https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/shipwrecked-secrets--7194306
Join us as we navigate the treacherous waters of history, exploring legendary shipwrecks and the captivating tales of survival, sacrifice, and the strange occurrences surrounding them. From ancient vessels to modern maritime disasters, we delve into the human drama and the enduring allure of the ocean's forgotten graves. Discover the hidden truths and the powerful forces that shaped these dramatic events.

New episodes arrive daily, every single day of the week, at 4:00 AM, ensuring a fresh mystery to unravel whenever you crave it. Each installment brings meticulously researched narratives, offering a unique perspective on these historical maritime events.

This podcast is for anyone fascinated by the ocean's power, the resilience of the human spirit, and the enduring secrets that lie beneath the surface. If you're drawn to tales of exploration, disaster, and the unknown depths, Shipwrecked Secrets is your port of call.

Subscribe now and let the tides of history pull you in.]]>enPersonal Journals© 2026 OBOMEDIA Creatorshttps://d3wo5wojvuv7l.cloudfront.net/t_rss_itunes_square_1400/images.spreaker.com/original/8a61468934c9085bf28b4bdf83744c00.jpghttps://www.spreaker.com/podcast/shipwrecked-secrets--7194306Tue, 15 Sep 2026 08:03:42 +0000Creator at ObomediaCreator at Obomediacreators@obomedia.comBeyond the waves, untold stories of the deep await. Shipwrecked Secrets uncovers the mysteries lost to the sea. Join us as we navigate the treacherous waters of history, exploring legendary shipwrecks and the captivating tales of survival, sacrifice,...
Join us as we navigate the treacherous waters of history, exploring legendary shipwrecks and the captivating tales of survival, sacrifice, and the strange occurrences surrounding them. From ancient vessels to modern maritime disasters, we delve into the human drama and the enduring allure of the ocean's forgotten graves. Discover the hidden truths and the powerful forces that shaped these dramatic events.

New episodes arrive daily, every single day of the week, at 4:00 AM, ensuring a fresh mystery to unravel whenever you crave it. Each installment brings meticulously researched narratives, offering a unique perspective on these historical maritime events.

This podcast is for anyone fascinated by the ocean's power, the resilience of the human spirit, and the enduring secrets that lie beneath the surface. If you're drawn to tales of exploration, disaster, and the unknown depths, Shipwrecked Secrets is your port of call.

Subscribe now and let the tides of history pull you in.]]>falsed2d563a5-3db5-5591-b620-cece7756db0fepisodichttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-watch-that-kept-ticking-after-the-boat-went-down--73078846
A wristwatch found intact on a marina road on February 19, 2011 was still ticking and only off by less than thirty seconds - yet its owner had been missing at sea for four days and no float plan was ever filed. How did a self-winding mechanical watch survive salt and submersion, and what does that ticking tell us about the last hours of a twenty-six-foot boat that went down in unexpected weather?

In this episode, we lay out the sequence of events from the morning the watch was discovered to the last confirmed sighting of the boat, tracing the timeline, weather records, search decisions, and a false bilge-pump alert that redirected resources. Could a misread wind shift and a crossed sensor be the difference between finding a vessel and losing it?

Person: Sherry Fisher
Date: February 16-19, 2011
Location: Pelican Sands marina and Gulf of Mexico off Egmont Key
Event: Missing vessel and subsequent search
Person: Glenn Hoffman

- The watch was found on February 19, 2011 by Glenn Hoffman while clearing a drainage ditch at Pelican Sands marina.
- The watch's second hand was moving and when held next to a phone it was off by less than 30 seconds.
- Sherry Fisher, 47, was last seen departing a vessel at approximately 11:30 on February 15 after inspecting a 42-foot trawler at Egmont Key.
- The National Weather Service recorded sustained winds of 32 knots from the northwest at 12:47 on February 15, arriving roughly two hours earlier than forecast and from a different direction.
- A bilge-pump sensor alert was logged at 23:43 from slip 14 the night of February 15, later traced to a crossed wire from a skiff in slip 13 owned by Dave Kupfer.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73078846Wed, 16 Sep 2026 08:00:02 +0000Creator at ObomediaThe Watch That Kept Ticking After the Boat Went Down A wristwatch found intact on a marina road on February 19, 2011 was still ticking and only off by less than thirty seconds - yet its owner had been missing at sea for four days and no float plan...
A wristwatch found intact on a marina road on February 19, 2011 was still ticking and only off by less than thirty seconds - yet its owner had been missing at sea for four days and no float plan was ever filed. How did a self-winding mechanical watch survive salt and submersion, and what does that ticking tell us about the last hours of a twenty-six-foot boat that went down in unexpected weather?

In this episode, we lay out the sequence of events from the morning the watch was discovered to the last confirmed sighting of the boat, tracing the timeline, weather records, search decisions, and a false bilge-pump alert that redirected resources. Could a misread wind shift and a crossed sensor be the difference between finding a vessel and losing it?

Person: Sherry Fisher
Date: February 16-19, 2011
Location: Pelican Sands marina and Gulf of Mexico off Egmont Key
Event: Missing vessel and subsequent search
Person: Glenn Hoffman

- The watch was found on February 19, 2011 by Glenn Hoffman while clearing a drainage ditch at Pelican Sands marina.
- The watch's second hand was moving and when held next to a phone it was off by less than 30 seconds.
- Sherry Fisher, 47, was last seen departing a vessel at approximately 11:30 on February 15 after inspecting a 42-foot trawler at Egmont Key.
- The National Weather Service recorded sustained winds of 32 knots from the northwest at 12:47 on February 15, arriving roughly two hours earlier than forecast and from a different direction.
- A bilge-pump sensor alert was logged at 23:43 from slip 14 the night of February 15, later traced to a crossed wire from a skiff in slip 13 owned by Dave Kupfer.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1170falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/found-alive-the-barometer-that-betrayed-a-drifting-sailor--73078845
A sealed mahogany barometer case engraved "Heron Tide, Annapolis, Maryland" washed up in a Florida canal with its needle frozen at 29.4 inHg - a precise pressure reading that took weeks to decode. How did a Chesapeake instrument end up in Dellport, and what did that 29.4 reading really mean for the man who owned the boat?

In this episode, we follow the timeline from departure to disappearance, the search that went wrong, and the survival choices made on a disabled cutter-rigged sloop - culminating in the mystery of the barometer and its final resting place. What connection ties the drifted instrument, the EPIRB error, and the sailor who survived alone at sea?

Person: Neil Romano
Date: January 3, 2017 (departure)
Location: Eleven miles west of the Manatee River inlet (incident)
Vessel: Heron Tide, 38-foot cutter-rigged fiberglass sloop, built 1989
Pressure reading: 29.4 inches of mercury

- EPIRB activation decoded correctly but placed Heron Tide roughly 40 miles north of its actual position.
- Barometer needle was frozen at 29.4 inHg when found in a Dellport, Florida canal by Sandra Becker on January 19, 2017.
- Mast went down six days after departure when a squall rotated 40 degrees off forecast and pressure dropped 0.7 inHg in four hours.
- Neil had 4 liters of water and rationed to 1 liter per day beginning immediately after the dismasting.
- On day four he caught and ate a raw bonito to supplement his provisions.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73078845Tue, 15 Sep 2026 08:00:02 +0000Creator at ObomediaFound Alive: The Barometer That Betrayed a Drifting Sailor A sealed mahogany barometer case engraved "Heron Tide, Annapolis, Maryland" washed up in a Florida canal with its needle frozen at 29.4 inHg - a precise pressure reading that took weeks to...
A sealed mahogany barometer case engraved "Heron Tide, Annapolis, Maryland" washed up in a Florida canal with its needle frozen at 29.4 inHg - a precise pressure reading that took weeks to decode. How did a Chesapeake instrument end up in Dellport, and what did that 29.4 reading really mean for the man who owned the boat?

In this episode, we follow the timeline from departure to disappearance, the search that went wrong, and the survival choices made on a disabled cutter-rigged sloop - culminating in the mystery of the barometer and its final resting place. What connection ties the drifted instrument, the EPIRB error, and the sailor who survived alone at sea?

Person: Neil Romano
Date: January 3, 2017 (departure)
Location: Eleven miles west of the Manatee River inlet (incident)
Vessel: Heron Tide, 38-foot cutter-rigged fiberglass sloop, built 1989
Pressure reading: 29.4 inches of mercury

- EPIRB activation decoded correctly but placed Heron Tide roughly 40 miles north of its actual position.
- Barometer needle was frozen at 29.4 inHg when found in a Dellport, Florida canal by Sandra Becker on January 19, 2017.
- Mast went down six days after departure when a squall rotated 40 degrees off forecast and pressure dropped 0.7 inHg in four hours.
- Neil had 4 liters of water and rationed to 1 liter per day beginning immediately after the dismasting.
- On day four he caught and ate a raw bonito to supplement his provisions.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1337falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-logbook-on-dry-pavement-lost-at-sea-found-by-chance--73078844
A ship's logbook was found upright on dry pavement with pages open and no water damage-eleven days after a 42-foot motor-sailor vanished on a twelve-nautical-mile crossing. The logbook records an engine stoppage, a mistaken fuel entry, and a wind and current that no chart showed; how did these precise failures line up to erase three men from a routine run?

In this episode, we tell what the logbook records, who the men were, and the sequence of events from departure to engine failure, closing on the question of how an uncharted current, a bad gauge, and a fuel discrepancy combined to send the Edith Rae off-course.

Person: Kent Brown
Person: Dennis Cho
Person: Travis Holt
Date: December 8-19, 2011
Boat: Edith Rae, 42-foot motor-sailor

- At 6:40 AM on December 19, 2011, Kent Brown found the ship's logbook on dry pavement at Halo Point causeway.
- The Edith Rae departed Halo Point on December 8 with a listed fuel entry of 40 gallons in the logbook but marina records show only 22 gallons purchased the night before.
- The planned crossing to Dorado Key was twelve nautical miles and estimated to take less than two hours; last confirmed radio transmission was at 9:47 AM stating ETA 11:15.
- At approximately 10:15 AM the engine stopped and Brown logged "engine stopped, fuel starvation suspected, attempting restart."
- A buoy four nautical miles south-southwest recorded wind backing to north-northwest at 14 knots by 9:55 AM while a seasonal surface current ran south-southeast at 1-1.5 knots not shown on charts.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73078844Mon, 14 Sep 2026 08:00:02 +0000Creator at ObomediaThe Logbook on Dry Pavement: Lost at Sea, Found by Chance A ship's logbook was found upright on dry pavement with pages open and no water damage-eleven days after a 42-foot motor-sailor vanished on a twelve-nautical-mile crossing. The logbook...
A ship's logbook was found upright on dry pavement with pages open and no water damage-eleven days after a 42-foot motor-sailor vanished on a twelve-nautical-mile crossing. The logbook records an engine stoppage, a mistaken fuel entry, and a wind and current that no chart showed; how did these precise failures line up to erase three men from a routine run?

In this episode, we tell what the logbook records, who the men were, and the sequence of events from departure to engine failure, closing on the question of how an uncharted current, a bad gauge, and a fuel discrepancy combined to send the Edith Rae off-course.

Person: Kent Brown
Person: Dennis Cho
Person: Travis Holt
Date: December 8-19, 2011
Boat: Edith Rae, 42-foot motor-sailor

- At 6:40 AM on December 19, 2011, Kent Brown found the ship's logbook on dry pavement at Halo Point causeway.
- The Edith Rae departed Halo Point on December 8 with a listed fuel entry of 40 gallons in the logbook but marina records show only 22 gallons purchased the night before.
- The planned crossing to Dorado Key was twelve nautical miles and estimated to take less than two hours; last confirmed radio transmission was at 9:47 AM stating ETA 11:15.
- At approximately 10:15 AM the engine stopped and Brown logged "engine stopped, fuel starvation suspected, attempting restart."
- A buoy four nautical miles south-southwest recorded wind backing to north-northwest at 14 knots by 9:55 AM while a seasonal surface current ran south-southeast at 1-1.5 knots not shown on charts.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1283falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-logbook-that-crossed-43-miles-how-april-survived--73078843
The thought of a waterlogged, salt-crusted logbook ending up under a backyard drain grate 43 miles from the nearest marina feels impossible - yet Dennis Rafferty found that exact notebook wrapped in a freezer bag and sealed with black electrical tape on November 10, 2019. How did a thirty-eight-foot sloop’s logbook travel across the open Atlantic and what did its pages reveal about the woman who may still have been alive when it went overboard?

In this episode, we follow the timeline from April Edwards’ organized life and planned nine-day offshore passage to the moment search-and-rescue teams began working an eighty-square-mile grid, and we ask whether the evidence in the logbook and the EPIRB’s cached position can explain what happened to April. What does a two-hour-old GPS cache, a downed mast, and a dog’s missed meals tell us about survival and failure at sea?

Person: April Edwards
Date: November 1-10, 2019
Location: Harwick Inlet / 43 miles offshore
Vessel: Carden Reach, 38-foot sloop
Rescue file: All portable equipment reported lost with vessel

- The logbook was found on November 10, 2019, under a basement drain grate on Osprey Spit Road.
- Dennis Rafferty discovered the notebook waterlogged, salt-crusted, in a freezer bag sealed with black electrical tape.
- April filed a float plan and departed Harwick Inlet on November 1, 2019, for a planned nine-day offshore passage.
- The EPIRB transmitted for four minutes on November 5, 2019, sending a cached GPS position nearly two hours old.
- The mast fell on November 5, 2019, when the forestay toggle fractured and the mast broke into three sections.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73078843Sun, 13 Sep 2026 08:00:02 +0000Creator at ObomediaThe Logbook That Crossed 43 Miles: How April Survived The thought of a waterlogged, salt-crusted logbook ending up under a backyard drain grate 43 miles from the nearest marina feels impossible - yet Dennis Rafferty found that exact notebook...
The thought of a waterlogged, salt-crusted logbook ending up under a backyard drain grate 43 miles from the nearest marina feels impossible - yet Dennis Rafferty found that exact notebook wrapped in a freezer bag and sealed with black electrical tape on November 10, 2019. How did a thirty-eight-foot sloop’s logbook travel across the open Atlantic and what did its pages reveal about the woman who may still have been alive when it went overboard?

In this episode, we follow the timeline from April Edwards’ organized life and planned nine-day offshore passage to the moment search-and-rescue teams began working an eighty-square-mile grid, and we ask whether the evidence in the logbook and the EPIRB’s cached position can explain what happened to April. What does a two-hour-old GPS cache, a downed mast, and a dog’s missed meals tell us about survival and failure at sea?

Person: April Edwards
Date: November 1-10, 2019
Location: Harwick Inlet / 43 miles offshore
Vessel: Carden Reach, 38-foot sloop
Rescue file: All portable equipment reported lost with vessel

- The logbook was found on November 10, 2019, under a basement drain grate on Osprey Spit Road.
- Dennis Rafferty discovered the notebook waterlogged, salt-crusted, in a freezer bag sealed with black electrical tape.
- April filed a float plan and departed Harwick Inlet on November 1, 2019, for a planned nine-day offshore passage.
- The EPIRB transmitted for four minutes on November 5, 2019, sending a cached GPS position nearly two hours old.
- The mast fell on November 5, 2019, when the forestay toggle fractured and the mast broke into three sections.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1262falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/she-spoke-into-the-waves-17-days-adrift-found-alive-on-radio--73078841
Fear and disbelief: a woman's voice echoed from a floating radio for eleven hours while the official search had been suspended and a rescue team was chasing a ghost position sixty miles away - how did a registered EPIRB and a bent antenna turn a functioning system into a misdirection that left someone drifting for seventeen days? What exactly happened on those days between October 2 and October 19?

In this episode, we follow the sequence of events as reported: departure from Beaufort, the storm and knockdown, the failed position from a compromised EPIRB, and the eleven-hour live broadcast that finally alerted rescuers. We lay out how equipment, weather, and timing combined to create a life-or-death gap between a distress signal and an actual rescue.

Person: Christine Carlson
Date: Departure October 2, 2019; EPIRB activation October 5, 2019; found October 19, 2019
Location: Approximately 30-14 miles offshore of Ockham Inlet / Beaufort, North Carolina
Vessel: Ardent Midge, Catalina sloop, 31 feet, built 1983
Device: Standard Horizon HX890 handheld radio; EPIRB with bent antenna

- Christine was 29 years old and working as a marine inspector's assistant in Beaufort.
- The Ardent Midge was knocked flat by an estimated 22-foot wave in the early hours of October 4.
- The EPIRB activated at 07:18 on October 5 and was detected by satellite four minutes later.
- Ryan Lawson, a 33-year-old volunteer, found a floating radio tethered to a cracked orange buoy about 14 miles off Ockham Inlet on the morning of October 19.
- The recovered radio broadcasted the woman's voice into Sector Ockham station for eleven hours before she was confirmed alive.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73078841Sat, 12 Sep 2026 08:00:02 +0000Creator at ObomediaShe Spoke Into the Waves: 17 Days Adrift, Found Alive on Radio Fear and disbelief: a woman's voice echoed from a floating radio for eleven hours while the official search had been suspended and a rescue team was chasing a ghost position sixty miles...
Fear and disbelief: a woman's voice echoed from a floating radio for eleven hours while the official search had been suspended and a rescue team was chasing a ghost position sixty miles away - how did a registered EPIRB and a bent antenna turn a functioning system into a misdirection that left someone drifting for seventeen days? What exactly happened on those days between October 2 and October 19?

In this episode, we follow the sequence of events as reported: departure from Beaufort, the storm and knockdown, the failed position from a compromised EPIRB, and the eleven-hour live broadcast that finally alerted rescuers. We lay out how equipment, weather, and timing combined to create a life-or-death gap between a distress signal and an actual rescue.

