Stories of shipwrecks and stranded sailors seem to be elements of the far past. But even though most people don’t realize it, many individuals are still lost at sea, even today. These stories are some of the most unbelievable, most crazy tales of people being lost at sea, be they civilians or sailors. You’d be surprised how often people get lost out there in the big blue. Unfortunately, they don’t always come back.
Three Men, One Island
A US Navy surveillance craft was flying around a deserted island named Fanadik when it spotted the word “help” written out in palm leaves on the beach. Three men had set sail four miles away from Pulap in the Federated States of Micronesia, but their ship capsized.
They spent an entire night swimming towards Fanadik, then spent three days stranded there until their help sign managed to get them noticed and rescued.
Aldi Novel Adilang
On July 14, 2018, the fishing hut belonging to Aldi Novel Adilang was sent adrift off the Indonesian coast after strong winds snapped the rope that tethered the hut to the seabed. Adilang was from the island Sulawesi, and after 49 days adrift, he ended up all the way near Guam, thousands of miles away.
He survived by catching fish with pieces of wood he broke off his hut. He tried to flag down many ships while adrift, but was only rescued when he sent an emergency radio signal to the MV Arpeggio, a Panamanian vessel. They took him to their destination, Japan, at which point Adliang was able to fly home.
Terry Jo Duperrault
This story is truly tragic: Terry Jo was only eleven years old when she and her family were on a vacation in 1961. They were off the coast of Florida in a chartered boat when she woke up to find out that the captain of the vessel had murdered her whole family.
Naturally, Terry Jo was in the crosshairs as well, but she was able to escape from the vessel in a dinghy. She survived hypothermia out at sea and was rescued three days afterward.
Jennifer Appel and Tasha Fuiava
These two Honolulu residents were heading for Tahiti when their boat’s engine died. Despite attempts to sail the rest of the distance, they were soon completely lost at sea. Thankfully, their preparations for a long trip left them with plenty of provisions for survival.
After five months at sea, they were found by a Taiwanese fishing vessel. Some parts of the story are a little odd, however: the women never activated their emergency beacon, and they claimed to have been caught in a storm at one point, though no such storm was ever recorded.
Tony Bullimore
The late sailor/businessman Tony Bullimore got into some serious trouble when he was lost at sea for a terrifying four days. His boat ended up capsizing while he was doing a solo trip around the world for 1997’s Vendee Globe race.
The former Royal Marine was believed to have drowned but was miraculously rescued by the Australian navy in the freezing Southern Ocean waters. All he had was one bar of chocolate at his disposal.
The ARA San Juan
This submarine, with a crew of 44 people, was lost at sea on November 15, 2017 off the coast of Argentina. Reports say the sound of an explosion was heard from the water near where the submarine submerged, and it has not been heard from since that day.
Argentine officials searched for the submarine for two weeks. But when they were unable to locate it in that timeframe, the scope of the mission was changed to search only, as opposed to search and rescue. All in all, there’s almost no chance that the crew is still alive today, and the submarine has yet to be found.
Austin Stephanos and Perry Cohen
These two 14-year old kids went missing near Florida in 2015. They were last seen buying fuel for their boat, but a storm wracked the area around July 24th, causing large waves. The boat was found capsized two days later, with no sign of the two boys anywhere.
Authorities hoped that the boys were still alive, thanks to their experience and skill on the water, but after a thorough search that went from Florida to the coast of South Carolina, no sign of them ever turned up. Eventually, the search was canceled.
Steven Callahan
Back in 1981, Steve Callahan tried to make a trip across the Atlantic all by his lonesome. However, a large storm ended up filling his vessel with water, and he was forced to escape on an inflatable raft.
Ultimately, Callahan was forced to survive out at sea in that inflatable raft for a total of 76 days, before he was finally rescued by fishermen near the island of Marie Galante in the Caribbean.
Filo Filo, Samuel Pelesa, And Edward Nassau
This occurred in October 2010: three teenagers from the very remote Tokelau island chain used a dinghy to go on a brief journey to a nearby island. Unfortunately, their short trip ended up turning into fifty days lost in the Pacific Ocean.
They ran out of their coconut supply pretty quickly, but managed to survive by catching fish, drinking rainwater and miraculously catching a single seabird. Eventually, a fishing trawler found and rescued the three cousins.
Andrew McAuley
This Australian adventurer made an attempt to cross the Tasman Sea via kayak in 2007. Unfortunately, his kayak capsized at some point and the man was lost at sea, never to be seen again. However, the memory stick from the camera he carried was recovered.
The most profound (or ironic) moment in the recording was probably when he said, “I hope I haven’t bitten off more than I can chew.”
Richard Van Pham
Richard Van Pham set sail from Long Beach in 2002 in order to make it to Catalina Island, which isn’t far from the coast of California. Unfortunately, an unexpected freak storm destroyed the mast of his ship, and Pham was lost at sea for a total of three months.
After all that time at sea, a United States drug hunting plane spotted his vessel out in the open ocean, a staggering 2,500 miles from where he had set sail in the first place.
