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U.S. NEWS Wednesday 1 november 2017

Key parts of women’s tale of survival at sea contradicted

By CALEB JONES are going to die. All that that this vessel was in dis- sailing equipment and en- terward. Archived NASA
Associated Press said, it’s going to take us tress,” Phillip R. Johnson, gine failed and said they satellite images confirm
HONOLULU (AP) — Two Ha- a whole lot longer to get a retired Coast Guard of- were close to giving up no tropical storms were
waii women who say they where we’re going.” ficer who was responsible when they were rescued around the state.
were lost at sea for five Appel expressed surprise
months never activated Tuesday that there was no
their emergency beacon record of the storm. She
and described running into said they received a Coast
a fearsome storm that me- Guard storm warning May
teorologists say didn’t exist, 3.
adding to a growing list of The pair said they thought
inconsistencies that cast about turning back but
doubt on their harrowing that the islands of Maui
tale of survival. and Lanai didn’t have har-
The women previously told bors deep enough to ac-
The Associated Press that commodate their sailboat.
they had radios, satellite At 50 feet (15 meters) long,
phones, GPS and other the vessel is relatively small,
emergency gear, but they and both islands have har-
didn’t mention an emer- bors that accommodate
gency position indicating boats of that size. The Big
radio beacon, or EPIRB. A Island also has several
Coast Guard review and places to dock.
subsequent interviews with Appel said she had modi-
Jennifer Appel and Tasha fied her sailboat, called
Fuiava revealed that they the Sea Nymph, by add-
had the device aboard Jennifer Appel, right, and Tasha Fuiava sit with their dogs on the deck of the USS Ashland Monday, ing 6 tons of fiberglass to
their sailboat but never Oct. 30, 2017, at White Beach Naval Facility in Okinawa, Japan. Appel and Fuiava never acti- the hull to make it thicker
turned it on. vated their emergency beacon and described running into a fearsome storm that meteorologists and heavier and to ex-
“We asked why during this say didn’t exist, adding to a growing list of inconsistencies that cast doubt on their harrowing tale tend the keel to a depth
course of time did they not of survival. of 8.5 feet to give the boat
activate the EPIRB. She had (AP Photo/Koji Ueda) greater stability. The extra-
stated they never felt like In retrospect, Appel said for search and rescue op- thousands of miles off long keel meant the boat
they were truly in distress, there were two times she erations, said Monday from course. couldn’t get in to nearby
like in a 24-hour period would have used it — near Washington state. The women met in late harbors, she said.
they were going to die,” Hawaii in late June to early Appel and Fuiava also said 2016, and within a week “Given the constraints of
said Coast Guard spokes- July and off Wake Island they had six forms of com- decided to take the trip our vessel, we chose the
woman Petty Officer 2nd on Oct. 1. munication that all failed. together. Fuiava had nev- appropriate action,” she
Class Tara Molle. “That’s a lesson learned for “There’s something wrong er sailed. They planned to said. They pressed on.
Appel said Tuesday that me, because that was the there,” Johnson said. “I’ve take 18 days to get to Tahi- Days later, after parts of
in her experience, the best chance we had in the never heard of all that ti, then travel the South Pa- their mast and rigging
beacon should be used ocean to get help,” she stuff going out at the same cific and return to Hawaii in failed but with their motor
only when facing immi- said. time.” October.They left on May still working, they sailed up
nent physical danger and The emergency beacon Key elements of the wom- 3, when they said they en- to a small island but decid-
death in the next 24 hours. communicates with satel- en’s account are contra- countered a fierce storm ed against trying to land,
“Our hull was solid, we lites and sends locations to dicted by authorities and off Oahu that tossed their believing it was mostly un-
were floating, we had authorities within minutes. are not consistent with vessel with 60 mph (97 kph) inhabited with no protect-
food, we had water, and It’s activated when it’s sub- weather reports or basic winds and 30-foot (9-me- ed waters.
we had limited maneu- merged in water or turned geography of the Pacific ter) seas for three days. But Christmas Island, part of
verable capacity,” Appel on manually. Ocean. The discrepancies The National Weather Ser- the island nation of Kiribati,
said in Japan, where the “If the thing was opera- raised questions about vice in Honolulu said no is home to more than 2,000
U.S. Navy took them after tional and it was turned on, whether the pair could organized storm systems people and has a port that
their rescue last week. “All a signal should have been have avoided disaster. were in or near Hawaii routinely welcomes huge
those things did not say we received very, very quickly The pair reported that their that day or in the days af- commercial ships.q