Person: Christine Carlson
Date: Departure October 2, 2019; EPIRB activation October 5, 2019; found October 19, 2019
Location: Approximately 30-14 miles offshore of Ockham Inlet / Beaufort, North Carolina
Vessel: Ardent Midge, Catalina sloop, 31 feet, built 1983
Device: Standard Horizon HX890 handheld radio; EPIRB with bent antenna

- Christine was 29 years old and working as a marine inspector's assistant in Beaufort.
- The Ardent Midge was knocked flat by an estimated 22-foot wave in the early hours of October 4.
- The EPIRB activated at 07:18 on October 5 and was detected by satellite four minutes later.
- Ryan Lawson, a 33-year-old volunteer, found a floating radio tethered to a cracked orange buoy about 14 miles off Ockham Inlet on the morning of October 19.
- The recovered radio broadcasted the woman's voice into Sector Ockham station for eleven hours before she was confirmed alive.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1350falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/when-the-mast-fell-three-lost-one-woman-four-days-at-sea--73078840
Fog, a grounded thirty-eight-foot cutter, and a mast that should never have come down: the Carissa Bell came ashore with navigation lights still burning and one survivor barely conscious while two crewmen had vanished into fifty-one-degree water. What combination of metal fatigue, gear failure, and cold-water survival turned a routine September passage into four days nobody ashore knew were being endured?

In this episode, we tell what the transcript records about the Carissa Bell’s final voyage: the crew, the failing forestay fitting, the night a mast fell, and the first forty minutes of search that ended with two men overboard. How did an unseen crack and one wrong carabiner setting cascade into a lost-at-sea emergency?

Date: September 19, 2011
Location: Tucket Flats, Gulf of Maine
Person: Gail Lewis (54), Phil Asher (61), Owen Vance (32)
Vessel: Carissa Bell, 38-foot fiberglass cutter, built 1989
Temperature: 51 degrees Fahrenheit (water at Pemaquid Point buoy)

- At 7:42 AM on September 19, a passerby saw the Carissa Bell grounded in 18 inches of water with navigation lights on and the mast missing.
- Gail Lewis was found conscious but barely, wearing a drysuit four sizes too large with cuffs sealed by electrical tape.
- Phil Asher and Owen Vance were not on board when rescuers arrived and were never found after going overboard.
- The diesel tank aboard the Carissa Bell was dry and the EPIRB transmitted a signal to the wrong place.
- The forestay fitting had a stress fracture present and propagating for at least two seasons, undetected until the mast fell.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73078840Fri, 11 Sep 2026 08:00:02 +0000Creator at ObomediaWhen the Mast Fell: Three Lost, One Woman, Four Days at Sea Fog, a grounded thirty-eight-foot cutter, and a mast that should never have come down: the Carissa Bell came ashore with navigation lights still burning and one survivor barely conscious...
Fog, a grounded thirty-eight-foot cutter, and a mast that should never have come down: the Carissa Bell came ashore with navigation lights still burning and one survivor barely conscious while two crewmen had vanished into fifty-one-degree water. What combination of metal fatigue, gear failure, and cold-water survival turned a routine September passage into four days nobody ashore knew were being endured?

In this episode, we tell what the transcript records about the Carissa Bell’s final voyage: the crew, the failing forestay fitting, the night a mast fell, and the first forty minutes of search that ended with two men overboard. How did an unseen crack and one wrong carabiner setting cascade into a lost-at-sea emergency?

Date: September 19, 2011
Location: Tucket Flats, Gulf of Maine
Person: Gail Lewis (54), Phil Asher (61), Owen Vance (32)
Vessel: Carissa Bell, 38-foot fiberglass cutter, built 1989
Temperature: 51 degrees Fahrenheit (water at Pemaquid Point buoy)

- At 7:42 AM on September 19, a passerby saw the Carissa Bell grounded in 18 inches of water with navigation lights on and the mast missing.
- Gail Lewis was found conscious but barely, wearing a drysuit four sizes too large with cuffs sealed by electrical tape.
- Phil Asher and Owen Vance were not on board when rescuers arrived and were never found after going overboard.
- The diesel tank aboard the Carissa Bell was dry and the EPIRB transmitted a signal to the wrong place.
- The forestay fitting had a stress fracture present and propagating for at least two seasons, undetected until the mast fell.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1189falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-nail-and-the-missing-shoe-that-saved-two-lives-overboard--73078839
A single child's white canvas sneaker, size five, bleached and nailed to a channel marker sixty miles from the nearest shipping lane, set off a Coast Guard search that would trace back ten days of small errors and one pair of decisions that saved two lives. What began with a fisherman hauling up an impossible shoe at 4:30 a.m. on August 9, 2003, became the center of the nine-day story of the Nomé Bravo-how did a nailed shoe become the clue to a survival at sea?

In this episode, we tell the sequence of events from the Nomé Bravo's departure to the squall that capsized her, the automatic life raft, and the hours that followed; we follow the people involved and the decisions that put a six-year-old in the water holding a sailor's wrist-how did that wrist and one raft turn disaster into survival?

Date: August 9, 2003
Vessel: Nomé Bravo
Person: Gary Reed
Victim: Lily Selby, age 6
Location: 60 miles southwest of the Marquesas Keys

- A fisherman named Marvin Walker found a left canvas sneaker, size five, nailed with one carpenter's nail to a channel marker buoy at 4:30 a.m.
- The Nomé Bravo was a thirty-eight-foot ketch with a four-person hydrostatic-release life raft that inflated on immersion.
- The squall produced sustained winds estimated at 50 knots and shredded the mainsail from the second batten down.
- At 11:47 PM the boat rolled ninety degrees to starboard, rolled again, and did not return, throwing Gary and Lily into the water.
- Lily Selby had been wearing Payless white canvas sneakers bought three weeks earlier and identified later by her mother, Terri Selby.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73078839Thu, 10 Sep 2026 08:00:02 +0000Creator at ObomediaThe Nail and the Missing Shoe That Saved Two Lives Overboard A single child's white canvas sneaker, size five, bleached and nailed to a channel marker sixty miles from the nearest shipping lane, set off a Coast Guard search that would trace back...
A single child's white canvas sneaker, size five, bleached and nailed to a channel marker sixty miles from the nearest shipping lane, set off a Coast Guard search that would trace back ten days of small errors and one pair of decisions that saved two lives. What began with a fisherman hauling up an impossible shoe at 4:30 a.m. on August 9, 2003, became the center of the nine-day story of the Nomé Bravo-how did a nailed shoe become the clue to a survival at sea?

In this episode, we tell the sequence of events from the Nomé Bravo's departure to the squall that capsized her, the automatic life raft, and the hours that followed; we follow the people involved and the decisions that put a six-year-old in the water holding a sailor's wrist-how did that wrist and one raft turn disaster into survival?

Date: August 9, 2003
Vessel: Nomé Bravo
Person: Gary Reed
Victim: Lily Selby, age 6
Location: 60 miles southwest of the Marquesas Keys

- A fisherman named Marvin Walker found a left canvas sneaker, size five, nailed with one carpenter's nail to a channel marker buoy at 4:30 a.m.
- The Nomé Bravo was a thirty-eight-foot ketch with a four-person hydrostatic-release life raft that inflated on immersion.
- The squall produced sustained winds estimated at 50 knots and shredded the mainsail from the second batten down.
- At 11:47 PM the boat rolled ninety degrees to starboard, rolled again, and did not return, throwing Gary and Lily into the water.
- Lily Selby had been wearing Payless white canvas sneakers bought three weeks earlier and identified later by her mother, Terri Selby.

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1258falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/how-a-single-typo-left-a-sailor-invisible-at-sea-for-nine-days--73078838
A single wrong character in a fifteen-digit beacon code turned a full-scale rescue into a bureaucratic ghost story: Rhonda Stewart activated her EPIRB after her mast came down in 40-knot winds, yet her distress signal routed to another boat and the case was closed. How did one transposition error in position nine of a hex code make a prepared sailor effectively invisible for nine days?

In this episode, we follow the timeline from the beacon found on Calhoun Key to the database transfer that sent the alert to the wrong vessel, and we map the procedural gaps that let a live distress signal be misattributed - could one verification step have changed everything?

Person: Rhonda Stewart
Date: July 3-July 14
Location: 48 nautical miles southwest of the Dry Tortugas / Calhoun Key
Vessel: Meridian Spur (42-foot sloop)
Event: EPIRB activation with transposed character in position nine of a 15-character hex code

- Rhonda departed Sarasota on July 3 at 1600 hours with eight days of provisions and 22 liters of fresh water.
- At 0217 on July 5 Meridian Spur was 48 nautical miles southwest of the Dry Tortugas when wind logged 18 knots, then 52 knots four minutes later.
- The mast came down and Rhonda cleared rigging by hand over 40 minutes in 40-knot winds and eight-foot seas, then activated the EPIRB.
- A contractor entered the beacon’s 15-character hex code with a transposition error in the ninth position during a spring database transfer.
- The mistaken code redirected the distress alert to Blue Advent, a 38-foot ketch registered to Stuart Nolan in Fort Myers, and the case was closed before AIS position cross-check completed.

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73078838Wed, 09 Sep 2026 08:00:02 +0000Creator at ObomediaHow a Single Typo Left a Sailor Invisible at Sea for Nine Days A single wrong character in a fifteen-digit beacon code turned a full-scale rescue into a bureaucratic ghost story: Rhonda Stewart activated her EPIRB after her mast came down in...
A single wrong character in a fifteen-digit beacon code turned a full-scale rescue into a bureaucratic ghost story: Rhonda Stewart activated her EPIRB after her mast came down in 40-knot winds, yet her distress signal routed to another boat and the case was closed. How did one transposition error in position nine of a hex code make a prepared sailor effectively invisible for nine days?

In this episode, we follow the timeline from the beacon found on Calhoun Key to the database transfer that sent the alert to the wrong vessel, and we map the procedural gaps that let a live distress signal be misattributed - could one verification step have changed everything?

Person: Rhonda Stewart
Date: July 3-July 14
Location: 48 nautical miles southwest of the Dry Tortugas / Calhoun Key
Vessel: Meridian Spur (42-foot sloop)
Event: EPIRB activation with transposed character in position nine of a 15-character hex code

- Rhonda departed Sarasota on July 3 at 1600 hours with eight days of provisions and 22 liters of fresh water.
- At 0217 on July 5 Meridian Spur was 48 nautical miles southwest of the Dry Tortugas when wind logged 18 knots, then 52 knots four minutes later.
- The mast came down and Rhonda cleared rigging by hand over 40 minutes in 40-knot winds and eight-foot seas, then activated the EPIRB.
- A contractor entered the beacon’s 15-character hex code with a transposition error in the ninth position during a spring database transfer.
- The mistaken code redirected the distress alert to Blue Advent, a 38-foot ketch registered to Stuart Nolan in Fort Myers, and the case was closed before AIS position cross-check completed.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1362falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/she-drank-saltwater-and-waited-six-days-lost-after-the-sloop-sank--73078836
Fear tightens when survival hinges on one person, one piece of equipment, and the ocean’s indifference: a laminated tide table card found perfectly dry on a dock 47 miles from its boat, which was on the bottom, and a retired marine surveyor who spent six days alive in the Atlantic after her sloop capsized - how did she survive, and why did no one know where she was? This episode centers on the vanished float plan, a stopped engine, and a single missing update that turned a routine solo trip to Bimini into a week-long disappearance.

In this episode, we follow Kathleen McCarthy’s final voyage from launch to the moment she surfaced under her overturned sloop, and trace the documented stops, timestamps, and decisions that framed the search - ending on the same unresolved question the tide table card posed: how did routine preparedness become a six-day drift into uncertainty?

Person: Kathleen McCarthy
Age: 61
Boat: Ardent, 32-foot sloop
Departure date: June 16
Last on-land record: Fuel receipt at Pelton Cay, 9:55 AM June 16, 92 gallons

- Float plan filed at Rennick River Marina with expected return June 21; Ardent left dock at 6:40 AM on June 16
- Pelton Cay fuel receipt timestamped 9:55 AM on June 16 for 92 gallons - last confirmed record on land
- Engine seized at approximately 11:40 AM on June 16, about eight miles offshore northeast of Pelton Cay
- Winds reached 30 knots by nightfall on June 16 and gusts up to 45 knots by 2:00 AM on June 17 during the capsize
- Companionway hatch cover (approx. 4 ft by 2.5 ft) floated free at capsize; grab bag with flares and backup radio went down with the vessel

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73078836Tue, 08 Sep 2026 08:00:03 +0000Creator at ObomediaShe Drank Saltwater and Waited: Six Days Lost After the Sloop Sank Fear tightens when survival hinges on one person, one piece of equipment, and the ocean’s indifference: a laminated tide table card found perfectly dry on a dock 47 miles from its...
Fear tightens when survival hinges on one person, one piece of equipment, and the ocean’s indifference: a laminated tide table card found perfectly dry on a dock 47 miles from its boat, which was on the bottom, and a retired marine surveyor who spent six days alive in the Atlantic after her sloop capsized - how did she survive, and why did no one know where she was? This episode centers on the vanished float plan, a stopped engine, and a single missing update that turned a routine solo trip to Bimini into a week-long disappearance.

In this episode, we follow Kathleen McCarthy’s final voyage from launch to the moment she surfaced under her overturned sloop, and trace the documented stops, timestamps, and decisions that framed the search - ending on the same unresolved question the tide table card posed: how did routine preparedness become a six-day drift into uncertainty?

Person: Kathleen McCarthy
Age: 61
Boat: Ardent, 32-foot sloop
Departure date: June 16
Last on-land record: Fuel receipt at Pelton Cay, 9:55 AM June 16, 92 gallons

- Float plan filed at Rennick River Marina with expected return June 21; Ardent left dock at 6:40 AM on June 16
- Pelton Cay fuel receipt timestamped 9:55 AM on June 16 for 92 gallons - last confirmed record on land
- Engine seized at approximately 11:40 AM on June 16, about eight miles offshore northeast of Pelton Cay
- Winds reached 30 knots by nightfall on June 16 and gusts up to 45 knots by 2:00 AM on June 17 during the capsize
- Companionway hatch cover (approx. 4 ft by 2.5 ft) floated free at capsize; grab bag with flares and backup radio went down with the vessel

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1266falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/life-ring-ashore-how-calliope-s-grace-vanished-offshore--73078835
The first image is a thirty-inch white fiberglass life ring standing upright between red cedar roots, four miles from the nearest navigable water - dry and still with CALLIOPE'S GRACE printed on it. How did a ring from a boat that ended up on the ocean floor travel sixty-one miles in the wrong direction and leave two survivors, one fatality, and a search that started in the wrong place?

In this episode, we tell the sequence of decisions, currents, and failed forecasts that led from a planned Bermuda passage to a three-week search that began two hundred and twenty miles from where the survivors actually were. How did a textbook seamanship call to heave-to and deploy a sea anchor shift everything, and what did one life ring reveal that search planners missed?

Person: Monica Parker
Person: Walt Gibbs
Person: Iris Tong
Date: May 7-9, 2019
Location: Morehead City, North Carolina

- The life ring measured thirty inches across and read CALLIOPE'S GRACE in black letters.
- The crew departed Morehead City on the morning of May 7, 2019 for a 1,060 nautical mile passage to Bermuda.
- Monica Parker, age 24, owned forty percent of the 38-foot sloop Calliope's Grace; Walt Gibbs owned sixty percent.
- While heaved-to and anchored for eighteen hours, the vessel was carried sixty-one miles southwest by a cold current running 2.5-3 knots.
- Susan Bennett’s initial search datum placed the mathematical center 220 miles east-southeast of Morehead City based on the filed float plan.

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73078835Mon, 07 Sep 2026 08:00:02 +0000Creator at ObomediaLife Ring Ashore: How Calliope's Grace Vanished Offshore The first image is a thirty-inch white fiberglass life ring standing upright between red cedar roots, four miles from the nearest navigable water - dry and still with CALLIOPE'S GRACE printed...
The first image is a thirty-inch white fiberglass life ring standing upright between red cedar roots, four miles from the nearest navigable water - dry and still with CALLIOPE'S GRACE printed on it. How did a ring from a boat that ended up on the ocean floor travel sixty-one miles in the wrong direction and leave two survivors, one fatality, and a search that started in the wrong place?

In this episode, we tell the sequence of decisions, currents, and failed forecasts that led from a planned Bermuda passage to a three-week search that began two hundred and twenty miles from where the survivors actually were. How did a textbook seamanship call to heave-to and deploy a sea anchor shift everything, and what did one life ring reveal that search planners missed?

Person: Monica Parker
Person: Walt Gibbs
Person: Iris Tong
Date: May 7-9, 2019
Location: Morehead City, North Carolina

- The life ring measured thirty inches across and read CALLIOPE'S GRACE in black letters.
- The crew departed Morehead City on the morning of May 7, 2019 for a 1,060 nautical mile passage to Bermuda.
- Monica Parker, age 24, owned forty percent of the 38-foot sloop Calliope's Grace; Walt Gibbs owned sixty percent.
- While heaved-to and anchored for eighteen hours, the vessel was carried sixty-one miles southwest by a cold current running 2.5-3 knots.
- Susan Bennett’s initial search datum placed the mathematical center 220 miles east-southeast of Morehead City based on the filed float plan.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1335falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/warm-chowder-open-sea-how-kimberly-survived-six-days-adrift--73078834
A warm bowl of potato-leek chowder sat on the salon table of an unmanned trawler found at dawn - still warm, with navigation lights burning and lines trailing in the water. How did Kimberly Ward disappear from a boat that later showed 33 gallons of fuel burned and then reappear alive after six days adrift?

