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'It was a miracle we were found': 2 missing boaters detail their days adrift on the Atlantic Ocean
An incredible story of survival for two local boaters who disappeared after setting sail from Cape May. They detail their days spent drifting in the Atlantic Ocean.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. - An incredible story of survival for two local boaters who disappeared after setting sail from Cape May. They detail their days spent drifting in the Atlantic Ocean.
"The dog was unbelievable, you know, with 40-foot seas. Nobody got hurt. It’s unbelievable," Joe DiTomasso said.
Joe DiTomasso, Kevin Hyde and a Bichon Poodle named Minnie survived the deep seas of the Atlantic Ocean. They say the sailboat’s mast went down after getting caught in a storm off the coast of North Carolina.
"A huge storm blew up and just blew us off course. I lost part of my mast, so I didn’t have the power to make the turn," Hyde explained.
RELATED COVERAGE: Lost boaters who departed from Cape May rescued by tanker off coast of Delaware
The two friends set sail from Cape May on Hyde’s boat, the Atrevida II, nearly three weeks ago. December 3rd was the last time the family heard from DiTomasso, who is 76 and Hyde, who is 64.
"The scariest part was when the boom came down, it was 50-foot high for the sails," DiTomasso said. "Once we cut that mast off – the 40-foot seas, they were mountains. I was watching them."
DiTomasso, Hyde and Minnie had to make do with the limited food and water they had on board.
"We didn’t have water for two days and I brought these beans. The best part about the beans, they had water in them and we were taking sips at a time," DiTomasso explained. "Minnie, I had to stop her from drinking. She wanted to drink everything."
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Watch: Shipwrecked boaters saved by tanker ship 200 miles off coast of Delaware
Two boaters from Cape May who were thrown off course and stranded at sea for days were rescued by a tanker ship more than 200 miles off the coast of Delaware.
On December 11th, the Coast Guard was notified of the missing sailboat.
"It was a massive rescue effort with a search over 21,000 square miles of ocean. That’s over half the size of New York," explained Coast Guard Captain Zeita Merchant.
Search crews involving Coast Guard districts from Florida to Cape Cod, aircraft and cutters, a Navy vessel and multiple commercial and recreation vessels searched the large expanse of ocean, but it would be the crew aboard the Silver Muna, an oil tanker from Amsterdam heading to New York that would find the 30-foot sailboat 200 miles off the coast of Delaware.
"If you look at the size of his ship and the size of the ocean, just compared to this toothpick that I’m floating around in, just to be able to spot that, because of the diligence of his crew," Hyde remarked.
Captain Neeraj Chaudhary says the rescue was very difficult, but after three very difficult hours, the crew used a crane to rescue DiTomasso, Hyde and Minnie.
"When I completed the rescue operation, I was literally crying. I was thanking my God they are safe and Mr. Joe, I think he has cried 10 times on ship," Captain Chaudhary explained.
"It was a small miracle that we were even able to be found at all," Hyde added.
"All I said to the Lord was to see my granddaughter,"DiTomasso added.