Four friends set out on an extraordinary sailing journey and now have a whale-sized tale to share. The Washington Post reported that Rick Rodriguez and his three friends sailed to French Polynesia from the Galapagos for several weeks.
NBCNews
What Happened?
On March 13, 13 days into their three-week trip, they were finishing up a quick pizza lunch when they heard a bang. “It all happened in a split second. The whole boat shook, and there was just a very violent impact, Rodriguez said on the “Today” show. Rodriguez’s sailboat, the Raindancer, was hit by a large whale, which was the cause of the initial bang. The sailor told the Post that “the back half of the boat lifted violently upward and to starboard.”. The boat’s fiberglass exterior and propeller were both damaged by the collision. The whale suffered some damage as well.
Rodriguez said, “Today,” “It sounded like something broke, and we immediately looked to the side, and we saw a massive whale bleeding. “. Rodriguez’s companion thought the whale, which was about the same length as the boat, was a Bryde’s whale. Alana Litz reported to the Post, “I saw a huge whale off the port aft side with its side fin up in the air. The group initially believed there were two whales close to their boat because one of the participants thought she saw a smaller dorsal fin of a whale another 30 to 40 feet from the craft. The 44-foot sailboat went down in about 15 minutes, but not before the four friends managed to board a life raft in the middle of the Pacific.
Four Friends Seeks Help:
Rodriguez reportedly texted a friend, saying, “Tommy, this is no joke,” according to The Post. Tell as many boats as you can that the ship went down after we hit a whale. Low battery is a severe problem. “. Alarm went off as a result of water entering the boat. Rodriguez also broadcast an emergency position-indicating radio beacon and a mayday call. Peruvian authorities informed U.S. S. the sinking was reported to the Coast Guard in California. Rodriguez tried to fix the damage by donning his snorkel and grabbing a tarp, but it was too late. The Post reported that the rest of his crew gathered water, food, safety gear, and emergency supplies while filling whatever they could from the kitchen sink of the boat. They had a fishing pole and enough food and water for about three weeks. However, they only required some things they were able to take.
A civilian ship spotted them floating about nine miles from the location of the sailboat’s crash about ten hours later and rescued them from the Pacific Ocean. The Rolling Stones’ captain, Geoff Stone, discovered he was about 60 miles away after learning about the sailboat’s sinking in a Facebook group. According to “Today,” he located them precisely, moved in their direction, eventually came across the life raft, and lifted the four friends to safety.
Read Also – Doctors Testify As the Gwyneth Paltrow Ski Collision Trial Continues.