In this episode, we tell what happened from Kimberly’s last messages through the moments that left her in the water, the decisions she made to survive, and the baffling clues investigators found on the Celia Ann. What choices kept her alive for six days on the Atlantic?

Person: Kimberly Ward
Date: April 3-9, 2019
Location: Sapelo Sound / Portsmith Landing
Vessel: Celia Ann (thirty-two-foot trawler)
Fuel used: 33 gallons

- Kimberly launched the Celia Ann at approximately 3:00 PM on April 4, 2019, with 60 gallons of fuel aboard.
- At 2:48 PM on April 4, Kimberly texted her sister saying she was heading to Sapelo Sound; that was the last message received.
- At 5:15 PM on April 5, a powerboat struck the Celia Ann on the starboard quarter, cracking the hull below the waterline.
- Kimberly pumped the bilge manually from about 7:15 PM to 9:15 PM before a wave at around midnight rolled the boat and she went into the 58°F water.
- Kimberly swam about 40 minutes to a tethered life raft, taking her supplemental spiral field journal with her and leaving the autopilot-engaged Celia Ann running toward the nearest channel marker.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73078834Sun, 06 Sep 2026 08:00:02 +0000Creator at ObomediaWarm Chowder, Open Sea: How Kimberly Survived Six Days Adrift A warm bowl of potato-leek chowder sat on the salon table of an unmanned trawler found at dawn - still warm, with navigation lights burning and lines trailing in the water. How did...
A warm bowl of potato-leek chowder sat on the salon table of an unmanned trawler found at dawn - still warm, with navigation lights burning and lines trailing in the water. How did Kimberly Ward disappear from a boat that later showed 33 gallons of fuel burned and then reappear alive after six days adrift?

In this episode, we tell what happened from Kimberly’s last messages through the moments that left her in the water, the decisions she made to survive, and the baffling clues investigators found on the Celia Ann. What choices kept her alive for six days on the Atlantic?

Person: Kimberly Ward
Date: April 3-9, 2019
Location: Sapelo Sound / Portsmith Landing
Vessel: Celia Ann (thirty-two-foot trawler)
Fuel used: 33 gallons

- Kimberly launched the Celia Ann at approximately 3:00 PM on April 4, 2019, with 60 gallons of fuel aboard.
- At 2:48 PM on April 4, Kimberly texted her sister saying she was heading to Sapelo Sound; that was the last message received.
- At 5:15 PM on April 5, a powerboat struck the Celia Ann on the starboard quarter, cracking the hull below the waterline.
- Kimberly pumped the bilge manually from about 7:15 PM to 9:15 PM before a wave at around midnight rolled the boat and she went into the 58°F water.
- Kimberly swam about 40 minutes to a tethered life raft, taking her supplemental spiral field journal with her and leaving the autopilot-engaged Celia Ann running toward the nearest channel marker.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1291falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/dry-card-drowned-compass-how-merrow-bell-survivors-stayed-alive--73078833
A dry laminated care chart tied to a cleat in a hull full of brackish water survived a capsizing that ruined everything else aboard the Merrow Bell - and that single card helped keep three people alive for six days while searchers looked forty miles away. How did a marine-care chart, a waterproof notebook and a clipped personal locator beacon shape the small decisions that mattered between capsizing and rescue?

In this episode, we tell what happened from departure on March 7, 2019 through the six days after the Merrow Bell capsized: who was aboard, how the boat went over in a squall, what gear they had, and the sequence of survivor actions that sustained them - and how a search system failed them for forty-seven hours.

Person: Greg Tully
Person: Lisa Schultz
Person: Walt Iverson
Person: Andrea Foss
Date: March 7-14, 2019

- The Merrow Bell was a 28-foot sloop that capsized in a squall on the evening of March 7, 2019.
- Wind reached 38 knots sustained and gusts up to 44 knots; waves reached 8 feet during the squall.
- One person, Greg Tully, went into the water at about 7:15 PM and did not return; three survivors righted the hull before dawn.
- Lisa Schultz, age 32, brought a laminated care chart she used for a juvenile leatherback sea turtle and kept a copy clipped to a tank previously.
- Walt Iverson, age 61, had his personal locator beacon clipped to his life jacket and had double-checked it that morning.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73078833Sat, 05 Sep 2026 08:00:02 +0000Creator at ObomediaDry Card, Drowned Compass: How Merrow Bell Survivors Stayed Alive A dry laminated care chart tied to a cleat in a hull full of brackish water survived a capsizing that ruined everything else aboard the Merrow Bell - and that single card helped keep...
A dry laminated care chart tied to a cleat in a hull full of brackish water survived a capsizing that ruined everything else aboard the Merrow Bell - and that single card helped keep three people alive for six days while searchers looked forty miles away. How did a marine-care chart, a waterproof notebook and a clipped personal locator beacon shape the small decisions that mattered between capsizing and rescue?

In this episode, we tell what happened from departure on March 7, 2019 through the six days after the Merrow Bell capsized: who was aboard, how the boat went over in a squall, what gear they had, and the sequence of survivor actions that sustained them - and how a search system failed them for forty-seven hours.

Person: Greg Tully
Person: Lisa Schultz
Person: Walt Iverson
Person: Andrea Foss
Date: March 7-14, 2019

- The Merrow Bell was a 28-foot sloop that capsized in a squall on the evening of March 7, 2019.
- Wind reached 38 knots sustained and gusts up to 44 knots; waves reached 8 feet during the squall.
- One person, Greg Tully, went into the water at about 7:15 PM and did not return; three survivors righted the hull before dawn.
- Lisa Schultz, age 32, brought a laminated care chart she used for a juvenile leatherback sea turtle and kept a copy clipped to a tank previously.
- Walt Iverson, age 61, had his personal locator beacon clipped to his life jacket and had double-checked it that morning.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1311falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/at-twelve-fifty-one-in-the-afternoon-on-february-twenty-third--73078831
Cold, alone and drifting for eight days and fourteen hours, a 52-year-old man survived with a body temperature of 94.1°F thanks to a four-inch military surplus mirror he wrapped in a wool sock and sealed inside a Ziploc - but how did that tiny object end up months later on a locked substation roof 200 yards from the water? This episode follows the cascade of gear failures, a mislocated distress beacon, and the impossible trail of a mirror that should never have been found.

In this episode, we tell the sequence of events from the moment Wayne Whitley left Radio Island through the days the Coast Guard searched the wrong area, to the rescue and the baffling later discovery - and we ask whether chance, design, or something else explains the mirror's final resting place.

Person: Wayne Whitley
Age: 52
Boat: Patience Tern, 9.4 meters
Time adrift: 8 days and 14 hours
Rescue time: 12:51 PM on February 23, 2019

- The Coast Guard helicopter pulled Wayne from the Atlantic after he had been in the water for exactly eight days and fourteen hours.
- The rescue team's thermometer recorded a body temperature of 94.1°F, about three degrees above the point where the body begins to irreversibly shut down.
- Wayne left Radio Island marina on Saturday, February 15 at 7:40 AM and sent informal GPS coordinates that were only stored in a dockhand Phil Oats's text messages.
- His distress beacon was transmitting but reported a position 12 miles away from his actual location, directing search planes to the wrong area for days.
- Weeks after the rescue, the four-inch signal mirror was found on the roof of an electrical substation in Harkers Landing, 200 yards from Bogue Sound, behind a locked chain-link fence with no footprints or clear explanation.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73078831Fri, 04 Sep 2026 08:00:02 +0000Creator at ObomediaAt twelve fifty-one in the afternoon on February twenty-third Cold, alone and drifting for eight days and fourteen hours, a 52-year-old man survived with a body temperature of 94.1°F thanks to a four-inch military surplus mirror he wrapped in a...
Cold, alone and drifting for eight days and fourteen hours, a 52-year-old man survived with a body temperature of 94.1°F thanks to a four-inch military surplus mirror he wrapped in a wool sock and sealed inside a Ziploc - but how did that tiny object end up months later on a locked substation roof 200 yards from the water? This episode follows the cascade of gear failures, a mislocated distress beacon, and the impossible trail of a mirror that should never have been found.

In this episode, we tell the sequence of events from the moment Wayne Whitley left Radio Island through the days the Coast Guard searched the wrong area, to the rescue and the baffling later discovery - and we ask whether chance, design, or something else explains the mirror's final resting place.

Person: Wayne Whitley
Age: 52
Boat: Patience Tern, 9.4 meters
Time adrift: 8 days and 14 hours
Rescue time: 12:51 PM on February 23, 2019

- The Coast Guard helicopter pulled Wayne from the Atlantic after he had been in the water for exactly eight days and fourteen hours.
- The rescue team's thermometer recorded a body temperature of 94.1°F, about three degrees above the point where the body begins to irreversibly shut down.
- Wayne left Radio Island marina on Saturday, February 15 at 7:40 AM and sent informal GPS coordinates that were only stored in a dockhand Phil Oats's text messages.
- His distress beacon was transmitting but reported a position 12 miles away from his actual location, directing search planes to the wrong area for days.
- Weeks after the rescue, the four-inch signal mirror was found on the roof of an electrical substation in Harkers Landing, 200 yards from Bogue Sound, behind a locked chain-link fence with no footprints or clear explanation.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1447falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/left-to-the-compass-alone-injured-230-miles-from-shore--73078830
A teacher with a cracked rib and a handheld compass was left alone on a damaged 38-foot sloop 230 miles southwest of the Dry Tortugas after a wave at 4:15 AM ripped her crewmate away; she recorded one GPS fix in permanent marker before the chartplotter died. Which choice would keep them alive - head north toward Florida or south toward the Yucatán - when currents were already pushing the boat off course?

In this episode, we follow the first ten days after the wave hit and the decisions that shaped the search and the survivors' fate. You’ll hear how one faint coordinate, a broken binnacle, and a single handheld compass forced a choice with consequences no one anticipated.

Person: Beverly Moore
Person: Frank Deluca
Person: Aaron Pell
Date: January 9, 2009
Location: 24°40′N, 87°10′W

- At 4:15 AM on January 9, 2009, a wave struck and Frank Deluca disappeared from the cockpit.
- The sloop Perseverance II was a 38-foot vessel located roughly 230 miles southwest of the Dry Tortugas at the time of the incident.
- Beverly Moore recorded one chartplotter position (24°40′N, 87°10′W) in permanent marker before the unit failed.
- Beverly suffered two cracked ribs when the boat snapped sideways and she was thrown across the cabin.
- The Gulf Loop Current was moving against the vessel’s course at roughly 1.5 knots, pushing Perseverance II eastward.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73078830Thu, 03 Sep 2026 08:00:02 +0000Creator at ObomediaLeft to the Compass: Alone, Injured, 230 Miles from Shore A teacher with a cracked rib and a handheld compass was left alone on a damaged 38-foot sloop 230 miles southwest of the Dry Tortugas after a wave at 4:15 AM ripped her crewmate away; she...
A teacher with a cracked rib and a handheld compass was left alone on a damaged 38-foot sloop 230 miles southwest of the Dry Tortugas after a wave at 4:15 AM ripped her crewmate away; she recorded one GPS fix in permanent marker before the chartplotter died. Which choice would keep them alive - head north toward Florida or south toward the Yucatán - when currents were already pushing the boat off course?

In this episode, we follow the first ten days after the wave hit and the decisions that shaped the search and the survivors' fate. You’ll hear how one faint coordinate, a broken binnacle, and a single handheld compass forced a choice with consequences no one anticipated.

Person: Beverly Moore
Person: Frank Deluca
Person: Aaron Pell
Date: January 9, 2009
Location: 24°40′N, 87°10′W

- At 4:15 AM on January 9, 2009, a wave struck and Frank Deluca disappeared from the cockpit.
- The sloop Perseverance II was a 38-foot vessel located roughly 230 miles southwest of the Dry Tortugas at the time of the incident.
- Beverly Moore recorded one chartplotter position (24°40′N, 87°10′W) in permanent marker before the unit failed.
- Beverly suffered two cracked ribs when the boat snapped sideways and she was thrown across the cabin.
- The Gulf Loop Current was moving against the vessel’s course at roughly 1.5 knots, pushing Perseverance II eastward.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1206falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/found-alive-in-an-orange-raft-the-numbers-on-his-canopy--73078829
The sight of an orange life raft zipped shut from the inside stopped a meter reader on a December morning - International Orange, tied to a dock with a neat half-hitch, registration matching a missing thirty-one-foot sloop. Inside the raft were six columns by nine rows of numbers pressed into the canopy in grease, readable only by touch; why were those numbers there, and what truth did they try to hold against the sea?

In this episode, we follow the timeline from a routine sail out of Briar Point Marina to a cold front that arrived four hours early and a backstay fitting failure that punched a hole through the hull. We trace Kevin Armstrong’s actions in the forty minutes before Pelican Run sank and the baffling details left on the raft’s canopy - what were those numbers meant to protect, and how far were they from the reality they recorded?

Person: Kevin Armstrong
Age: 28
Vessel: Pelican Run (31-foot sloop)
Date: December 5 (cold front arrival at 4:00 a.m.)
Location: Briar Point Marina / off Florida coast

- The raft’s registration matched a thirty-one-foot sloop named Pelican Run.
- Kevin activated the EPIRB’s lanyard before the EPIRB sank with the boat.
- The cold front arrived four hours earlier than every forecast predicted.
- Wind reached sustained thirty-one knots with gusts to forty-four knots.
- Six columns and nine rows of numbers were pressed into the life raft canopy in grease.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73078829Wed, 02 Sep 2026 08:00:03 +0000Creator at ObomediaFound Alive in an Orange Raft: The Numbers on His Canopy The sight of an orange life raft zipped shut from the inside stopped a meter reader on a December morning - International Orange, tied to a dock with a neat half-hitch, registration matching...
The sight of an orange life raft zipped shut from the inside stopped a meter reader on a December morning - International Orange, tied to a dock with a neat half-hitch, registration matching a missing thirty-one-foot sloop. Inside the raft were six columns by nine rows of numbers pressed into the canopy in grease, readable only by touch; why were those numbers there, and what truth did they try to hold against the sea?

In this episode, we follow the timeline from a routine sail out of Briar Point Marina to a cold front that arrived four hours early and a backstay fitting failure that punched a hole through the hull. We trace Kevin Armstrong’s actions in the forty minutes before Pelican Run sank and the baffling details left on the raft’s canopy - what were those numbers meant to protect, and how far were they from the reality they recorded?

Person: Kevin Armstrong
Age: 28
Vessel: Pelican Run (31-foot sloop)
Date: December 5 (cold front arrival at 4:00 a.m.)
Location: Briar Point Marina / off Florida coast

- The raft’s registration matched a thirty-one-foot sloop named Pelican Run.
- Kevin activated the EPIRB’s lanyard before the EPIRB sank with the boat.
- The cold front arrived four hours earlier than every forecast predicted.
- Wind reached sustained thirty-one knots with gusts to forty-four knots.
- Six columns and nine rows of numbers were pressed into the life raft canopy in grease.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1373falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-whistle-in-the-donation-truck-seven-names-one-secret--73078827
Salt-stiffened, smelling of the open Atlantic, a life vest pulled from a church donation truck in Beaufort held a plastic whistle and a laminated card with seven names - four with hash marks, three with a single letter: N. That whistle had been in the water, on a man who was dying, and once belonged to someone who never returned; what did Dennis Falk's tiny, precise card actually mean, and how did it travel from a sinking ship to a donation bin?

In this episode, we tell the sequence of events from the MV Hendricks Bay leaving Savannah to the lifeboat that drifted without a functioning beacon, following the seven people who launched into a twenty-two minute disaster and five days at sea. How did the preparations of one meticulous officer shape what happened to the others?

Date: November 10, 2011
Location: Off the coast after departure from Savannah
Vessel: MV Hendricks Bay (Panamax bulk carrier)
Collision vessel: MV Calder Cross (68,000-ton, Liberian flag)
Lifeboat occupants: 7 people

- The Hendricks Bay sank in twenty-two minutes after the collision at 2:47 a.m, on November 10, 2011.
- Lifeboat Two launched with seven people: Eric Quinn, Dennis Falk, Tomas Reyes, Donna Marsh, Brian Pickett, Joe Strand, and Sam Holt.
- Dennis Falk carried a laminated card roughly 3 inches by 4 inches listing seven names in two columns, with four names marked by hash marks and three marked with the letter "N."
- The life vest Paul Holmes found in a donation truck on November 19, 2011, was waterlogged and contained a whistle and the laminated seven-name card.
- Three occupants of Lifeboat Two could not swim: Joe Strand (41), Sam Holt (33), and Brian Pickett (22).

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73078827Tue, 01 Sep 2026 08:00:02 +0000Creator at ObomediaThe Whistle in the Donation Truck: Seven Names, One Secret Salt-stiffened, smelling of the open Atlantic, a life vest pulled from a church donation truck in Beaufort held a plastic whistle and a laminated card with seven names - four with hash...
Salt-stiffened, smelling of the open Atlantic, a life vest pulled from a church donation truck in Beaufort held a plastic whistle and a laminated card with seven names - four with hash marks, three with a single letter: N. That whistle had been in the water, on a man who was dying, and once belonged to someone who never returned; what did Dennis Falk's tiny, precise card actually mean, and how did it travel from a sinking ship to a donation bin?

In this episode, we tell the sequence of events from the MV Hendricks Bay leaving Savannah to the lifeboat that drifted without a functioning beacon, following the seven people who launched into a twenty-two minute disaster and five days at sea. How did the preparations of one meticulous officer shape what happened to the others?