Rebecca Coriam
This story is interesting because, unfortunately, there’s very little in the way of details for anyone to know what really happened. In 2011, a crewmember of a Disney cruise ship, Rebecca Coriam, disappeared completely while it was sailing along the Mexican coast.
To this day, there is no indication of what happened to Rebecca or where she is. Her mysterious disappearance has led to many rumors speculating about what happened.
Lucio Rendon, Salvador Ordonez, And Jesus Eduardo Vivand
In 2005, five men went on a fishing expedition from San Blas Nayarit, Mexico. Their intention was to spend only three days at sea. Unfortunately, they ended up spending a whopping nine months adrift. Well, those who survived, anyway.
Two of the men died of starvation, but Lucio Rendon, Salvador Ordonez, and Jose Vidana managed to survive on rainwater, fish and even turtles. Ultimately, they drifted 5,500 miles across the Pacific Ocean before they were spotted and rescued by a Taiwanese fishing vessel.
Ko Ko Oo And Haung Htaik
Back in 2009, an Australian plane from the Coast Guard spotted Burmese fishermen Ko Ko Oo and Haung Htaik barely floating in a bathtub-sized icebox in the middle of waters known for sharks. According to the two fishermen, 18 other men died when their vessel sank off the coast of Thailand.
Allegedly, they survived on rainwater and fish regurgitated by seabirds. The story made headlines around the world, but elicited a great deal of skepticism from experts.
Poon Lim
Poon Lim’s merchant vessel sank all the way back in 1942, and the Chinese sailor survived 133 days alone in the South Atlantic right in the middle of World War II. Eventually, some Brazilian fishermen found him off of the coast of their country.
He was told at the time that he held the record for longest time surviving at sea, but all he had to say about that was that he hoped no one would ever be forced to top him.
Louis Jordan
Louis Jordan took a fishing trip in his single-mast sailboat in open water off of the North Carolina coast in January 2015. A total of 66 days later, he was spotted by a German container ship standing on his capsized, but still floating vessel.
After his discovery, he was airlifted to safety, his two months of survival thanks to rainwater, rations, and fish.
Salvador Alvarenga
In 2012, Salvador Alvarenga and Ezequiel Cordoba went on a fishing trip. A powerful storm pushed their boat to the sea, and they had to survive on urine, turtle blood, fish, and birds. Cordoba eventually died, but he made Alvarenga promise to take his body home first.
But after a few days at sea with a decomposing body, Alvarenga threw his deceased companion into the Ocean. Alvarenga was rescued after 348 days of survival. He is facing a lawsuit for suspicions about whether or not he cannibalized Cordoba.
Harrison Okene
This unfortunate soul was using the toilet when his ship sank off the coast of Nigeria. All of the other crew members died, but he managed to survive in an air pocket that was formed in the bathroom.
Not only was he rescued, but we even have a picture of him surviving in that air pocket. Needless to see, we can see how terrifying that must have been.
Matthew Bryce
This story is a little different because it doesn’t involve a ship. Matthew Bryce was a surfer riding waves out on the Scottish Coast in 2017 when he was swept out roughly 13 miles to sea. He was out there for 36 hours.
Thankfully, he was able to survive thanks to both his wetsuit and his surfboard. That said, we can’t imagine being lost that long out there was very relaxing, even if he had the means to float with relative ease.
Bill Tilman
Bill Tilman was called “the Greatest Adventure Sailor of the 20th century.” In 1977, he headed for the South Atlantic in order to climb Smith Island. Unfortunately, the boat disappeared without a trace.
Needless to say, the 80-year old sailor and mountaineer never reached his destination in the South Pacific. To this day, no one is sure what happened to him, as there is still no sign of him or his ship, wreckage or otherwise.
William and Simone Butler
This couple’s large vessel was attacked by whales in 1989. While they were forced to abandon ship, they managed to grab a fishing rod and a water purifier before doing so. Those items managed to keep them alive as they sat in the ocean for two months.
Ultimately, the thrifty couple was located by the Costa Rican Coast Guard, ending their travails and bringing them back to society.
John Glennie, Rick Hellriegel, Jim Nalepka, and Phil Hofman
These four men were quite excited to sail to the island of Tonga from New Zealand in 1989. Unfortunately, a huge wave capsized their boat before they finished making the trip.
All four of them were able to survive on the wreckage for a whopping total of 118 days before the waters managed to ultimately, and quite ironically, wash them back up on the shore of New Zealand.
Nathan Carman
In September of 2016, Nathan and Linda Carman, son and mother, left Rhode Island in a boat to go on an overnight sailing trip, presumably for relaxation or pleasure. Unfortunately, the trip didn’t go very well.
Some time during the trip, the engine room of their ship flooded, causing it to sink. Linda Carman was unfortunately never found, though Nathan managed to survive the tragedy. After a week at sea, he was rescued 100 miles away from the coast.
Adrian Vasquez
18-year-old Adrian Vasquez, along with two friends, went on a night fishing trip near Panama in 2012. Unfortunately, their boat was swept out to sea by particularly powerful currents.
22 days after their disappearance, fishermen from the Galapagos islands spotted the ship, but the only person still alive was Adrian Vasquez. Supposedly, his two friends died from starvation or dehydration.