A planned voyage from Hawaii to Tahiti aboard a 15 metre sailboat did not start well for two Honolulu women, who have been rescued after five months lost in the Pacific Ocean.
One of their mobile phones was washed overboard on their first day at sea, and from then things only got worse.
A month into their trip, flooding from a storm crippled their engine and the 17 metre mast was damaged.
As they drifted thousands of kilometres in what turned out to be a five-month ordeal in the middle of Pacific, the water purifier conked out and sharks started bumping the boat menacingly.
The two sailors, accompanied by their dogs, were resourceful and well-prepared with more than a year's worth of food, and on Wednesday were finally rescued by the US Navy about 1450 kilometres off Japan.
The USS Ashland picked up Jennifer Appel and Tasha Fuiava after a Taiwanese fishing vessel spotted their crippled boat on Tuesday.
Sailors from the USS Ashland approach a boat with two Honolulu women and their dogs aboard as they were rescued after being lost at sea. Source: US Navy
Appel and Fuiava said sharks menaced them twice.
A group of five tiger sharks up to 9 metres long decided to use the sailboat to teach two younger sharks how to hunt, attacking the vessel at night.
The next morning, one Appel called "a really poor loser", returned and attacked the side of the boat.
Appel's mother told The Associated Press she never gave up hope her daughter would be found.
They said they have no fear of getting back in the water for some more sailing.
"Well, you got to die sometime," Appel said.
"You may as well be doing something you enjoy when you're doing it, right?"
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