Date: November 10, 2011
Location: Off the coast after departure from Savannah
Vessel: MV Hendricks Bay (Panamax bulk carrier)
Collision vessel: MV Calder Cross (68,000-ton, Liberian flag)
Lifeboat occupants: 7 people

- The Hendricks Bay sank in twenty-two minutes after the collision at 2:47 a.m, on November 10, 2011.
- Lifeboat Two launched with seven people: Eric Quinn, Dennis Falk, Tomas Reyes, Donna Marsh, Brian Pickett, Joe Strand, and Sam Holt.
- Dennis Falk carried a laminated card roughly 3 inches by 4 inches listing seven names in two columns, with four names marked by hash marks and three marked with the letter "N."
- The life vest Paul Holmes found in a donation truck on November 19, 2011, was waterlogged and contained a whistle and the laminated seven-name card.
- Three occupants of Lifeboat Two could not swim: Joe Strand (41), Sam Holt (33), and Brian Pickett (22).

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1365falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/released-raft-drifted-free-and-was-not-retrieved-by-crew--73078826
A dry spiral-bound notebook dated Thanksgiving, found inside an orange survival raft beached near Brunswick, Georgia, belonged to a twenty-two-year-old woman who had been missing at sea - and the date on its cover was four weeks in the future. This episode traces how a cracked watermaker, a falsified GPS readout, and eleven mornings of wringing condensation from a sail converged into a drift that left a raft adrift and unanswered: how did a routine passage turn into a disappearance with a notebook dated after the voyage?

In this episode, we follow the voyage of Cormorant Blue from Charleston on October 4, 2016, through the storm that struck on October 5 and the eleven days that followed, reconstructing onboard failures, rationing, and the small decisions that shaped the outcome. What does the presence of that notebook - intentionally brought aboard and found dry in a sealed bag - tell us about what happened?

Person: Donald Reese
Person: Amanda Brown
Person: Person: Paul Ingram
Date: October 4-22, 2016
Hull number: HF-7741

- Cormorant Blue is a thirty-eight-foot fiberglass cutter with a blue hull.
- The survival raft hull number found was HF-7741.
- The raft was discovered beached forty feet off a coastal trail near Brunswick, Georgia.
- Amanda Brown’s notebook bore a handwritten Thanksgiving menu dated November 24.
- The crew rationed to one quart of freshwater per person per day after the watermaker failed.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73078826Mon, 31 Aug 2026 08:00:02 +0000Creator at Obomediareleased; raft drifted free and was not retrieved by crew A dry spiral-bound notebook dated Thanksgiving, found inside an orange survival raft beached near Brunswick, Georgia, belonged to a twenty-two-year-old woman who had been missing at sea -...
A dry spiral-bound notebook dated Thanksgiving, found inside an orange survival raft beached near Brunswick, Georgia, belonged to a twenty-two-year-old woman who had been missing at sea - and the date on its cover was four weeks in the future. This episode traces how a cracked watermaker, a falsified GPS readout, and eleven mornings of wringing condensation from a sail converged into a drift that left a raft adrift and unanswered: how did a routine passage turn into a disappearance with a notebook dated after the voyage?

In this episode, we follow the voyage of Cormorant Blue from Charleston on October 4, 2016, through the storm that struck on October 5 and the eleven days that followed, reconstructing onboard failures, rationing, and the small decisions that shaped the outcome. What does the presence of that notebook - intentionally brought aboard and found dry in a sealed bag - tell us about what happened?

Person: Donald Reese
Person: Amanda Brown
Person: Person: Paul Ingram
Date: October 4-22, 2016
Hull number: HF-7741

- Cormorant Blue is a thirty-eight-foot fiberglass cutter with a blue hull.
- The survival raft hull number found was HF-7741.
- The raft was discovered beached forty feet off a coastal trail near Brunswick, Georgia.
- Amanda Brown’s notebook bore a handwritten Thanksgiving menu dated November 24.
- The crew rationed to one quart of freshwater per person per day after the watermaker failed.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1240falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/dry-ink-at-dawn-the-anchor-chain-that-kept-them-alive--73078825
Dry ink floating face-down in the Gulf, pages bone dry despite a shipboard inferno-one fisherman’s find spelled out a midnight fire, a man in the water, and a mysterious “chain” that might have saved them. How did a soaked wreck and a dry logbook point fifteen miles apart, and what did that single word reveal about survival against the odds?

In this episode, we follow the sequence of events from departure to rescue, the details in the hand-written logbook, and the actions that narrowed a fifteen-mile discrepancy between reported and found positions-could one man’s instinct explain the gap?

Date: September 9, 2011
Person: Jerry Roberts
Person: Danny Pruitt
Location: four miles southeast of Pelican Shelf (logbook found)
Event: engine compartment fire at 00:24 on September 8

- The logbook was recovered at 07:00 on September 9, 2011, floating face-down with pages bone dry inside a saturated cover.
- The last log entry, written at 00:24 on September 8, read: "fire in the engine compartment, both hulls, Danny is in the water, I have the chain, God help us."
- The Celia Jane was a 42-foot Fountaine Pajot catamaran, built in 2003 and owned by Jerry Roberts for four years.
- By the evening of September 7 they were approximately 18 miles south-southwest of Pelican Shelf in 60-90 feet of water; the last confirmed logged position was at 22:00.
- The vessel was consumed by fire in less than 20 minutes after a fuel line failure and a loose wire ignited accumulated diesel vapors.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73078825Sun, 30 Aug 2026 08:00:02 +0000Creator at ObomediaDry Ink at Dawn: The Anchor Chain That Kept Them Alive Dry ink floating face-down in the Gulf, pages bone dry despite a shipboard inferno-one fisherman’s find spelled out a midnight fire, a man in the water, and a mysterious “chain” that might have...
Dry ink floating face-down in the Gulf, pages bone dry despite a shipboard inferno-one fisherman’s find spelled out a midnight fire, a man in the water, and a mysterious “chain” that might have saved them. How did a soaked wreck and a dry logbook point fifteen miles apart, and what did that single word reveal about survival against the odds?

In this episode, we follow the sequence of events from departure to rescue, the details in the hand-written logbook, and the actions that narrowed a fifteen-mile discrepancy between reported and found positions-could one man’s instinct explain the gap?

Date: September 9, 2011
Person: Jerry Roberts
Person: Danny Pruitt
Location: four miles southeast of Pelican Shelf (logbook found)
Event: engine compartment fire at 00:24 on September 8

- The logbook was recovered at 07:00 on September 9, 2011, floating face-down with pages bone dry inside a saturated cover.
- The last log entry, written at 00:24 on September 8, read: "fire in the engine compartment, both hulls, Danny is in the water, I have the chain, God help us."
- The Celia Jane was a 42-foot Fountaine Pajot catamaran, built in 2003 and owned by Jerry Roberts for four years.
- By the evening of September 7 they were approximately 18 miles south-southwest of Pelican Shelf in 60-90 feet of water; the last confirmed logged position was at 22:00.
- The vessel was consumed by fire in less than 20 minutes after a fuel line failure and a loose wire ignited accumulated diesel vapors.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1367falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-laminated-card-that-saved-a-sailor-found-40-yards-from-sea--73078824
A laminated safety card wedged in the fork of a live oak, four feet off the ground and forty yards from the water’s edge, was the single clue that led to a missing sailor’s survival after his boat went down nineteen miles out in the Atlantic. The card, a logbook in a waterproof sleeve, and a sequence of degraded EPIRB positions reveal a search that went to the wrong place - so how did one scrap of plastic end up saving a life?

In this episode, we follow the timeline from departure to rescue, laying out the EPIRB transmissions, the logbook entries, the debris found, and the northern drift that actually carried the sailor back toward shore - and we ask how a single early GPS fix derailed a massive search.

Person: Mark Allen Callahan
Date: August 8-14, 2009
Location: nineteen miles southeast of Cape Lookout (initial EPIRB fix); Pamlico Sound / Ocracoke Inlet (actual drift)
Event: EPIRB activation and vessel dismasting in a squall
Status: Survivor found; laminated card located forty yards from water

- The EPIRB first transmitted at 23:47 on August 9 with a position nineteen miles southeast of Cape Lookout.
- The boat’s logbook entry that night reads: "Log is dry. Will try."
- Callahan was in the water for approximately eight minutes before pulling himself back aboard and activating the EPIRB.
- Callahan paddled with his hands for two days, steering north-northwest toward visible scrubland.
- A laminated safety card was found wedged four feet off the ground in a live oak, forty yards from the water’s edge.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73078824Sat, 29 Aug 2026 08:00:02 +0000Creator at ObomediaThe Laminated Card That Saved a Sailor-Found 40 Yards From Sea A laminated safety card wedged in the fork of a live oak, four feet off the ground and forty yards from the water’s edge, was the single clue that led to a missing sailor’s survival...
A laminated safety card wedged in the fork of a live oak, four feet off the ground and forty yards from the water’s edge, was the single clue that led to a missing sailor’s survival after his boat went down nineteen miles out in the Atlantic. The card, a logbook in a waterproof sleeve, and a sequence of degraded EPIRB positions reveal a search that went to the wrong place - so how did one scrap of plastic end up saving a life?

In this episode, we follow the timeline from departure to rescue, laying out the EPIRB transmissions, the logbook entries, the debris found, and the northern drift that actually carried the sailor back toward shore - and we ask how a single early GPS fix derailed a massive search.

Person: Mark Allen Callahan
Date: August 8-14, 2009
Location: nineteen miles southeast of Cape Lookout (initial EPIRB fix); Pamlico Sound / Ocracoke Inlet (actual drift)
Event: EPIRB activation and vessel dismasting in a squall
Status: Survivor found; laminated card located forty yards from water

- The EPIRB first transmitted at 23:47 on August 9 with a position nineteen miles southeast of Cape Lookout.
- The boat’s logbook entry that night reads: "Log is dry. Will try."
- Callahan was in the water for approximately eight minutes before pulling himself back aboard and activating the EPIRB.
- Callahan paddled with his hands for two days, steering north-northwest toward visible scrubland.
- A laminated safety card was found wedged four feet off the ground in a live oak, forty yards from the water’s edge.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1382falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/she-fell-overboard-survived-8-dark-hours-by-swimming-toward-scorpius--73078822
The cold pull of the Gulf, total darkness, and a four-dollar alarm clock that had been underwater for thirty hours-yet at 6:14 a.m. the tiny beep started, clipped to a jacket that had kept a twenty-four-year-old woman alive through eight hours alone in open water. How did a waterproof jacket, a cheap alarm rated to one meter, and a constellation become the unlikely tools of survival?

In this episode, we chronicle the night Lisa Sharp went overboard from the Marabel and the eight-hour swim she navigated by scorpion-star navigation, the broken GPS, and the unexpected durability of a medication alarm. Can her notebook and that small alarm explain how she stayed alive until rescue?

Person: Lisa Sharp
Event: Overboard from the Marabel on July 12, 2019
Location: Gulf Coast of Florida, approx. 11-17 miles offshore
Time: Went overboard at 10:40 PM; alarm beeped at 6:14 AM
Object: $4 medication alarm rated waterproof to 1 meter

- Lisa Sharp was 24 years old and had worked two seasons as a crew member on charter runs.
- The incident occurred the night of July 12, 2019; she went overboard at 10:40 PM.
- The boat, the Marabel, is a 38-foot sloop skippered by Steve Dodd.
- The alarm clipped to her jacket had been underwater for roughly 30 hours before beeping at 6:14 AM.
- Lisa swam for about eight hours, using the constellation Scorpius as a fixed point to keep a southward bearing.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73078822Fri, 28 Aug 2026 08:00:03 +0000Creator at ObomediaShe Fell Overboard-Survived 8 Dark Hours By Swimming Toward Scorpius The cold pull of the Gulf, total darkness, and a four-dollar alarm clock that had been underwater for thirty hours-yet at 6:14 a.m. the tiny beep started, clipped to a jacket that...
The cold pull of the Gulf, total darkness, and a four-dollar alarm clock that had been underwater for thirty hours-yet at 6:14 a.m. the tiny beep started, clipped to a jacket that had kept a twenty-four-year-old woman alive through eight hours alone in open water. How did a waterproof jacket, a cheap alarm rated to one meter, and a constellation become the unlikely tools of survival?

In this episode, we chronicle the night Lisa Sharp went overboard from the Marabel and the eight-hour swim she navigated by scorpion-star navigation, the broken GPS, and the unexpected durability of a medication alarm. Can her notebook and that small alarm explain how she stayed alive until rescue?

Person: Lisa Sharp
Event: Overboard from the Marabel on July 12, 2019
Location: Gulf Coast of Florida, approx. 11-17 miles offshore
Time: Went overboard at 10:40 PM; alarm beeped at 6:14 AM
Object: $4 medication alarm rated waterproof to 1 meter

- Lisa Sharp was 24 years old and had worked two seasons as a crew member on charter runs.
- The incident occurred the night of July 12, 2019; she went overboard at 10:40 PM.
- The boat, the Marabel, is a 38-foot sloop skippered by Steve Dodd.
- The alarm clipped to her jacket had been underwater for roughly 30 hours before beeping at 6:14 AM.
- Lisa swam for about eight hours, using the constellation Scorpius as a fixed point to keep a southward bearing.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1242falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-thermos-the-raft-and-66-hours-adrift--73078821
A sealed stainless steel thermos, found three days after a sailboat vanished, sat deliberately at the center of an empty life raft and became the clue that changed a Coast Guard search model - and it helped pull a woman alive from the Gulf. How can a single instinctive decision made in the dark decide whether you survive?

In this episode, we follow the chronological account of Jennifer Johnson’s solo passage from Fort Myers to Progreso on June 5-6, 2019, the unexpected micro-front that capsized her sloop, the decision she made before abandoning ship, and the sequence of events that left her adrift for 66 hours - what happened during those hours, and what question about survival did that thermos answer?

Person: Jennifer Johnson
Date: June 6, 2019
Location: Gulf of Mexico (off Fort Myers)
Vessel: Ardent Star, 38-foot sloop
Duration adrift: 66 hours

- At 22:52 on June 6, 2019, Jennifer brewed coffee in a stainless steel thermos and logged it in her journal.
- Approximately 40 minutes after that entry, the Ardent Star capsized and sank; the thermos was later found sealed and dry.
- Jennifer deployed a six-person life raft eight minutes after the knockdown and took the thermos and an EPIRB that had a sheared antenna.
- The life raft contained a handheld VHF with ~18 hours battery, four signal flares, a hand desalinator, six water pouches, two energy bars, and 11 ounces of cold coffee in the thermos.
- The raft drifted roughly one nautical mile per hour along the outer shelf, keeping it out of main shipping lanes and affecting the search pattern.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73078821Thu, 27 Aug 2026 08:00:03 +0000Creator at ObomediaThe Thermos, The Raft, and 66 Hours Adrift A sealed stainless steel thermos, found three days after a sailboat vanished, sat deliberately at the center of an empty life raft and became the clue that changed a Coast Guard search model - and it...
A sealed stainless steel thermos, found three days after a sailboat vanished, sat deliberately at the center of an empty life raft and became the clue that changed a Coast Guard search model - and it helped pull a woman alive from the Gulf. How can a single instinctive decision made in the dark decide whether you survive?

In this episode, we follow the chronological account of Jennifer Johnson’s solo passage from Fort Myers to Progreso on June 5-6, 2019, the unexpected micro-front that capsized her sloop, the decision she made before abandoning ship, and the sequence of events that left her adrift for 66 hours - what happened during those hours, and what question about survival did that thermos answer?

Person: Jennifer Johnson
Date: June 6, 2019
Location: Gulf of Mexico (off Fort Myers)
Vessel: Ardent Star, 38-foot sloop
Duration adrift: 66 hours

- At 22:52 on June 6, 2019, Jennifer brewed coffee in a stainless steel thermos and logged it in her journal.
- Approximately 40 minutes after that entry, the Ardent Star capsized and sank; the thermos was later found sealed and dry.
- Jennifer deployed a six-person life raft eight minutes after the knockdown and took the thermos and an EPIRB that had a sheared antenna.
- The life raft contained a handheld VHF with ~18 hours battery, four signal flares, a hand desalinator, six water pouches, two energy bars, and 11 ounces of cold coffee in the thermos.
- The raft drifted roughly one nautical mile per hour along the outer shelf, keeping it out of main shipping lanes and affecting the search pattern.

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1222falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-orange-ring-how-one-mother-s-breath-defied-death-at-carver-lake--73078820
Cold water, a threaded valve, and a mother who closed it by touch: a thirty-two-year-old woman kept her six-year-old alive after their ferry capsized in forty-eight-degree lake water, and the orange inflatable she sealed drifted for six days before returning to the dock-how did a simple canvas bag and one exhausted decision make the difference between life and death?

In this episode, we follow the night of May tenth when the Mattie Ives capsized with thirty-one passengers and four crew, track the immediate rescue efforts and search grid, and trace how an orange inflatable ring packed for a birthday trip survived six days in the lake-what chain of events connected the ring’s return to the rescue teams standing on the dock?

Person: Sarah Cox
Person: Lily Cox
Event: Mattie Ives capsizing
Date: May 10, 2019
Duration adrift: six days

- Water temperature at the time was 48 degrees Fahrenheit.
- The ferry carried 31 passengers and 4 crew.
- The ninety-second rule describes loss of fine motor control in near-freezing water after roughly 90 seconds.
- Sarah closed a threaded screw-cap valve by touch after inflating the orange ring.
- The orange inflatable was recovered between two dock pilings at first light on May 20, 2019.

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73078820Wed, 26 Aug 2026 08:00:02 +0000Creator at ObomediaThe Orange Ring: How One Mother's Breath Defied Death at Carver Lake Cold water, a threaded valve, and a mother who closed it by touch: a thirty-two-year-old woman kept her six-year-old alive after their ferry capsized in forty-eight-degree lake...
Cold water, a threaded valve, and a mother who closed it by touch: a thirty-two-year-old woman kept her six-year-old alive after their ferry capsized in forty-eight-degree lake water, and the orange inflatable she sealed drifted for six days before returning to the dock-how did a simple canvas bag and one exhausted decision make the difference between life and death?

