Three sailors lost for nine days are rescued, thanks to the oldest trick of castaways

On April 6, the Joint Rescue Subcenter (JRSC) in Guam received a distress call from a young woman who stated that her three uncles had been lost for three days somewhere on Pikelot Atoll, about 100 nautical miles northwest of the Polowat Atoll, Micronesia.

The Micronesia is a maritime area northeast of Australia, made up of thousands of islands and atolls, most of which are uninhabited.

If a ship capsizes, the good news is that there is a chance to reach an island and wait for help. The bad thing, that It is a huge area where rescues can take weeks, if they arrive.

The oldest trick of castaways

Apparently the three sailorsall of them men in their 40s, undertook the journey from Polowat Atoll on March 31 in a small skiff of about six meters, equipped with an outboard motor.

These three sailors are expert navigators, but apparently his outboard motor broke down, and they were left adrift. Fortunately They were able to reach an uninhabited atoll. They stayed there for nine days.

The three expert sailors were able to survive for so many days, thanks to the water and the meat of the coconuts that grew on the palm trees of the atoll.

But even if their relatives reported their loss, as they did, there was no guarantee that they would be found in time. Ripe coconuts would eventually run out.

The North American Coast Guard (the United States has islands under its control there) and the US Navy began the search. It was not an easy task, as they had to cover more than 75,000 square nautical miles of terrain.

Fortunately, They located the sailors thanks to the oldest trick of the castaways: Using palm leaves, they wrote the word “HELP” in the sand:

“This act of ingenuity was instrumental in guiding rescue efforts directly to their location,” Explain Lieutenant Chelsea García, coordinator of the search and rescue mission on the day they were located.

A reconnaissance plane was able to read the message. The aircraft crew successfully deployed survival packs to sustain the sailors until more help could arrive. The USCGC Oliver Henry was diverted to Pikelot Atoll to conduct the rescue operation.

Everything ended well for the three castaways. They were nine days of uncertainty, but the sea was kind to them. They found an atoll full of palm trees, and were able to survive thanks to coconuts. His ingenuity did the rest: A message with the word “HELP” written with palm leaves was key to locating them..