel that identified itself as the Sea Nymph in June near Tahiti, and the captain said they were not in distress and expected to make land the next morning.

http://www.news.com.au/travel/trave...y/news-story/589d431c34add54e1885e4d991e8405b

 

[BetteDavisEyes]

There was something fishy (excuse the pun) about this story from start.

The fishy tale no longer makes me smile

 

[LietKynes]

Glad they're ok.... but have to wonder how much their 'rescue' cost ???
Those dogs looked very healthy for having been adrift for 5 months.
Imo.

 

[BetteDavisEyes]

Story of Two Americans Lost at Sea for Months Leaves Experts With Questions
by Kalhan Rosenblatt

In the days since two Americans were rescued after five months stranded at sea, experts have begun raising questions about holes and inconsistencies in the women’s stories.

Jennifer Appel and Tasha Fuiava said they left Hawaii on a sailboat named Sea Nymph in early May headed for Tahiti. The route is fairly common and takes about a month to complete.

The pair said that after a piece of the mast broke and a storm flooded the engine, their vessel floated 5,000 miles off course into the Pacific Ocean.

Appel, an experienced boater, and Fuiava, a novice, said they braved ominous weather, shark attacks and faulty equipment before being spotted by a Taiwanese fishing vessel around 900 miles southeast of Japan and ultimately rescued by the U.S. Navy...

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-new...t-sea-months-leaves-experts-questions-n816066

 

[DakotaMayi]

I saw this on another thread but I think it fits well... "If it doesn't make sense, it probably isn't true."

 

[Wyle_E_Coyote]

Hmmmm.... do these two look anything like the Papini suspects?

[emoji56][emoji23]🤣[emoji28][emoji2]

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

 

[Bohemian]

The fishy tale no longer makes me smile

Me either but mr happy’s pun was welcome comic relief after another thread I’m following.

 

[DakotaMayi]

Hmmmm.... do these two look anything like the Papini suspects?

[emoji56][emoji23]藍[emoji28][emoji2]

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

:lol:

 

[Bohemian]

Hmmmm.... do these two look anything like the Papini suspects?

[emoji56][emoji23]藍[emoji28][emoji2]

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

:drumroll: :giggle:

 

[JerseyGirl]

Reporters state Ms Appel is a wannabe actress, linking her to a Hawaii Actors Network. In Ms Appel’s profile, her credits include a role in the medical drama Off the Map and a “pink bikini wearing blonde” in Courteney Cox’s CougarTown.

http://www.news.com.au/travel/trave...y/news-story/9d86390c66a639e6762276ed9edd16bd

The two women now say they are already planning a second attempt at the trip in May. 'We still never got to see the 20,000 islands, so I think that would be the most fantastic trip for May of next spring,' Appel told People.

The questions that remain over the sailor's story:

The woman claimed they did not have a standard Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon (EPIRB) on their vessel. The Coast Guard found one on board and say it was never activated.

The 'Force 11 storm' they claimed they encountered at the start of their journey, featuring 30-foot high seas and 60 mph winds over three days, was not recorded by meteorologists

They claim that they considered turning back after the storm but could not because the islands of Maui and Lanai did not have harbors deep enough for their boat. There are several places they could have docked

They also claim that, days later, they could not stop at a nearby island to fix their boat because it was 'uninhabited' - but Christmas Island, part of Kiribati, is home to over 2,000 people and often welcomes huge commercial ships

Instead of stopping at Christmas Island, they set a new destination of 1,000 miles away in the Cook Islands - also hundreds of miles beyond their original destination of Tahiti

When off Tahiti in June, the captain of the ship was reported to have told the Coast Guard they were fine and expected to land next morning - but months later they ended up in the western Pacific

: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...x-months-planning-trip-May.html#ixzz4xBmNMNvd

 

[TTF14]

Reporters state Ms Appel is a wannabe actress, linking her to a Hawaii Actors Network. In Ms Appel’s profile, her credits include a role in the medical drama Off the Map and a “pink bikini wearing blonde” in Courteney Cox’s CougarTown.

http://www.news.com.au/travel/trave...y/news-story/9d86390c66a639e6762276ed9edd16bd

The two women now say they are already planning a second attempt at the trip in May. 'We still never got to see the 20,000 islands, so I think that would be the most fantastic trip for May of next spring,' Appel told People.

The questions that remain over the sailor's story:

The woman claimed they did not have a standard Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon (EPIRB) on their vessel. The Coast Guard found one on board and say it was never activated.

The 'Force 11 storm' they claimed they encountered at the start of their journey, featuring 30-foot high seas and 60 mph winds over three days, was not recorded by meteorologists

They claim that they considered turning back after the storm but could not because the islands of Maui and Lanai did not have harbors deep enough for their boat. There are several places they could have docked

They also claim that, days later, they could not stop at a nearby island to fix their boat because it was 'uninhabited' - but Christmas Island, part of Kiribati, is home to over 2,000 people and often welcomes huge commercial ships

Instead of stopping at Christmas Island, they set a new destination of 1,000 miles away in the Cook Islands - also hundreds of miles beyond their original destination of Tahiti

When off Tahiti in June, the captain of the ship was reported to have told the Coast Guard they were fine and expected to land next morning - but months later they ended up in the western Pacific

: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...x-months-planning-trip-May.html#ixzz4xBmNMNvd

Perhaps they hoped to have a reality camera crew follow them on their second attempt.