In this episode, we follow the night of May tenth when the Mattie Ives capsized with thirty-one passengers and four crew, track the immediate rescue efforts and search grid, and trace how an orange inflatable ring packed for a birthday trip survived six days in the lake-what chain of events connected the ring’s return to the rescue teams standing on the dock?

Person: Sarah Cox
Person: Lily Cox
Event: Mattie Ives capsizing
Date: May 10, 2019
Duration adrift: six days

- Water temperature at the time was 48 degrees Fahrenheit.
- The ferry carried 31 passengers and 4 crew.
- The ninety-second rule describes loss of fine motor control in near-freezing water after roughly 90 seconds.
- Sarah closed a threaded screw-cap valve by touch after inflating the orange ring.
- The orange inflatable was recovered between two dock pilings at first light on May 20, 2019.

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1297falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-log-that-drifted-15-days-alone-found-40-miles-away--73078819
Fear and disbelief: a waterproof diary washed ashore while its owner was still alive, drifting alone at sea for fifteen days and found forty miles from where search teams were looking - how did every safety system fail at once? What tiny errors stacked into a survival nightmare that began with a service call and a single misoriented part?

In this episode, we follow the chronology recorded in the waterproof notebook and the maintenance records that matter, laying out the sequence of equipment failures, log entries, and decisions that left a solo sailor adrift; how did a routine electronics service become the hinge between routine passages and a fifteen-day ordeal?

Person: Vicki Young
Location: Edgerton, South Carolina
Vessel: Cora Lee, thirty-two-foot sloop
Event: Fifteen days adrift; diary washed ashore in marsh grass
Service error: Hydrostatic release unit reinstalled in wrong orientation

- Vicki wrote forty-one days of entries in a waterproof notebook, the last entry made with a finger dipped in peanut butter.
- The Cora Lee was a thirty-two-foot sloop Vicki owned for eleven years and had sailed solo for four years.
- Vicki left Edgerton Marina on March 9, 2019, with the first log entry at 7:40 AM noting wind NW at 12 knots and full fuel tanks.
- In January 2019, Phil Garza reinstalled the hydrostatic release mechanism in the wrong orientation during routine EPIRB service; the error occurs about once in every thousand service calls.
- The bilge pump first cycled on March 18, and marine surveyors identified a likely weeping keel joint after a knockdown between March 18 and March 22.

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73078819Tue, 25 Aug 2026 08:00:03 +0000Creator at ObomediaThe Log That Drifted: 15 Days Alone, Found 40 Miles Away Fear and disbelief: a waterproof diary washed ashore while its owner was still alive, drifting alone at sea for fifteen days and found forty miles from where search teams were looking - how...
Fear and disbelief: a waterproof diary washed ashore while its owner was still alive, drifting alone at sea for fifteen days and found forty miles from where search teams were looking - how did every safety system fail at once? What tiny errors stacked into a survival nightmare that began with a service call and a single misoriented part?

In this episode, we follow the chronology recorded in the waterproof notebook and the maintenance records that matter, laying out the sequence of equipment failures, log entries, and decisions that left a solo sailor adrift; how did a routine electronics service become the hinge between routine passages and a fifteen-day ordeal?

Person: Vicki Young
Location: Edgerton, South Carolina
Vessel: Cora Lee, thirty-two-foot sloop
Event: Fifteen days adrift; diary washed ashore in marsh grass
Service error: Hydrostatic release unit reinstalled in wrong orientation

- Vicki wrote forty-one days of entries in a waterproof notebook, the last entry made with a finger dipped in peanut butter.
- The Cora Lee was a thirty-two-foot sloop Vicki owned for eleven years and had sailed solo for four years.
- Vicki left Edgerton Marina on March 9, 2019, with the first log entry at 7:40 AM noting wind NW at 12 knots and full fuel tanks.
- In January 2019, Phil Garza reinstalled the hydrostatic release mechanism in the wrong orientation during routine EPIRB service; the error occurs about once in every thousand service calls.
- The bilge pump first cycled on March 18, and marine surveyors identified a likely weeping keel joint after a knockdown between March 18 and March 22.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1457falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/two-words-and-static-the-dry-note-from-vera-b--73078818
Cold, precise details lock this story into a single emotion: dread - the quiet knowing that help never arrived. A waterproof note found dry on a damp porch eleven days after the Vera B vanished, a last radio call of two words and static, and no official position recorded - how did a boat break down so fast that its only trace was four handwritten lines and a burned hull?

In this episode, we follow the sequence of events from departure to disappearance, the condition of the vessel and crew decisions, and the unanswered technical failures that left three people adrift and one man dead; what does the dry note and that final transmission tell us about what really happened?

Person: Tammy Perry
Person: Pat Solis
Person: Person: Rob Nader
Date: March 3-14 (departure March 3, last transmission March 4, note found March 14)
Location: Sixty nautical miles west-northwest of Graymoor Spit

- The note was found dry on the porch steps at 07:00 on March 14, eleven days after the Vera B vanished.
- The note contained four lines in block handwriting: "Day nine. Water gone. East is wrong. Trust the birds."
- The Vera B departed Graymoor Spit at roughly 06:00 on March 3 and sent its last transmission at 11:47 on March 4 on channel 16.
- Rob Nader noticed a cracked VHF antenna connector and a leaking fuel line patched with rags before departure and did not report them.
- The liferaft was deployed; Tammy and Pat boarded the raft, Rob swam approximately 60 yards in 49-degree water before pulling himself aboard, and the Vera B burned to the waterline.

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73078818Mon, 24 Aug 2026 08:00:02 +0000Creator at ObomediaTwo Words and Static: The Dry Note from Vera B Cold, precise details lock this story into a single emotion: dread - the quiet knowing that help never arrived. A waterproof note found dry on a damp porch eleven days after the Vera B vanished, a last...
Cold, precise details lock this story into a single emotion: dread - the quiet knowing that help never arrived. A waterproof note found dry on a damp porch eleven days after the Vera B vanished, a last radio call of two words and static, and no official position recorded - how did a boat break down so fast that its only trace was four handwritten lines and a burned hull?

In this episode, we follow the sequence of events from departure to disappearance, the condition of the vessel and crew decisions, and the unanswered technical failures that left three people adrift and one man dead; what does the dry note and that final transmission tell us about what really happened?

Person: Tammy Perry
Person: Pat Solis
Person: Person: Rob Nader
Date: March 3-14 (departure March 3, last transmission March 4, note found March 14)
Location: Sixty nautical miles west-northwest of Graymoor Spit

- The note was found dry on the porch steps at 07:00 on March 14, eleven days after the Vera B vanished.
- The note contained four lines in block handwriting: "Day nine. Water gone. East is wrong. Trust the birds."
- The Vera B departed Graymoor Spit at roughly 06:00 on March 3 and sent its last transmission at 11:47 on March 4 on channel 16.
- Rob Nader noticed a cracked VHF antenna connector and a leaking fuel line patched with rags before departure and did not report them.
- The liferaft was deployed; Tammy and Pat boarded the raft, Rob swam approximately 60 yards in 49-degree water before pulling himself aboard, and the Vera B burned to the waterline.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1376falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/runner-finds-a-ticking-watch-on-a-shipwreck-panel-the-lloyd-walsh-survival--73078817
A lone runner found a small plastic watch ticking atop a half-buried fiberglass hull the size of a door on Hatteras Flats at roughly 6:15 a.m. on a February morning - and forty miles offshore, Lloyd Walsh lay pinned beneath an overturned 42-foot sailboat more than fifty hours into a desperate wait. How did a tiny, still-running watch on a beach become the most misread clue in a rescue that hinged on one crucial calculation?

In this episode, we tell the sequence of events from the hull panel on the flats to the overturned Ardea and the rescue window that closed and reopened, following the physical signals, equipment details, and timeline that connected a Beach discovery to a man pinned under a boat. What single calculation finally closed the distance between where searchers were looking and where Lloyd actually was?

Person: Vernon Snyder
Person: Lloyd Walsh
Event: Hull panel found on Hatteras Flats at 6:15 a.m.
Event: Ardea capsized about 3:40 a.m.; Lloyd pinned for more than fifty hours
Item: Seiko dive watch given to Lloyd by his brother Marcus

- A fiberglass hull section the size of a dining table was found half-buried in wet sand on Hatteras Flats at roughly 6:15 a.m.
- Vernon Snyder, age 44, was the runner who discovered a small plastic-cased watch still ticking on top of the hull panel.
- Lloyd Walsh, age 28, departed Oriental on February 5 to deliver the 42-foot sloop Ardea and went below to sleep before the mast failed.
- The mast’s backstay chainplate fractured around 2:00 a.m. on February 7, and the Ardea rolled past 90 degrees at about 3:40 a.m., causing the vessel to capsize.
- Lloyd was pinned under the overturned Ardea roughly forty miles offshore in 41-degree water and remained there for more than fifty hours before being located.

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73078817Sun, 23 Aug 2026 08:00:03 +0000Creator at ObomediaRunner Finds a Ticking Watch on a Shipwreck Panel: The Lloyd Walsh Survival A lone runner found a small plastic watch ticking atop a half-buried fiberglass hull the size of a door on Hatteras Flats at roughly 6:15 a.m. on a February morning - and...
A lone runner found a small plastic watch ticking atop a half-buried fiberglass hull the size of a door on Hatteras Flats at roughly 6:15 a.m. on a February morning - and forty miles offshore, Lloyd Walsh lay pinned beneath an overturned 42-foot sailboat more than fifty hours into a desperate wait. How did a tiny, still-running watch on a beach become the most misread clue in a rescue that hinged on one crucial calculation?

In this episode, we tell the sequence of events from the hull panel on the flats to the overturned Ardea and the rescue window that closed and reopened, following the physical signals, equipment details, and timeline that connected a Beach discovery to a man pinned under a boat. What single calculation finally closed the distance between where searchers were looking and where Lloyd actually was?

Person: Vernon Snyder
Person: Lloyd Walsh
Event: Hull panel found on Hatteras Flats at 6:15 a.m.
Event: Ardea capsized about 3:40 a.m.; Lloyd pinned for more than fifty hours
Item: Seiko dive watch given to Lloyd by his brother Marcus

- A fiberglass hull section the size of a dining table was found half-buried in wet sand on Hatteras Flats at roughly 6:15 a.m.
- Vernon Snyder, age 44, was the runner who discovered a small plastic-cased watch still ticking on top of the hull panel.
- Lloyd Walsh, age 28, departed Oriental on February 5 to deliver the 42-foot sloop Ardea and went below to sleep before the mast failed.
- The mast’s backstay chainplate fractured around 2:00 a.m. on February 7, and the Ardea rolled past 90 degrees at about 3:40 a.m., causing the vessel to capsize.
- Lloyd was pinned under the overturned Ardea roughly forty miles offshore in 41-degree water and remained there for more than fifty hours before being located.

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1355falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/she-was-missing-at-sea-then-a-wyoming-kitchen-window-told-the-truth--73078816
A propane canister in a Wyoming kitchen window broke a maritime mystery: a woman listed as missing at sea for eleven days was still alive, and the small red-valved camping canister visible from the street was the clue. How did a thirty-eight-foot sloop, a failed satellite update, and a single upright canister in a landlocked home link a drifting hull two hundred and ten miles southwest of the Mississippi Delta to a Wyoming house?

In this episode, we follow the timeline from a January 14 meter-reader’s stop in Mineral Fork to the storm that crippled Jessica Evans’s boat and the Coast Guard search that went the wrong way; we trace the equipment she carried, the course changes she made, and the small domestic detail that ultimately reframed the search. What did that canister mean, and where was Jessica when someone finally noticed it?

Person: Jessica Evans
Date: January 3 (mast failure and EPIRB activation) and January 14 (meter-reader stop)
Location: approximately 210 miles southwest of the Mississippi Delta; Mineral Fork, Wyoming
Vessel: Interval, 38-foot sloop
Item observed: single upright 16-ounce propane canister with red valve cap on kitchen counter

- Jessica left Port Sulphur, Louisiana on December 8 with a thirty-day provisioning plan.
- The mast folded against the starboard rail after a 14-foot wave struck at 2:17 a.m.; the rig went overboard around 3:00 a.m.
- Jessica activated her EPIRB at 3:04 a.m., which Coast Guard New Orleans logged and used to start a search.
- Interval carried a watermaker, EPIRB, handheld VHF, satellite communicator, and a ditch bag; a partial 16-ounce propane canister lived upright on the chart table.
- On January 6 Jessica began rationing water with 23 liters remaining.

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73078816Sat, 22 Aug 2026 08:00:03 +0000Creator at ObomediaShe Was Missing at Sea - Then a Wyoming Kitchen Window Told the Truth A propane canister in a Wyoming kitchen window broke a maritime mystery: a woman listed as missing at sea for eleven days was still alive, and the small red-valved camping...
A propane canister in a Wyoming kitchen window broke a maritime mystery: a woman listed as missing at sea for eleven days was still alive, and the small red-valved camping canister visible from the street was the clue. How did a thirty-eight-foot sloop, a failed satellite update, and a single upright canister in a landlocked home link a drifting hull two hundred and ten miles southwest of the Mississippi Delta to a Wyoming house?

In this episode, we follow the timeline from a January 14 meter-reader’s stop in Mineral Fork to the storm that crippled Jessica Evans’s boat and the Coast Guard search that went the wrong way; we trace the equipment she carried, the course changes she made, and the small domestic detail that ultimately reframed the search. What did that canister mean, and where was Jessica when someone finally noticed it?

Person: Jessica Evans
Date: January 3 (mast failure and EPIRB activation) and January 14 (meter-reader stop)
Location: approximately 210 miles southwest of the Mississippi Delta; Mineral Fork, Wyoming
Vessel: Interval, 38-foot sloop
Item observed: single upright 16-ounce propane canister with red valve cap on kitchen counter

- Jessica left Port Sulphur, Louisiana on December 8 with a thirty-day provisioning plan.
- The mast folded against the starboard rail after a 14-foot wave struck at 2:17 a.m.; the rig went overboard around 3:00 a.m.
- Jessica activated her EPIRB at 3:04 a.m., which Coast Guard New Orleans logged and used to start a search.
- Interval carried a watermaker, EPIRB, handheld VHF, satellite communicator, and a ditch bag; a partial 16-ounce propane canister lived upright on the chart table.
- On January 6 Jessica began rationing water with 23 liters remaining.

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1276falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-orange-suit-on-the-breakwater-she-walked-ashore-it-never-inflated--73078815
An orange survival suit, dry on the outside and sealed with an unused CO2 cartridge, washed up twelve miles from the last known position after nine days at sea - but its owner had never put it on. What happened to Diane Webb, whose name was stenciled on the collar, and why did a suit that should have saved her arrive unused?

In this episode, we tell the sequence of events from departure to the discovery on the east breakwater, laying out the actions, timings, and items recovered to ask whether the surviving evidence points to accident, mischance, or something else.

Person: Diane Webb
Date: December 10-19, 2011
Location: east breakwater of Morrow Island; last known position offshore
Vessel: Carla M, 42-foot fiberglass sloop
Status: survival suit (WEBB - D) found sealed, dry, uninflated after nine days, CO2 cartridge intact

- The suit floated against the pilings at the east breakwater of Morrow Island on the morning of December 19, 2011.
- The suit had been in the water for nine days and traveled twelve miles to reach those pilings.
- Diane Webb was 22 years old and had eight trips aboard the Carla M on the Morrow-to-Kessler Island run.
- The Carla M cleared Morrow Island harbor at 7:45 AM; the mast came down at 8:25 AM when a tack caused the main boom to swing hard.
- By early afternoon the stern seam opened, Dennis Holt went into the water during raft deployment and did not surface; Diane and Chris were in the raft with limited supplies (two liters of water, four energy bars, a compass, handful of flares).

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73078815Fri, 21 Aug 2026 08:00:02 +0000Creator at ObomediaThe Orange Suit on the Breakwater: She Walked Ashore, It Never Inflated An orange survival suit, dry on the outside and sealed with an unused CO2 cartridge, washed up twelve miles from the last known position after nine days at sea - but its owner...
An orange survival suit, dry on the outside and sealed with an unused CO2 cartridge, washed up twelve miles from the last known position after nine days at sea - but its owner had never put it on. What happened to Diane Webb, whose name was stenciled on the collar, and why did a suit that should have saved her arrive unused?

In this episode, we tell the sequence of events from departure to the discovery on the east breakwater, laying out the actions, timings, and items recovered to ask whether the surviving evidence points to accident, mischance, or something else.

Person: Diane Webb
Date: December 10-19, 2011
Location: east breakwater of Morrow Island; last known position offshore
Vessel: Carla M, 42-foot fiberglass sloop
Status: survival suit (WEBB - D) found sealed, dry, uninflated after nine days, CO2 cartridge intact

- The suit floated against the pilings at the east breakwater of Morrow Island on the morning of December 19, 2011.
- The suit had been in the water for nine days and traveled twelve miles to reach those pilings.
- Diane Webb was 22 years old and had eight trips aboard the Carla M on the Morrow-to-Kessler Island run.
- The Carla M cleared Morrow Island harbor at 7:45 AM; the mast came down at 8:25 AM when a tack caused the main boom to swing hard.
- By early afternoon the stern seam opened, Dennis Holt went into the water during raft deployment and did not surface; Diane and Chris were in the raft with limited supplies (two liters of water, four energy bars, a compass, handful of flares).

