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Getting lost at sea may sound like an outdated concern in our modern world, but it isn’t just for the explorers of old. Today, if you have a boat and some bad luck, you can be one of the unfortunate souls who drifted off into the ocean, miraculously surviving to share their stories to the world or simply disappearing forever without a trace.
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Getting lost at sea may sound like an outdated concern in our modern world, but it isn't just for the explorers of old
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Today, if you have a boat and some bad luck, you can be one of the unfortunate souls who drifted off into the ocean
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miraculously surviving to share their stories to the world, or simply disappearing forever without a trace
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So, today we're calling all hands on deck as we tell the tales of people who were lost at sea
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The ARA San Juan was a submarine belonging to the Argentinian Navy
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During a routine patrol off the Argentinian coast, the San Juan and all 44 crew members on board disappeared without a trace
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Here's what we know. Shortly after the craft went under, a sound like an explosion was heard in the water
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and the crew couldn't be raised. After two weeks of searching, Argentina officials announced that the search and rescue
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was pivoting to a search-only mission, as little hope of recovering the crew remained
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The San Juan has not been seen nor heard from since. And while the explosion indicates some kind of accident
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it's unlikely we'll ever know the full extent of what happened to the submarine. A remote island getaway always sounds like the perfect idea
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until you start throwing the word stranded around. But that is precisely what happened to three men
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who found themselves stranded on the island of Phanatik in April of 2016
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The men took off from Po'op in the Federated States of Micronesia on April 4, 2018, and were bound for an island on Weño
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But they never made it. A search and rescue team set out right away to find the unfortunate sailors and eventually
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discovered a message on the beach spelling out help with leaves. The leaves belonged to the three friends, whose boat capsized only a few hours after
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setting off. The men were forced to swim for miles and eventually ended up on the island of Fanatic
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four nautical miles away from where they started. They waited three days before search and rescue teams eventually discovered the message and
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took them back home to safety. Austin Stephanos and Perry Cohen were avid sailing enthusiasts in the prime of their lives
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The pair were experienced fishermen and would regularly take their boat out on the water
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checking in with their families multiple times throughout. However, on July 23, 2015, the boys decided on a trip to the Bahamas in a 19-foot single-engine
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1978 Seacraft. They were last seen buying fuel for the boat Soon after thunderstorms began to cause high winds and big waves The empty boat was found capsized two days later minus the two boys
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Stephanos and Cohen were never found. In 1981, naval architect Stephen Callahan designed his own schooner named the Napoleon Solo
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His dream was to take the boat across the Atlantic on a journey that would take him to Bermuda and Cornwall, England
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before arriving in Penzance for the Transat 650 single-handed sailing race. After stopping for repairs in La Coruña, Callaghan continued his journey down the coast of Spain
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where he struck an unknown object under the water. Callaghan's boat took on damage, and he was forced to abandon ship with a six-foot inflatable life raft
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only able to secure a few provisions from the sinking ship before departing
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Callahan survived on the raft for a whopping 76 days, surviving shark attacks, poor weather
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equipment malfunction, and an extreme sunburn, probably. He was finally spotted by some fishermen off the island of Marie Gallant in the Caribbean
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He would go on to write a book about his ordeals called Adrift, 76 Days Lost at Sea
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Computer scientist Jim Gray had a rough year. His mother had recently passed away and, being a competent sailor, he decided to scatter her ashes at the Farallon Islands off the coast of San Francisco in January of 2007
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His wife began to worry when he did not return home, and his check-ins with her abruptly stopped
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She reported him missing, kicking off a significant search party due to Gray's significant impacts on Silicon Valley giants like Google and Microsoft
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Despite his high profile, neither Gray nor his body were ever recovered
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When you think of the word adventurer, your mind should immediately go to Bill Tillman
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dubbed the greatest adventure sailor of the 20th century. When he wasn't climbing the tallest and most dangerous mountains in the world
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he was winning distinguished military awards for bravery in both world wars
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And in 1977, at the ripe old age of 80, he set his sights on climbing Smith Island
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He joined the crew of a boat, dubbed the En Levant, and set off on what would be his last great adventure
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The Ennevant made its way to Rio de Janeiro before setting off through the Falkland Islands
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where the boat and her crew of about a half dozen men disappeared without a trace
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In October of 2010 three teenage cousins Philo Philo Samuel Palesa and Edward Nassau set out on what should have been a quick trip to some neighboring islands Instead their tiny boat was whisked away to sea
