Wow...I had a Sunfish...on a lake....would never think of taking it in the ocean!
Luck but pretty good sailing if you ask me.
Sounds like incredibly poor seamanship to me. They almost died seven miles from land. Even if they had lost their sail, one would image they could kick or paddle seven miles in a week. The sun and stars or prevailing winds should give them a clue about which way is West. And what were they doing losing sight of land in the first place?
The reports I heard stated they didn't bother to take their sail, just a couple of paddles -- they were just going fishing. And, there was a small craft wind advisory -- that small boat should have never been in the water with that alert. Very, very, very lucky.