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1445falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/she-survived-nine-days-alone-but-who-placed-her-logbook--73078814
A spiral notebook was set upright in a mangrove root, four feet above the tide line - deliberately placed at the exact height of high water - yet it was found sixty-two miles from Brenda Parker’s sunken boat. How did a logbook that documents her last clear handwriting end up so far from where she was later located, and who knew the tides well enough to stage it there?

In this episode, we follow the timeline from Brenda Parker’s November 3 departure to the discovery of her logbook on November 14 and her rescue two days later, laying out the sequence of weather, equipment failure, and search decisions that shaped those nine days. What does the placement of the notebook tell us about what happened between the last written line and the moment she was found?

Person: Brenda Parker
Date: Departure November 3; logbook last entry November 9; logbook found November 14; rescue November 16
Location: Harwick Marina departure; logbook found in mangroves 62 miles from capsized boat
Event: Mast collapse that split cabin deck and tore EPIRB bracket off
Agency: Eighth Coast Guard District search-and-rescue coordination

- Brenda Parker was 38 years old and held a USCG Offshore Passage Operator certificate.
- The Meridian Line was a single-handed round trip of roughly 360 nautical miles to the Dry Tortugas.
- The National Weather Service recorded sustained winds of 32 knots and gusts to 44 on November 7.
- The logbook was found upright in a mangrove root on November 14, five days after its last dated entry of November 9.
- A drift-model error put search aircraft approximately 40 miles off course until a correction was approved on November 14.

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73078814Thu, 20 Aug 2026 08:00:03 +0000Creator at ObomediaShe Survived Nine Days Alone - But Who Placed Her Logbook? A spiral notebook was set upright in a mangrove root, four feet above the tide line - deliberately placed at the exact height of high water - yet it was found sixty-two miles from Brenda...
A spiral notebook was set upright in a mangrove root, four feet above the tide line - deliberately placed at the exact height of high water - yet it was found sixty-two miles from Brenda Parker’s sunken boat. How did a logbook that documents her last clear handwriting end up so far from where she was later located, and who knew the tides well enough to stage it there?

In this episode, we follow the timeline from Brenda Parker’s November 3 departure to the discovery of her logbook on November 14 and her rescue two days later, laying out the sequence of weather, equipment failure, and search decisions that shaped those nine days. What does the placement of the notebook tell us about what happened between the last written line and the moment she was found?

Person: Brenda Parker
Date: Departure November 3; logbook last entry November 9; logbook found November 14; rescue November 16
Location: Harwick Marina departure; logbook found in mangroves 62 miles from capsized boat
Event: Mast collapse that split cabin deck and tore EPIRB bracket off
Agency: Eighth Coast Guard District search-and-rescue coordination

- Brenda Parker was 38 years old and held a USCG Offshore Passage Operator certificate.
- The Meridian Line was a single-handed round trip of roughly 360 nautical miles to the Dry Tortugas.
- The National Weather Service recorded sustained winds of 32 knots and gusts to 44 on November 7.
- The logbook was found upright in a mangrove root on November 14, five days after its last dated entry of November 9.
- A drift-model error put search aircraft approximately 40 miles off course until a correction was approved on November 14.

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>241falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-voice-under-the-hull-he-talked-to-sharks-to-survive--73078812
You can feel how close death was: a fallen mast tore a four-gallon-per-hour leak and shredded the propeller, leaving a 61-year-old alone on a sinking 38-foot cutter - and he survived by talking to sharks. The recorded voice on a waterproof recorder traveled 37 miles and later appeared on a stranger’s deck; how did a man in a crippled boat turn a bull shark into his lifeline?

In this episode, we follow the timeline from the marina departure to the moment the voice was recovered on a different vessel and the question that framed every rescue decision. What led Eric Bennett to name a bull shark and perform both sides of a conversation that later proved the recorder’s origin?

Person: Eric Bennett
Date: October 1, 2019 (EPIRB activation)
Location: Carrabelle, Florida (departure), then Gulf waters (Maren)
Vessel: 38-foot fiberglass cutter named Maren
Event: Voice on recorder recovered October 15, 2019, with phrase "I hear you. Come a little closer."

- Bennett had spent four years repairing Maren on Whitfield Street before sailing her in September 2019.
- He left Carrabelle Municipal Marina at 06:17 on September 21, 2019, carrying 60 days of provisions and 30 days of fresh water.
- The mast fell during late September storms with 42-knot winds and 12-14-foot waves, opening a hull crack at the chainplate leaking ~4 gallons per hour.
- Bennett activated his EPIRB at 02:47 on October 1, 2019; the signal plotted Maren 23 miles northwest of her actual position after he altered course to avoid a fishing fleet.
- On October 4, a bull shark estimated at 6 feet appeared under Maren; Bennett named her Nina and recorded himself saying, "I hear you. Come a little closer."

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73078812Wed, 19 Aug 2026 08:00:03 +0000Creator at ObomediaThe Voice Under the Hull: He Talked to Sharks to Survive You can feel how close death was: a fallen mast tore a four-gallon-per-hour leak and shredded the propeller, leaving a 61-year-old alone on a sinking 38-foot cutter - and he survived by...
You can feel how close death was: a fallen mast tore a four-gallon-per-hour leak and shredded the propeller, leaving a 61-year-old alone on a sinking 38-foot cutter - and he survived by talking to sharks. The recorded voice on a waterproof recorder traveled 37 miles and later appeared on a stranger’s deck; how did a man in a crippled boat turn a bull shark into his lifeline?

In this episode, we follow the timeline from the marina departure to the moment the voice was recovered on a different vessel and the question that framed every rescue decision. What led Eric Bennett to name a bull shark and perform both sides of a conversation that later proved the recorder’s origin?

Person: Eric Bennett
Date: October 1, 2019 (EPIRB activation)
Location: Carrabelle, Florida (departure), then Gulf waters (Maren)
Vessel: 38-foot fiberglass cutter named Maren
Event: Voice on recorder recovered October 15, 2019, with phrase "I hear you. Come a little closer."

- Bennett had spent four years repairing Maren on Whitfield Street before sailing her in September 2019.
- He left Carrabelle Municipal Marina at 06:17 on September 21, 2019, carrying 60 days of provisions and 30 days of fresh water.
- The mast fell during late September storms with 42-knot winds and 12-14-foot waves, opening a hull crack at the chainplate leaking ~4 gallons per hour.
- Bennett activated his EPIRB at 02:47 on October 1, 2019; the signal plotted Maren 23 miles northwest of her actual position after he altered course to avoid a fishing fleet.
- On October 4, a bull shark estimated at 6 feet appeared under Maren; Bennett named her Nina and recorded himself saying, "I hear you. Come a little closer."

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1352falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-dry-suit-folded-inside-a-raft-no-one-left-behind--73078811
The calm line between rescue and loss can be a single decision: a dry suit found folded in precise thirds, sleeves tucked, zipper sealed and boots nested inside the collar - bone dry while everything around it was soaked and salt-crusted. How did a suit that could have saved a life end up sealed and untouched in a drifting raft, and who decided not to use it?

In this episode, we follow the sequence of events on a coastal run from Astoria on September 4, 2011, the emergency that followed when Paul Griggs went overboard, and the baffling discovery weeks later that raises the central question of what choices were made aboard the Carver that day.

Person: Paul Griggs
Person: Frank Hunt
Person: David Cho
Date: September 4, 2011
Location: Eleven miles west of Cannon Beach

- The Carver departed Astoria Marina at 08:14 on September 4, 2011.
- Paul Griggs, age 51, fell overboard at 12:47 while checking a forestay.
- Frank Hunt, age 23, reached Paul in approximately 4 minutes and towed him for 17 minutes.
- Paul was brought back aboard unconscious at 13:42 after 17 minutes in 51°F water.
- A county surveyor photographed an inflatable life raft with a dry suit folded in thirds and sealed on a Tuesday morning in early September 2011.

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73078811Tue, 18 Aug 2026 08:00:04 +0000Creator at ObomediaThe Dry Suit Folded Inside a Raft No One Left Behind The calm line between rescue and loss can be a single decision: a dry suit found folded in precise thirds, sleeves tucked, zipper sealed and boots nested inside the collar - bone dry while...
The calm line between rescue and loss can be a single decision: a dry suit found folded in precise thirds, sleeves tucked, zipper sealed and boots nested inside the collar - bone dry while everything around it was soaked and salt-crusted. How did a suit that could have saved a life end up sealed and untouched in a drifting raft, and who decided not to use it?

In this episode, we follow the sequence of events on a coastal run from Astoria on September 4, 2011, the emergency that followed when Paul Griggs went overboard, and the baffling discovery weeks later that raises the central question of what choices were made aboard the Carver that day.

Person: Paul Griggs
Person: Frank Hunt
Person: David Cho
Date: September 4, 2011
Location: Eleven miles west of Cannon Beach

- The Carver departed Astoria Marina at 08:14 on September 4, 2011.
- Paul Griggs, age 51, fell overboard at 12:47 while checking a forestay.
- Frank Hunt, age 23, reached Paul in approximately 4 minutes and towed him for 17 minutes.
- Paul was brought back aboard unconscious at 13:42 after 17 minutes in 51°F water.
- A county surveyor photographed an inflatable life raft with a dry suit folded in thirds and sealed on a Tuesday morning in early September 2011.

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1220falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-bleached-shoe-at-sea-how-nine-days-almost-ended-her-story--73078810
A bleached child's sneaker nailed to a navigation buoy, eleven point three miles offshore, was the first clue in a nine-day survival that began with a hairline crack nobody acted on - and an EPIRB that pointed rescuers in the wrong direction. How did a careful, experienced sailor end up dehydrated in an orange life raft while a shoe traveled seventy-one miles to the only fixed object for seventy miles of open water?

In this episode, we follow the timeline from departure to rescue, laying out the sequence of equipment failures, the mismatched beacon signal, and the odd artifact that seemed to promise a different ending. What chain of small, precise failures nearly killed someone who had planned everything right?

Person: Megan Barrett
Date: August 12-22, 2011
Location: Gulf of Mexico, 11.3 miles offshore from Fairhope area
Event: Knockdown, EPIRB activation, nine-day survival and rescue
Object: Canvas child's sneaker, size 4, bleached and nailed to a navigation buoy

- The shoe found nailed to a buoy was a size 4 child's canvas sneaker belonging to Lily and had been aboard Megan's boat in a canvas bag.
- The mainmast sheared at its base fitting during the knockdown, taking the boom, mainsail, and most standing rigging over the port side.
- The EPIRB clipped to the rail near the helm activated at 23:47 the night of the knockdown and transmitted a position fix to the Coast Guard's Eighth District.
- Megan Barrett was 48 years old, a billing administrator from Fairhope, Alabama, and a 16-year member of the Miramar Sailing Club.
- The shoe reportedly traveled seventy-one miles to reach the buoy, which was the only fixed object within seventy miles of open water.

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73078810Mon, 17 Aug 2026 08:00:03 +0000Creator at ObomediaThe Bleached Shoe at Sea: How Nine Days Almost Ended Her Story A bleached child's sneaker nailed to a navigation buoy, eleven point three miles offshore, was the first clue in a nine-day survival that began with a hairline crack nobody acted on -...
A bleached child's sneaker nailed to a navigation buoy, eleven point three miles offshore, was the first clue in a nine-day survival that began with a hairline crack nobody acted on - and an EPIRB that pointed rescuers in the wrong direction. How did a careful, experienced sailor end up dehydrated in an orange life raft while a shoe traveled seventy-one miles to the only fixed object for seventy miles of open water?

In this episode, we follow the timeline from departure to rescue, laying out the sequence of equipment failures, the mismatched beacon signal, and the odd artifact that seemed to promise a different ending. What chain of small, precise failures nearly killed someone who had planned everything right?

Person: Megan Barrett
Date: August 12-22, 2011
Location: Gulf of Mexico, 11.3 miles offshore from Fairhope area
Event: Knockdown, EPIRB activation, nine-day survival and rescue
Object: Canvas child's sneaker, size 4, bleached and nailed to a navigation buoy

- The shoe found nailed to a buoy was a size 4 child's canvas sneaker belonging to Lily and had been aboard Megan's boat in a canvas bag.
- The mainmast sheared at its base fitting during the knockdown, taking the boom, mainsail, and most standing rigging over the port side.
- The EPIRB clipped to the rail near the helm activated at 23:47 the night of the knockdown and transmitted a position fix to the Coast Guard's Eighth District.
- Megan Barrett was 48 years old, a billing administrator from Fairhope, Alabama, and a 16-year member of the Miramar Sailing Club.
- The shoe reportedly traveled seventy-one miles to reach the buoy, which was the only fixed object within seventy miles of open water.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1384falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/wrong-beacon-lost-boat-how-one-id-sent-them-adrift--73078809
A single plastic sail-registration card washed ashore after eleven days and 140 miles in the Gulf Stream - and a rescue called off because the distress beacon was registered to the wrong boat. The beacon kept sending accurate GPS coordinates the whole time, but the registration pointed to a boat sitting in dry storage; how did one misplaced ID change everything for three missing people?

In this episode, we follow the timeline from a photographic discovery in the mangroves to the sudden squall that knocked a crew member overboard, the activation of an EPIRB, and the administrative error that redirected the rescue response. What chain of choices and oversights left Calliope adrift while its beacon screamed the correct position?

Person: Cynthia Zeller
Boat: Calliope
Registration number found: US-7714
Date of knock-down: July 9 (02:17)
Distance traveled by card: roughly 140 miles

- The sail registration card was found at 7:41 a.m. on July 19 between mangrove roots about thirty yards from open water.
- The laminated registration card read US-7714 and had been drifting for eleven days.
- Calliope was a forty-two-foot carbon-fiber sloop with three people aboard besides the owner.
- At 02:17 on July 9 the wind jumped from 14 to 35 knots in under eight minutes, producing a knock-down.
- The EPIRB transmitted accurate GPS coordinates that were received by the satellite and routed to Sector Miami, but the unit was registered to Harrier, a boat in dry storage.

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73078809Sun, 16 Aug 2026 08:00:03 +0000Creator at ObomediaWrong Beacon, Lost Boat: How One ID Sent Them Adrift A single plastic sail-registration card washed ashore after eleven days and 140 miles in the Gulf Stream - and a rescue called off because the distress beacon was registered to the wrong boat....
A single plastic sail-registration card washed ashore after eleven days and 140 miles in the Gulf Stream - and a rescue called off because the distress beacon was registered to the wrong boat. The beacon kept sending accurate GPS coordinates the whole time, but the registration pointed to a boat sitting in dry storage; how did one misplaced ID change everything for three missing people?

In this episode, we follow the timeline from a photographic discovery in the mangroves to the sudden squall that knocked a crew member overboard, the activation of an EPIRB, and the administrative error that redirected the rescue response. What chain of choices and oversights left Calliope adrift while its beacon screamed the correct position?

Person: Cynthia Zeller
Boat: Calliope
Registration number found: US-7714
Date of knock-down: July 9 (02:17)
Distance traveled by card: roughly 140 miles

- The sail registration card was found at 7:41 a.m. on July 19 between mangrove roots about thirty yards from open water.
- The laminated registration card read US-7714 and had been drifting for eleven days.
- Calliope was a forty-two-foot carbon-fiber sloop with three people aboard besides the owner.
- At 02:17 on July 9 the wind jumped from 14 to 35 knots in under eight minutes, producing a knock-down.
- The EPIRB transmitted accurate GPS coordinates that were received by the satellite and routed to Sector Miami, but the unit was registered to Harrier, a boat in dry storage.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1418falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/stranded-on-a-hatch-cover-how-todd-drifting-six-days-survived--73078808
Cold, precise, and almost impossible: a man spent six days on a thirty-by-twenty-two-inch hatch cover in fifty-four-degree Pacific water with a waterproof logbook that recorded his last clear line-"Day 6 - smell stronger, bearing holds, I am coming in." How did a 52-year-old electrician survive incapacitating cold, a failed radio, and a distress beacon that transmitted the wrong position by nearly ten miles?

In this episode, we follow the timeline from the moment Todd Hunter left Crescent Butte Harbor to the night his boat Marrow sank, and track the two threads that define his survival: the single safety device that both worked and failed, and the improvised navigation method he used to reach shore. What did those six days on a fiberglass hatch cover and a spiral logbook actually demand of him?

Person: Todd Hunter
Event: Sinking of Marrow
Date: June 7, 2019
Location: Oregon coast, twelve miles south-southwest of Crescent Butte Harbor (last VHF contact)
Status: Survived after six days on a hatch cover

- The hatch cover measured roughly 30 by 22 inches and was made of fiberglass and marine plywood.
- The waterproof spiral logbook was strapped to the starboard handle with a leather belt and its final page remained legible through a vinyl cover.
- Water temperature was 54 degrees Fahrenheit during his six-day drift.
- The EPIRB (distress beacon) transmitted a position nearly ten miles away from his actual location.
- Todd had four minutes from hull breach to abandon ship after the mast drove its spar through the hull at 23:15 on June 7, 2019.

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73078808Sat, 15 Aug 2026 08:00:03 +0000Creator at ObomediaStranded on a Hatch Cover: How Todd Drifting Six Days Survived Cold, precise, and almost impossible: a man spent six days on a thirty-by-twenty-two-inch hatch cover in fifty-four-degree Pacific water with a waterproof logbook that recorded his last...
Cold, precise, and almost impossible: a man spent six days on a thirty-by-twenty-two-inch hatch cover in fifty-four-degree Pacific water with a waterproof logbook that recorded his last clear line-"Day 6 - smell stronger, bearing holds, I am coming in." How did a 52-year-old electrician survive incapacitating cold, a failed radio, and a distress beacon that transmitted the wrong position by nearly ten miles?