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possibly due to a failing motor. For 50 days, the three young sailors
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were lost in the Pacific Ocean. They were able to survive thanks
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to a small cache of coconuts they had brought on board and an unfortunate seagull, which had landed on their boat
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When they were able, they caught rainwater to drink. They were ultimately found 800 miles away by a fishing boat near Fiji
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The boys were escorted back home by the Navy, shaky and sunburnt, but alive to tell the tale
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Amanda Thorns and her father, Willie Thorns, set out on a day of sailing with their friend
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and accomplished sailor, Dennis White, back in 2010. Not long after, their 45-foot yacht was pounded by a storm in the unforgiving Atlantic waters
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with waves knocking them back and forth. Captain Willie Thorns was thrown overboard
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and unable to be rescued as his helpless daughter watched him get washed away
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She and White were eventually able to repair the mast and fashion a makeshift sail out of a dinghy
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and stayed alive for 15 days before some lucky winds propelled them to safety
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They later relayed their tragic tale to Matt Lauer on the Today Show. Andrew McCauley was an Australian adventurer who challenged himself to make the first solo
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journey across the sea in a kayak. His boat was outfitted with enough tech to allow him to make
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the over 1,000-mile trip. However, something went wrong about halfway across, and McCauley issued
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a mayday. His sunken kayak was recovered, but there was no sign of McCauley. A surviving memory
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Stick contained videos detailing some of Macaulay's final thoughts as his situation worsened
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including one where he muses whether he may have bitten off more than he can chew
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Richard Van Pham is a sailor who made some unfortunate decisions in 2002. He wanted to
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sail from Long Beach to Catalina Island off the coast of California, a roughly 30-mile trip
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However, a sudden storm destroyed his ship's mast, causing him to drift far away from Catalina
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Island. Fam had no family who would have been looking for him. He had not submitted a float
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plan, and his boat, the Sea Breeze, did not have a working radio. All the conditions have been met
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for Fam to become completely lost at sea. For over three months, Fam drifted, surviving on fish
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turtles seagulls and rainwater Finally a drug hunting plane found Fam adrift and rescued him from his battered and beaten boat He was 40 pounds lighter but otherwise no worse for wear Rebecca Coriam became infamous amongst Disney cruises
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as the first person to ever go missing in the history of the cruise line
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As a worker on the Wonder, she had kept in regular contact with her parents
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However, when she missed a regular check-in, her mother began asking questions
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It seems that somewhere along the Pacific coast of Mexico, Rebecca simply disappeared without a trace
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She can be seen on CCTV having what looks like a distressing conversation, but was not seen again after
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Her disappearance has spawned many rumors and demands for closure from her parents
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who have criticized Disney's handling of the disappearance. The incident is still under investigation, as several details of the mystery have not been revealed to the public
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A fisherman from Kiribati got lost in the Pacific with his brother-in-law when their 15-foot boat ran out of gas
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The two were meant to have a two-hour fishing trip, but ended up falling asleep on the boat overnight
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waking up to an empty gas tank and nothing but ocean surrounding them
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The brother-in-law succumbed to dehydration, but a lucky last-minute rainstorm allowed the fisherman to stock up on drinkable water and stay alive just a bit longer
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When all seemed lost, he heard a mysterious bumping on the hull of his boat
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that shook him out of his slumber. When he looked for the cause, he saw a shark underneath the boat
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whom he credits with saving his life. Without the shark waking him at the exact moment
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he never would have noticed the stern of a ship in the distance. He was able to flag them down
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and was eventually rescued, thanks to the cruise efforts and one helpful shark
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Jose Salvador Alvarenga went on an ill-fated fishing trip with his friend Ezequiel Cordoba
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in 2012. A terrible storm was said to have pushed the boat far out to sea, forcing the men to survive
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on what they could, mainly sea turtles, fish, and birds. Eventually, Cordoba succumbed to the harsh
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conditions, but not before begging Alvarenga to bring his body back to his mother. However
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after several days of existing on the same boat with a rotting corpse, Alvarenga was forced to
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push the body overboard. After 348 days lost at sea, nearly an entire year, Alvarenga was
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rescued. His ordeal was not yet over, however, as Cordoba's family would eventually sue Alvarenga
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for a million dollars, claiming he ate their son in order to survive. Alvarenga denies that
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any cannibalism took place, but in fairness, that's exactly what a cannibal would say