Two men and a dog lost at sea for 10 days after sailing from New Jersey to Florida say they relied on prayer and were miraculously rescued.
Kevin Hyde, 65, and Joe Ditomasso, 76, were spotted by a tanker in the Atlantic Ocean on Dec. 3 after sailing on Hyde’s sailboat, the Atrevida II, and were never heard from again.
Two men said at a news conference in Staten Island Wednesday night that they were lost in the storm — but survived with little hope.
Photo of Kevin Hyde, 65, and Joe Ditomasso, 76, rescued by tanker after 10 days lost at sea.
(US Coast Guard)
“It’s a small miracle that we found it,” Hyde said, according to FOX 5 New York.
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“I only asked God to see my grandson,” Ditomasso added during the presser.
The two men and Ditomasso’s 13-year-old Bichon Poodle mix, who were with them on the sailboat, docked in North Carolina’s Oregon Inlet and were not heard from again after the storm pushed them away with mountain-sized waves. to the sea, they said.
“A big storm came up and blew us off course,” Hyde said.
The crew of the Hong Kong-flagged tanker Silver Muna rescued two men and their dog after a sailboat that had been stranded for days in the Atlantic Ocean, Dec. 13, 2022.
(Video courtesy of the Silver Moon crew)
The sailboat lost power and ran out of fuel, they said. His pillar was also destroyed.
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DiTomasso added, “There were 40-foot seas—mountains—I was watching them.”
The men never reached their intended destination in Florida and were reported missing by their families on December 11.
The US Coast Guard launched a massive search and rescue operation involving planes, helicopters and boats, covering more than 21,000 square miles from Massachusetts to Florida. A US Navy cruiser also helped search a number of commercial and recreational vessels, FOX 5 New York reported.
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After they were missing for 10 days, the two men were found by the Kumush Muna tanker.
“With assistance from the #USCG Silver Muna tanker, the #boat located 214 miles east of Delaware,” the Coast Guard said. “The Atrevida II was found to be out of fuel and power, and their radios and navigation equipment were inoperable.”
“We were waving and things like that because at that point my mast was down, all the systems were on mute, we were hanging onto the boat,” Hyde recalled. – In such a situation, it is like finding a needle in a haystack.
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Captain Neerah Chaudhary said she also prayed for the survivors.
“We rescued them with our crane, cargo net,” Chaudhary said, according to the report. I was praying, “May God protect them, may our rescue be successful.”
Chaudhary brought the men and the dog to New York Harbor, where the Coast Guard reunited with their families.
“This is a great example of the maritime community working together to ensure the safety of life at sea,” said Cmdr. Daniel Shrader, a spokesman for the Atlantic Coast Guard. “We are very pleased with the outcome of the case and look forward to reuniting Mr. Hyde and Mr. Ditomasso with their family and friends.”
He added: “We also want to emphasize the importance of proper safety equipment and preparation when going out to sea. Having an Emergency Positioning Radio Beacon or ‘EPIRB’ allows mariners to immediately contact first responders in case of an emergency. allows communication.”
As for the men, they said they were happy to be home and looking forward to celebrating Christmas.