In this episode, we follow the timeline from the moment Todd Hunter left Crescent Butte Harbor to the night his boat Marrow sank, and track the two threads that define his survival: the single safety device that both worked and failed, and the improvised navigation method he used to reach shore. What did those six days on a fiberglass hatch cover and a spiral logbook actually demand of him?

Person: Todd Hunter
Event: Sinking of Marrow
Date: June 7, 2019
Location: Oregon coast, twelve miles south-southwest of Crescent Butte Harbor (last VHF contact)
Status: Survived after six days on a hatch cover

- The hatch cover measured roughly 30 by 22 inches and was made of fiberglass and marine plywood.
- The waterproof spiral logbook was strapped to the starboard handle with a leather belt and its final page remained legible through a vinyl cover.
- Water temperature was 54 degrees Fahrenheit during his six-day drift.
- The EPIRB (distress beacon) transmitted a position nearly ten miles away from his actual location.
- Todd had four minutes from hull breach to abandon ship after the mast drove its spar through the hull at 23:15 on June 7, 2019.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1408falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/they-drifted-61-miles-how-a-truncated-mast-revealed-three-hidden-failures--73078807
A truncated mast stump, no rigging, and a forty-foot sloop drifting without power sixty-one miles from the Coast Guard’s search area - discovered by a nineteen-year-old deckhand at 8:22 AM on May 9, 2011. The crew of three were alive, the boat showed no obvious damage above the waterline, and a single paper nautical chart later buried under eight inches of gravel would reveal hidden failures that the radio never could - how did three invisible mistakes align to produce this near-disaster?

In this episode, we tell the sequence of events from departure to discovery: the crew and vessel, the weather changes that led to a full Pacific storm, the moment the forestay failed, and the post-rescue evidence that connected three separate failures. What did that buried chart show that the instruments and search teams missed?

Person: John Doyle
Person: Owen Pratt
Person: Kevin Burr
Person: Theresa Malone
Event: Mast stump sighting on May 9, 2011

- The mast stump was spotted at 8:22 AM on May 9, 2011, by a nineteen-year-old deckhand.
- The sloop, a thirty-eight-foot Celia Anne, was found drifting sixty-one miles from the Coast Guard search area.
- The Celia Anne departed Garibaldi at 5:15 AM on May 3, and entered a full storm around 2:00 AM on May 5 about eighty miles northwest of Tillamook Head.
- The barometer dropped four millibars in two hours before the storm intensified; winds rose to 25 knots by 1:00 AM and 45 knots by 2:00 AM with higher gusts.
- A paper nautical chart sealed in a dry bag was recovered six days later, buried under eight inches of gravel on a county road above Nehalem Bay.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73078807Fri, 14 Aug 2026 08:00:03 +0000Creator at ObomediaThey Drifted 61 Miles: How a Truncated Mast Revealed Three Hidden Failures A truncated mast stump, no rigging, and a forty-foot sloop drifting without power sixty-one miles from the Coast Guard’s search area - discovered by a nineteen-year-old...
A truncated mast stump, no rigging, and a forty-foot sloop drifting without power sixty-one miles from the Coast Guard’s search area - discovered by a nineteen-year-old deckhand at 8:22 AM on May 9, 2011. The crew of three were alive, the boat showed no obvious damage above the waterline, and a single paper nautical chart later buried under eight inches of gravel would reveal hidden failures that the radio never could - how did three invisible mistakes align to produce this near-disaster?

In this episode, we tell the sequence of events from departure to discovery: the crew and vessel, the weather changes that led to a full Pacific storm, the moment the forestay failed, and the post-rescue evidence that connected three separate failures. What did that buried chart show that the instruments and search teams missed?

Person: John Doyle
Person: Owen Pratt
Person: Kevin Burr
Person: Theresa Malone
Event: Mast stump sighting on May 9, 2011

- The mast stump was spotted at 8:22 AM on May 9, 2011, by a nineteen-year-old deckhand.
- The sloop, a thirty-eight-foot Celia Anne, was found drifting sixty-one miles from the Coast Guard search area.
- The Celia Anne departed Garibaldi at 5:15 AM on May 3, and entered a full storm around 2:00 AM on May 5 about eighty miles northwest of Tillamook Head.
- The barometer dropped four millibars in two hours before the storm intensified; winds rose to 25 knots by 1:00 AM and 45 knots by 2:00 AM with higher gusts.
- A paper nautical chart sealed in a dry bag was recovered six days later, buried under eight inches of gravel on a county road above Nehalem Bay.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1456falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-running-engine-how-a-moving-epirb-doomed-the-search--73078805
A single beacon saved and doomed a life: an EPIRB activated at 10:53 AM sent exact coordinates 38 miles southeast of Destin, but the boat had already run toward shore and ended up 15-25 miles away when engines died-how did one choice erase the only clear signal rescuers had? Searchers, relatives and the thin truth of a fuel gauge all collided in a few hours on April 14, 2019; what did that beacon really tell them?

In this episode, we lay out the timeline from the dock to the ledge and the decisions made at sea, following the position ping, the engine run, and the moment the Miss Elaine went silent to ask whether procedure or instincts determined the outcome.

Date: April 14, 2019
Location: 38 miles southeast of Destin
Person: Julie Stevens
Person: Douglas Petrie
Vessel: Miss Elaine

- EPIRB activated at 10:53 AM, transmitting coordinates of the boat's anchored position.
- Engines started heading toward shore at about 10:53 AM and ran wide open for roughly 20 minutes.
- Fuel capacity 110 gallons; twin engines burn approximately 18 gallons every 20 minutes.
- Fuel gauge at dock read one-quarter tank (27.5 gallons), matching the time-of-run consumption until engines cut out.
- At about 11:25 AM engines stalled; by 11:30 AM Julie was alone on a drifting boat 15-25 miles northwest of the EPIRB position.

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73078805Thu, 13 Aug 2026 08:00:36 +0000Creator at ObomediaThe Running Engine: How a Moving EPIRB Doomed the Search A single beacon saved and doomed a life: an EPIRB activated at 10:53 AM sent exact coordinates 38 miles southeast of Destin, but the boat had already run toward shore and ended up 15-25 miles...
A single beacon saved and doomed a life: an EPIRB activated at 10:53 AM sent exact coordinates 38 miles southeast of Destin, but the boat had already run toward shore and ended up 15-25 miles away when engines died-how did one choice erase the only clear signal rescuers had? Searchers, relatives and the thin truth of a fuel gauge all collided in a few hours on April 14, 2019; what did that beacon really tell them?

In this episode, we lay out the timeline from the dock to the ledge and the decisions made at sea, following the position ping, the engine run, and the moment the Miss Elaine went silent to ask whether procedure or instincts determined the outcome.

Date: April 14, 2019
Location: 38 miles southeast of Destin
Person: Julie Stevens
Person: Douglas Petrie
Vessel: Miss Elaine

- EPIRB activated at 10:53 AM, transmitting coordinates of the boat's anchored position.
- Engines started heading toward shore at about 10:53 AM and ran wide open for roughly 20 minutes.
- Fuel capacity 110 gallons; twin engines burn approximately 18 gallons every 20 minutes.
- Fuel gauge at dock read one-quarter tank (27.5 gallons), matching the time-of-run consumption until engines cut out.
- At about 11:25 AM engines stalled; by 11:30 AM Julie was alone on a drifting boat 15-25 miles northwest of the EPIRB position.

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1390falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-logbook-that-should-have-drowned-but-didn-t-and-why--73078804
A bone-dry logbook washed ashore after thirty-eight hours at sea while the woman who wrote it had already been rescued five days earlier - and the log’s immaculate pages refuse to make sense. How did a salt-rimed green vinyl cover survive the Gulf when a thirty-one-foot sloop and its crew were shredded by a sudden 50-knot squall?

In this episode, we follow the passage from a routine February departure through a violent, narrow squall that knocked Heron's Gate flat and sent an emergency beacon into the COSPAS-SARSAT system. We trace the missing rescue response, the battered vessel and crew, and the curious condition of the logbook to ask: what happened between that automatic distress signal and the moment Rebecca Bell found the pages dry on the rocks?

Person: Carol Weaver
Person: Patrick Collier
Event: squall with winds above 50 knots
Date: March 4, 2019
Location: roughly 38 miles west of the mainland

- The logbook spent 38 hours at sea and was bone dry when found at 5:50 a.m, on March 14, 2019.
- Carol Weaver was 54 years old and had owned Heron's Gate, a 31-foot 1981 sloop, for 12 years.
- The passage departed Seahorse Key anchorage on February 28 with planned 25-mile leg to the Marquesas Keys.
- During the knockdown, Patrick Collier, 47, went overboard and was recovered in about four minutes with a severe left shoulder injury.
- An emergency beacon activated automatically and its signal reached the Miami rescue coordination center via COSPAS-SARSAT in the early hours of March 4.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73078804Wed, 12 Aug 2026 08:00:03 +0000Creator at ObomediaThe Logbook That Should Have Drowned - But Didn't, And Why A bone-dry logbook washed ashore after thirty-eight hours at sea while the woman who wrote it had already been rescued five days earlier - and the log’s immaculate pages refuse to make...
A bone-dry logbook washed ashore after thirty-eight hours at sea while the woman who wrote it had already been rescued five days earlier - and the log’s immaculate pages refuse to make sense. How did a salt-rimed green vinyl cover survive the Gulf when a thirty-one-foot sloop and its crew were shredded by a sudden 50-knot squall?

In this episode, we follow the passage from a routine February departure through a violent, narrow squall that knocked Heron's Gate flat and sent an emergency beacon into the COSPAS-SARSAT system. We trace the missing rescue response, the battered vessel and crew, and the curious condition of the logbook to ask: what happened between that automatic distress signal and the moment Rebecca Bell found the pages dry on the rocks?

Person: Carol Weaver
Person: Patrick Collier
Event: squall with winds above 50 knots
Date: March 4, 2019
Location: roughly 38 miles west of the mainland

- The logbook spent 38 hours at sea and was bone dry when found at 5:50 a.m, on March 14, 2019.
- Carol Weaver was 54 years old and had owned Heron's Gate, a 31-foot 1981 sloop, for 12 years.
- The passage departed Seahorse Key anchorage on February 28 with planned 25-mile leg to the Marquesas Keys.
- During the knockdown, Patrick Collier, 47, went overboard and was recovered in about four minutes with a severe left shoulder injury.
- An emergency beacon activated automatically and its signal reached the Miami rescue coordination center via COSPAS-SARSAT in the early hours of March 4.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1318falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-dry-logbook-how-a-missing-sailor-s-notes-defied-the-sea--73078803
She survived with no working radio, no flares that would fire, and an EPIRB housing that was cracked and flooded - yet a logbook pulled from a storage unit forty miles from the wreck was bone dry and perfectly legible. The surviving details point to improbably specific equipment failures, a sealed military-surplus mirror she had never used, and a retired electrician in a private plane who almost didn't speak up - how did all those exact misfires and miracles line up to save her?

In this episode, we follow the sequence of events from Sandra Barnes’s routine notes about a fractured forestay to the day her mast fell and her engine failed, and we lay out the choices and chance that put her forty miles outside the Coast Guard search area - could a single page in a logbook explain where she was and what happened?

Person: Sandra Barnes
Date: February 9, 2009
Location: Northern Gulf of Mexico; forty miles from wreck site; 31 miles southwest of Dog Island buoy when mast fell
Boat: 1984 fiberglass sloop, 28 feet, renamed Celia
Equipment: sealed military-surplus heliograph mirror; flare kit with detonators that crumbled; EPIRB housing cracked and flooded

- Sandra had written six weeks earlier about a stress fracture at the base of the forestay fitting and planned to inspect it when the boat came out of the water.
- On February 4 she chose a shallower offshore angle that put her farther from shore and outside the expected search area.
- The mast fell on February 5 at 2:00 PM after the forestay fitting let go, converting the Celia into a hull with the mast dragging the port side.
- Her engine started on the fourth attempt, ran for six minutes, then the fuel pump failed and it would not restart.
- Twenty-two days after the sailboat sank, the logbook was found completely dry in a utility corridor behind a storage unit at Crane Flats boatyard, with ink intact and every word legible.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73078803Tue, 11 Aug 2026 08:00:03 +0000Creator at ObomediaThe Dry Logbook: How a Missing Sailor's Notes Defied the Sea She survived with no working radio, no flares that would fire, and an EPIRB housing that was cracked and flooded - yet a logbook pulled from a storage unit forty miles from the wreck was...
She survived with no working radio, no flares that would fire, and an EPIRB housing that was cracked and flooded - yet a logbook pulled from a storage unit forty miles from the wreck was bone dry and perfectly legible. The surviving details point to improbably specific equipment failures, a sealed military-surplus mirror she had never used, and a retired electrician in a private plane who almost didn't speak up - how did all those exact misfires and miracles line up to save her?

In this episode, we follow the sequence of events from Sandra Barnes’s routine notes about a fractured forestay to the day her mast fell and her engine failed, and we lay out the choices and chance that put her forty miles outside the Coast Guard search area - could a single page in a logbook explain where she was and what happened?

Person: Sandra Barnes
Date: February 9, 2009
Location: Northern Gulf of Mexico; forty miles from wreck site; 31 miles southwest of Dog Island buoy when mast fell
Boat: 1984 fiberglass sloop, 28 feet, renamed Celia
Equipment: sealed military-surplus heliograph mirror; flare kit with detonators that crumbled; EPIRB housing cracked and flooded

- Sandra had written six weeks earlier about a stress fracture at the base of the forestay fitting and planned to inspect it when the boat came out of the water.
- On February 4 she chose a shallower offshore angle that put her farther from shore and outside the expected search area.
- The mast fell on February 5 at 2:00 PM after the forestay fitting let go, converting the Celia into a hull with the mast dragging the port side.
- Her engine started on the fourth attempt, ran for six minutes, then the fuel pump failed and it would not restart.
- Twenty-two days after the sailboat sank, the logbook was found completely dry in a utility corridor behind a storage unit at Crane Flats boatyard, with ink intact and every word legible.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1314falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/castaway-writes-her-way-home-the-celia-k-survival--73078802
A soaked garden planner clipped to an orange life vest washed ashore on a Florida pier - inside, three pages of hand-calculated dead reckoning and a final entry describing a squall and a shadow over a steel deck cleat at noon. The registered EPIRB was transmitting, but on a legacy frequency the world no longer prioritized; could a spiral-bound planting notebook replace $15,000 worth of modern emergency gear and keep someone alive?

In this episode, we follow the passage that began on January 6, 2018 and the sudden wave on January 9 that swept Dennis Haig overboard, leaving two crew to respond and a notebook to record what electronics could not. How did mechanical failure, legacy radio frequencies, and one woman’s methodical notes shape the search for the Celia K.?

Person: Jessica York
Person: Dennis Haig
Person: Bobby Vance
Date: January 6, 2018 (departure) and January 9, 2018 (wave event)
Equipment: EPIRB transmitting on 121.5 MHz while satellite systems monitored 406 MHz

- The Celia K. is a 42-foot sailing vessel owned by Dennis Haig, age 51.
- The boat cleared Pensacola Pass at 6:15 AM on January 6, 2018.
- The lost-man event occurred around 4:40 PM on January 9, 2018 during a sudden wave.
- Jessica York, age 38 from Foley, Alabama, recorded three pages of hand-calculated dead reckoning in a spiral-bound Season Planner - Zone Eight notebook.
- The EPIRB transmitted on 121.5 MHz, a legacy frequency, while satellite monitoring had shifted to 406 MHz.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73078802Mon, 10 Aug 2026 08:00:07 +0000Creator at ObomediaCastaway Writes Her Way Home: The Celia K. Survival A soaked garden planner clipped to an orange life vest washed ashore on a Florida pier - inside, three pages of hand-calculated dead reckoning and a final entry describing a squall and a shadow...
A soaked garden planner clipped to an orange life vest washed ashore on a Florida pier - inside, three pages of hand-calculated dead reckoning and a final entry describing a squall and a shadow over a steel deck cleat at noon. The registered EPIRB was transmitting, but on a legacy frequency the world no longer prioritized; could a spiral-bound planting notebook replace $15,000 worth of modern emergency gear and keep someone alive?

In this episode, we follow the passage that began on January 6, 2018 and the sudden wave on January 9 that swept Dennis Haig overboard, leaving two crew to respond and a notebook to record what electronics could not. How did mechanical failure, legacy radio frequencies, and one woman’s methodical notes shape the search for the Celia K.?

Person: Jessica York
Person: Dennis Haig
Person: Bobby Vance
Date: January 6, 2018 (departure) and January 9, 2018 (wave event)
Equipment: EPIRB transmitting on 121.5 MHz while satellite systems monitored 406 MHz

- The Celia K. is a 42-foot sailing vessel owned by Dennis Haig, age 51.
- The boat cleared Pensacola Pass at 6:15 AM on January 6, 2018.
- The lost-man event occurred around 4:40 PM on January 9, 2018 during a sudden wave.
- Jessica York, age 38 from Foley, Alabama, recorded three pages of hand-calculated dead reckoning in a spiral-bound Season Planner - Zone Eight notebook.
- The EPIRB transmitted on 121.5 MHz, a legacy frequency, while satellite monitoring had shifted to 406 MHz.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1239falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/woman-survives-nine-days-alone-at-sea-the-erin-whitaker-story--73078801
Fear and awe collide in a story of precise preparation undone by a single invisible failure: a retired hydrological engineer survives nine days alone after her mast tears away in fifty-knot gusts, and a mud-stained yellow legal pad becomes the only accurate record of her location. How did a three-mile error from a partially submerged EPIRB turn into a nine-day search that missed the pad until a dog found it on a Florida beach?

