Teenagers Survive Six Days Lost at Sea

FOX News/AP ^ | May 1, 2005

[Lonesome in Massachussets]

I have an autographed copy.

[eastforker]

You did that at seven, did you tell your mom and did she tell your dad,yeah that was stupid.Nonetheless kids inadvertantly do stupid things not knowing what they are getting into, give em a break and thank goodness they are safe.

[LibertarianInExile]

Hopefully by the author, not the parties involved. :)

[lawdude]

" Sounds like incredibly poor seamanship to me."

Never been on the open seas in a 4-5 kt. current perpendicular to the direction you want to go, huh?

[Lonesome in Massachussets]

I told no one. I was staying at my uncle's place on Touro, and took off in the morning for an unsupervised swim using his gear. I did not want to get grounded. (Worse, beached!)

In the case at hand, I'm objecting to the characterization of this incident as good sailing. It was gawdawful sailing. I'm as happy as anyone they survived, but it was pure dumb luck.

[Lonesome in Massachussets]

Never been on the open seas in a 4-5 kt. current perpendicular to the direction you want to go, huh?

They should never have lost sight of land, or sailed beyond their abilities or the abilities of their craft. All that notwithstanding, all they had to achieve was one mile per day westward displacememt from their drift course to hit land.

[billbears]

NC bump. They found these boys about 7 miles off Cape Fear. In a 14 foot sailing dinghy...

[anniegetyourgun]

Wow, AR....I had no idea. She's probably not only your love, but your hero too!

[Always Right]

Yeah, she is amazing. Lots of incredible stories.

[Travis McGee]

Wow!

[SC Swamp Fox]

South Carolina Ping

Add me to the ping list. Remove me from the ping list.

[Salo]

I'm glad they made it back alive - they're very lucky. I remember they day they put out: really bad weather - windy as all get out. God protects fools and children. And foolish children, evidently.

[chariotdriver]

All that notwithstanding, all they had to achieve was one mile per day westward displacememt from their drift course to hit land.

OKAY look this is to much.. they were out there, you were not.
To paddle the sunfish they would have to exit the boat and be immersed in cold water with the waves going over the top of their heads, then there is nothing to really hold on to or push against with any force and maybe they didn't have anything to tie onto or with. Plus they would be exhausted in very short order

Now maybe they got themselves out there but they got back.

YOUR so simple solution would get them where.. I say DEAD.

[U S Army EOD]

They use to race Hobie 16's from Florida to New Jersey off shore. It was a 1000 mile race off shore in a open catamaran. They would race so far and then put in and exchange crews. One year the boats beat the relief crews to Savannah and chose to keep on going.

When I was sailing in England, I met some guys who were racing across the Atlantic single handed in boats that had to be 21 feet or under. My boat was 36 feet and I would never want one smaller.

[Sam Cree]

You are way in the right of this argument, far as I can see, Mr. Lonesome. BTW, if you want to see current, go to Massachusetts, as you know. They got alot of it there.

[U S Army EOD]

Speaking of an ice chest, that is what we used to do with the cockpit on the Sunfish I owned, we would fill it with ice and beer. We would still have a place to put our feet if we drank the beer.

[U S Army EOD]

Or go to the Bay of Fundy.

[nuconvert]

There's a couple of pics at the link