 

[DakotaMayi]

Reporters state Ms Appel is a wannabe actress, linking her to a Hawaii Actors Network. In Ms Appel’s profile, her credits include a role in the medical drama Off the Map and a “pink bikini wearing blonde” in Courteney Cox’s CougarTown.

http://www.news.com.au/travel/trave...y/news-story/9d86390c66a639e6762276ed9edd16bd

The two women now say they are already planning a second attempt at the trip in May. 'We still never got to see the 20,000 islands, so I think that would be the most fantastic trip for May of next spring,' Appel told People.

The questions that remain over the sailor's story:

The woman claimed they did not have a standard Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon (EPIRB) on their vessel. The Coast Guard found one on board and say it was never activated.

The 'Force 11 storm' they claimed they encountered at the start of their journey, featuring 30-foot high seas and 60 mph winds over three days, was not recorded by meteorologists

They claim that they considered turning back after the storm but could not because the islands of Maui and Lanai did not have harbors deep enough for their boat. There are several places they could have docked

They also claim that, days later, they could not stop at a nearby island to fix their boat because it was 'uninhabited' - but Christmas Island, part of Kiribati, is home to over 2,000 people and often welcomes huge commercial ships

Instead of stopping at Christmas Island, they set a new destination of 1,000 miles away in the Cook Islands - also hundreds of miles beyond their original destination of Tahiti

When off Tahiti in June, the captain of the ship was reported to have told the Coast Guard they were fine and expected to land next morning - but months later they ended up in the western Pacific

: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...x-months-planning-trip-May.html#ixzz4xBmNMNvd

BBM.

Resilient. No fear at all.

I'm not buying what they're selling.

 

[LietKynes]

Am almost thinking... that this thread belongs in "Bizarre and Off Beat News".

 

[Gnatcatcher]

http://www.oxygen.com/blogs/sailors...ording-to-experts?sky=soc_fb_oxygen_crimetime

Story doesn't add up. I knew it.

 

[JerseyGirl]

more inconsistencies:

Appel’s mother said that she called the Coast Guard to report her daughter missing a week and a half after they departed for what they believed would be an 18-day trip to Tahiti. However, the Coast Guard never got a call from the elder Appel. They received a call from a “family friend” they identified as a male on May 19, still several days before the women expected to arrive.

The women said they filed a float plan listing their course and other details with some friends and relatives. However, in an interview with the Coast Guard, the women said they had filed no float plan.

They also defended their claims that their boat would not fit into harbors on some Hawaiian islands, places where much larger vessels come and go regularly.

Their description of 20- to 30-foot tiger sharks ramming their boat in a coordinated attack for more than six hours could simply be misperception, but scientists who study sharks say that behavior has never been recorded and that tiger sharks grow to only about 17 feet in length.

Their account of receiving a tow from a Taiwanese fishing vessel changed as well. They originally said the crew was kind, but later said they were worried for their safety and thought that the crew might be making an attempt to harm them. They added that the fishing boat had backed into their sailboat, causing significant damage. The captain of the fishing vessel, the Fong Chun No. 66, who identified himself as Mr. Chen in a satellite phone call from the AP, said his boat received a mayday radio call but did not understand it. They then saw someone waving a white object on a boat about a nautical mile away. When they approached, the women asked to use the satellite phone on the fishing vessel and for a tow to Midway Island. The larger vessel towed the smaller sailboat overnight. In the morning, the women wanted to stop the towing and called for a naval vessel. “We offered to get them on board the fishing boat and asked whether they needed water or food, but they refused,” the captain said. The fishermen left after the arrival of the U.S.S. Ashland.

http://www.theledger.com/news/20171031/women-rescued-by-navy-defend-their-account-of-ordeal-at-sea

 

[1&2&3]

It sounds like girls were prepared for these questionable accidents to occur.

1. The excuse thei boat was too deep to pull in to many slips is crazy.
2. The reasoning used for not using the emergency beacon sounds like they did not want help!
3. Why would they change course and plan to go 100 miles beyond their planned destination of Tahiti with a crippled ship?

Sounds like these ladies wanted an experience to show how brave they were!
Get their 15 minutes of fame! JMO.

 

[Vedder]

The only part of their story I believe is that they were on a boat.

 

[drama_farmer]

Perhaps they hoped to have a reality camera crew follow them on their second attempt.

Or, Maybe a "Go Fund Me" to raise money for a new (smaller? LOL) boat that will fit into the harbors/ports/docks they bypassed ???

:scared::scared::moo:

 

[meanmaryjean]

So they met seven days before the trip and somehow- on the spur of the moment- pack said boat with a YEAR'S worth of food and water for an 18-day trip?

Whiskey.
Tango.
Foxtrot!

Pardon me while I unplug my hinky-meter for repairs....

 

[jjenny]

So to Coast Guard, she claimed it wasn't a dire enough situation to use the emergency beacon? That's not what she claimed during press briefing. This tale never made much sense to me from the start.

“Had they not been able to locate us we would have been dead within 24 hours.”
http://abcnews.go.com/US/sailors-rescued-pacific-feared-dead-24-hours/story?id=50805539