Featured Image Credit: USA Today
Two Americans and their two dogs were finally rescued by the U.S. Navy after being stranded in the Pacific Ocean for five months. The two Honolulu natives, Jennifer Appel and Tasha Fuiaba, were on their way to Tahiti this spring before their engine failed due to a bad storm back in May.
Luckily, the boat was equipped with water purifiers and more than a year’s worth of food including oatmeal, pasta, and rice. They drifted off course, hoping to reach land by sail. The two women also sent out daily distress calls for two months, unable to reach other ships or land close by.
The small boat finally came in contact with a Taiwanese fishing boat in late October, 900 miles southeast of Japan and thousands of miles from their destination. Tahiti. The crew contacted the U.S. Coast Guard at Guam about their discovery.
The two women and dogs were rescued in style on Wednesday morning on the 610-foot-long amphibious docking landing ship, the USS Ashland. “They saved our lives,” Jennifer Appel said in dismay after being rescued. “The pride and smiles we had when we saw (the ship) on the horizon was a pure relief.” The two dogs could be seen sporting their life jackets, prancing around the vessel when they spotted their rescuers, tails wagging.
The commanding officer of the Ashland, Steven Wasson, humbly accepted the gratitude of the rescue saying, “The U.S. Navy is postured to assist any distressed mariner of any nationality during any type of situation.”