In this episode, we follow the known facts of Erin Whitaker’s voyage, the sequence of equipment failures, and the search response - and we ask how small errors and hard seas can multiply into near-disaster.

Person: Erin Whitaker
Event: Dismasting and nine-day solo survival at sea
Location: Gulf of Mexico, approximately 210 nautical miles west-southwest of Arcadia Inlet
Date: Early December (departure December 3; mast failure December 7)
Item: Yellow legal pad with navigation notes found on Jean Larsen Trail in Peloro County, Florida

- Erin had 30 years’ experience as a hydrological engineer and had been sailing since age eleven.
- She left Arcadia Inlet on Thursday, December 3, and was expected back the following Wednesday.
- At 3:40 AM on December 7 the lower starboard shroud’s swage fitting failed and the mast fell to starboard; the mast entered the Gulf at 4:20 AM.
- Erin activated her EPIRB after the dismasting; the unit transmitted intermittently because it had been partially submerged, producing an initial position off by less than three miles.
- A search-and-rescue aircraft from Clearwater was launched within six hours, and the yellow legal pad washed ashore six days later and was found by Deborah Pryce on the Jean Larsen Trail.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73078801Sun, 09 Aug 2026 08:00:03 +0000Creator at ObomediaWoman Survives Nine Days Alone at Sea: The Erin Whitaker Story Fear and awe collide in a story of precise preparation undone by a single invisible failure: a retired hydrological engineer survives nine days alone after her mast tears away in...
Fear and awe collide in a story of precise preparation undone by a single invisible failure: a retired hydrological engineer survives nine days alone after her mast tears away in fifty-knot gusts, and a mud-stained yellow legal pad becomes the only accurate record of her location. How did a three-mile error from a partially submerged EPIRB turn into a nine-day search that missed the pad until a dog found it on a Florida beach?

In this episode, we follow the known facts of Erin Whitaker’s voyage, the sequence of equipment failures, and the search response - and we ask how small errors and hard seas can multiply into near-disaster.

Person: Erin Whitaker
Event: Dismasting and nine-day solo survival at sea
Location: Gulf of Mexico, approximately 210 nautical miles west-southwest of Arcadia Inlet
Date: Early December (departure December 3; mast failure December 7)
Item: Yellow legal pad with navigation notes found on Jean Larsen Trail in Peloro County, Florida

- Erin had 30 years’ experience as a hydrological engineer and had been sailing since age eleven.
- She left Arcadia Inlet on Thursday, December 3, and was expected back the following Wednesday.
- At 3:40 AM on December 7 the lower starboard shroud’s swage fitting failed and the mast fell to starboard; the mast entered the Gulf at 4:20 AM.
- Erin activated her EPIRB after the dismasting; the unit transmitted intermittently because it had been partially submerged, producing an initial position off by less than three miles.
- A search-and-rescue aircraft from Clearwater was launched within six hours, and the yellow legal pad washed ashore six days later and was found by Deborah Pryce on the Jean Larsen Trail.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1479falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/a-laminated-card-surfaces-on-a-buoy-the-mv-clarion-sable-survivors--73078795
A dry, laminated card clipped to a trotline buoy eleven miles inland carried seven names and a single letter beside each: S or N - a survival code written by a crew member after their ship was struck and sank forty-seven miles offshore. How did a personal lamination, made to protect a paper, end up pinned to a buoy far from the wreck, and what did those letters mean for the people in the lifeboat?

In this episode, we tell the sequence of events from the Clarion Sable’s night watch through the collision and the lifeboat’s ordeal, following the laminated list Shannon Myers made and the questions it raised about who could survive in open water. Did preparation and a small kit change the fate of the people who left the ship?

Vessel: MV Clarion Sable
Date: October 31 (collision) and November 4 (card found)
Location: forty-seven miles offshore; buoy found eleven miles inland from the open Atlantic
Crew: sixteen onboard; seven names listed on the card
Weather: seven-foot swells, northwest wind at twenty-two knots

- The card was found clipped to buoy number eight at approximately 6:15 on November 4.
- Seven names were printed on the laminated card in ballpoint, each with either an S or N beside it.
- The Clarion Sable sank after being struck amidships at 2:53 AM on October 31 following the Nordvik Carrier’s loss of steering.
- One lifeboat was lost when its davit arm sheared in the impact; the second lifeboat launched with seven people.
- Shannon Myers, 25, had packed a personal lamination kit and used it to protect the list she wrote in the first hour after launch.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73078795Sat, 08 Aug 2026 08:00:05 +0000Creator at ObomediaA Laminated Card Surfaces on a Buoy: The MV Clarion Sable Survivors A dry, laminated card clipped to a trotline buoy eleven miles inland carried seven names and a single letter beside each: S or N - a survival code written by a crew member after...
A dry, laminated card clipped to a trotline buoy eleven miles inland carried seven names and a single letter beside each: S or N - a survival code written by a crew member after their ship was struck and sank forty-seven miles offshore. How did a personal lamination, made to protect a paper, end up pinned to a buoy far from the wreck, and what did those letters mean for the people in the lifeboat?

In this episode, we tell the sequence of events from the Clarion Sable’s night watch through the collision and the lifeboat’s ordeal, following the laminated list Shannon Myers made and the questions it raised about who could survive in open water. Did preparation and a small kit change the fate of the people who left the ship?

Vessel: MV Clarion Sable
Date: October 31 (collision) and November 4 (card found)
Location: forty-seven miles offshore; buoy found eleven miles inland from the open Atlantic
Crew: sixteen onboard; seven names listed on the card
Weather: seven-foot swells, northwest wind at twenty-two knots

- The card was found clipped to buoy number eight at approximately 6:15 on November 4.
- Seven names were printed on the laminated card in ballpoint, each with either an S or N beside it.
- The Clarion Sable sank after being struck amidships at 2:53 AM on October 31 following the Nordvik Carrier’s loss of steering.
- One lifeboat was lost when its davit arm sheared in the impact; the second lifeboat launched with seven people.
- Shannon Myers, 25, had packed a personal lamination kit and used it to protect the list she wrote in the first hour after launch.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1362falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/tied-to-dock-fourteen-the-notebook-no-one-expected-to-return--73078794
Dry, sealed, and tied to a piling three months after a confirmed rescue, a school composition notebook labeled "DAYS ONE THROUGH ELEVEN" turned up at Pelican Flat Marina - yet the owner had been home the whole time. The notebook was air-dry while everything else was soaked, and the person who tied it was someone who knew the boat; who left it, and why, is a question that won't be answered until you listen.

In this episode, we follow the timeline from departure to rescue, tracing the failures, decisions, and daily entries that filled those eleven days at sea - and we ask how a routine float plan, a mislabeled spare part, and one quiet choice led a vessel out of search zones and into fog. What did the notebook record that the people ashore did not know?

Person: Monica Cox
Person: Frank Dial
Location: Pelican Flat Marina
Boat: Esperanza Del Mar (1982 Valiant, 42-foot)
Event: Watermaker failure on Day Two

- Monica Cox turned forty-eight in April, five months before she left the dock.
- The boat had been owned by Monica for eleven years and she rebuilt it over three years.
- Monica carried 40 liters in her tanks; Frank brought 6 liters, totaling 46 liters of water for two people.
- The Spectra Newport watermaker failed on day two due to a broken impeller pump and a mismatched spare part.
- The forestay failed on the night of October 6, causing the genoa to come down and forcing a decision to continue south rather than return.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73078794Fri, 07 Aug 2026 08:00:05 +0000Creator at ObomediaTied to Dock Fourteen: The Notebook No One Expected to Return Dry, sealed, and tied to a piling three months after a confirmed rescue, a school composition notebook labeled "DAYS ONE THROUGH ELEVEN" turned up at Pelican Flat Marina - yet the owner...
Dry, sealed, and tied to a piling three months after a confirmed rescue, a school composition notebook labeled "DAYS ONE THROUGH ELEVEN" turned up at Pelican Flat Marina - yet the owner had been home the whole time. The notebook was air-dry while everything else was soaked, and the person who tied it was someone who knew the boat; who left it, and why, is a question that won't be answered until you listen.

In this episode, we follow the timeline from departure to rescue, tracing the failures, decisions, and daily entries that filled those eleven days at sea - and we ask how a routine float plan, a mislabeled spare part, and one quiet choice led a vessel out of search zones and into fog. What did the notebook record that the people ashore did not know?

Person: Monica Cox
Person: Frank Dial
Location: Pelican Flat Marina
Boat: Esperanza Del Mar (1982 Valiant, 42-foot)
Event: Watermaker failure on Day Two

- Monica Cox turned forty-eight in April, five months before she left the dock.
- The boat had been owned by Monica for eleven years and she rebuilt it over three years.
- Monica carried 40 liters in her tanks; Frank brought 6 liters, totaling 46 liters of water for two people.
- The Spectra Newport watermaker failed on day two due to a broken impeller pump and a mismatched spare part.
- The forestay failed on the night of October 6, causing the genoa to come down and forcing a decision to continue south rather than return.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1310falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/dry-tide-chart-41-hours-why-she-never-opened-it--73078793
Dry paper floating in the open Atlantic stopped a man in a skiff cold: a laminated tide chart had been at sea for three days and the paper inside was completely dry. That single, concrete detail pulled a search into a story of smoke, a burning sailboat, and a woman who spent forty-one hours in the water without opening a waterproof pouch - so why did she never open it?

In this episode, we tell what the recorded facts reveal about the hours before and after the fire, the decisions made aboard the Idra Blue, and the moments that shaped a multi-day search and rescue. How did a course change, an unreported detour of thirty miles, and one sealed pouch become the pivot points of the case?

Date: September 14, 2011
Event: Tide chart recovered after three days at sea
Person: Glenn Rogers
Vessel: Idra Blue, 42-foot sloop
Duration: 41 hours in the water

- The laminated tide chart had been floating on the Atlantic for three days and the paper inside remained dry.
- Glenn Rogers, a septic contractor, found the chart thirty-one miles from any recorded distress position and called the Pender County Sheriff's marine unit.
- Three people abandoned a burning sailboat seventy-two hours before the chart was recovered.
- Marie Christensen turned thirty-two three weeks before she crewed on the Idra Blue and had been sailing since age twenty-six.
- The Idra Blue altered course thirty miles east to avoid a squall line on the afternoon of September 10; that deviation was not reported and went unnoticed on land for four days.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73078793Thu, 06 Aug 2026 08:00:03 +0000Creator at ObomediaDry Tide Chart, 41 Hours: Why She Never Opened It Dry paper floating in the open Atlantic stopped a man in a skiff cold: a laminated tide chart had been at sea for three days and the paper inside was completely dry. That single, concrete detail...
Dry paper floating in the open Atlantic stopped a man in a skiff cold: a laminated tide chart had been at sea for three days and the paper inside was completely dry. That single, concrete detail pulled a search into a story of smoke, a burning sailboat, and a woman who spent forty-one hours in the water without opening a waterproof pouch - so why did she never open it?

In this episode, we tell what the recorded facts reveal about the hours before and after the fire, the decisions made aboard the Idra Blue, and the moments that shaped a multi-day search and rescue. How did a course change, an unreported detour of thirty miles, and one sealed pouch become the pivot points of the case?

Date: September 14, 2011
Event: Tide chart recovered after three days at sea
Person: Glenn Rogers
Vessel: Idra Blue, 42-foot sloop
Duration: 41 hours in the water

- The laminated tide chart had been floating on the Atlantic for three days and the paper inside remained dry.
- Glenn Rogers, a septic contractor, found the chart thirty-one miles from any recorded distress position and called the Pender County Sheriff's marine unit.
- Three people abandoned a burning sailboat seventy-two hours before the chart was recovered.
- Marie Christensen turned thirty-two three weeks before she crewed on the Idra Blue and had been sailing since age twenty-six.
- The Idra Blue altered course thirty miles east to avoid a squall line on the afternoon of September 10; that deviation was not reported and went unnoticed on land for four days.

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1266falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-notebook-that-washed-ashore-before-she-was-rescued--73078792
Salt-warped cardboard, fifty-one days of blue ballpoint entries, and a final date stamped three weeks in the future: a notebook found on August 14 at Kettering Flats Wildlife Preserve reactivated a Coast Guard search that had been suspended 24 days earlier. How could a log written at sea arrive on shore before the woman who wrote it was rescued?

In this episode, we follow the timeline from a solo ocean crossing that began June 23 to the storm that crippled the sailboat on July 9, the suspension of the search on July 21, and the notebook’s discovery on August 14 - and ask whether an unread GPS and a mysterious current can rewrite what "presumed lost at sea" means.

Person: Marilyn Taylor
Date: June 23, 2019 (departure); July 9, 2019 (mast failure); July 21, 2019 (search suspended); August 14, 2019 (notebook found)
Location: Kettering Flats Wildlife Preserve, two miles north of Sugarport, Georgia (where notebook was found)
Vessel: Perdita, 38 feet, full keel, built late 1980s

- The notebook contained fifty-one days of entries written in blue ballpoint pen.
- The last notebook entry carried a date three weeks in the future from August 14.
- Marilyn’s last automated position report was transmitted at 23:40 on July 3: 31°N, 68°W.
- The storm that struck on July 9 produced sustained winds near 45 knots and caused the mast to fall.
- The Coast Guard search covered approximately 40,000 square nautical miles over eleven days before being suspended on July 21.

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73078792Wed, 05 Aug 2026 08:00:03 +0000Creator at ObomediaThe Notebook That Washed Ashore Before She Was Rescued Salt-warped cardboard, fifty-one days of blue ballpoint entries, and a final date stamped three weeks in the future: a notebook found on August 14 at Kettering Flats Wildlife Preserve...
Salt-warped cardboard, fifty-one days of blue ballpoint entries, and a final date stamped three weeks in the future: a notebook found on August 14 at Kettering Flats Wildlife Preserve reactivated a Coast Guard search that had been suspended 24 days earlier. How could a log written at sea arrive on shore before the woman who wrote it was rescued?

In this episode, we follow the timeline from a solo ocean crossing that began June 23 to the storm that crippled the sailboat on July 9, the suspension of the search on July 21, and the notebook’s discovery on August 14 - and ask whether an unread GPS and a mysterious current can rewrite what "presumed lost at sea" means.

Person: Marilyn Taylor
Date: June 23, 2019 (departure); July 9, 2019 (mast failure); July 21, 2019 (search suspended); August 14, 2019 (notebook found)
Location: Kettering Flats Wildlife Preserve, two miles north of Sugarport, Georgia (where notebook was found)
Vessel: Perdita, 38 feet, full keel, built late 1980s

- The notebook contained fifty-one days of entries written in blue ballpoint pen.
- The last notebook entry carried a date three weeks in the future from August 14.
- Marilyn’s last automated position report was transmitted at 23:40 on July 3: 31°N, 68°W.
- The storm that struck on July 9 produced sustained winds near 45 knots and caused the mast to fall.
- The Coast Guard search covered approximately 40,000 square nautical miles over eleven days before being suspended on July 21.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1369falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/alone-at-sea-how-a-pelican-and-a-flashlight-saved-him--73078791
He fell overboard eleven miles off the Georgia coast at 22:40 on July 12, 2009, and the boat kept sailing under autopilot with a reefed mainsail - no beacon, flares below deck, and the search started looking the wrong way. Against a storm that arrived early and four separate system failures, he survived eight hours in open water navigating by the shape of a constellation and a flashlight - how did a pelican named Tug and a simple signal become central to his survival?

In this episode, we tell the sequence of events from the man who went over the stern to the improvised navigation that kept him alive, following the missed notifications, the mislocated jackline anchor, and the role of the dockside pelican that waited at 16:00; how did these details intersect to make an unlikely survival story?

Person: Neil Duncan
Date: July 12, 2009
Location: eleven miles off the Georgia coast
Vessel: Celia Jean, 38-foot fiberglass sloop, hull laid 1972
Animal: Tug, a brown pelican rescued and fed at the dock

- At 22:40 on July 12, 2009, a 44-year-old man went over the stern while the boat continued under autopilot.
- The Celia Jean was a 38-foot fiberglass sloop rebuilt over eleven years with a jackline anchor point positioned six inches further aft than the manufacturer recommended.
- Neil filed a float plan listing return July 13 but called his daughter and neighbor saying he would return July 12; the marina office was not notified of the change.
- Tug the brown pelican began appearing at his feeding rock at 16:00 daily after being rescued and could not be released back into the wild.
- Neil spent eight hours alone in open water navigating by the shape of a constellation using a flashlight while the search initially looked in the wrong direction.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73078791Tue, 04 Aug 2026 08:00:03 +0000Creator at ObomediaAlone at Sea: How a Pelican and a Flashlight Saved Him He fell overboard eleven miles off the Georgia coast at 22:40 on July 12, 2009, and the boat kept sailing under autopilot with a reefed mainsail - no beacon, flares below deck, and the search...
He fell overboard eleven miles off the Georgia coast at 22:40 on July 12, 2009, and the boat kept sailing under autopilot with a reefed mainsail - no beacon, flares below deck, and the search started looking the wrong way. Against a storm that arrived early and four separate system failures, he survived eight hours in open water navigating by the shape of a constellation and a flashlight - how did a pelican named Tug and a simple signal become central to his survival?

In this episode, we tell the sequence of events from the man who went over the stern to the improvised navigation that kept him alive, following the missed notifications, the mislocated jackline anchor, and the role of the dockside pelican that waited at 16:00; how did these details intersect to make an unlikely survival story?

Person: Neil Duncan
Date: July 12, 2009
Location: eleven miles off the Georgia coast
Vessel: Celia Jean, 38-foot fiberglass sloop, hull laid 1972
Animal: Tug, a brown pelican rescued and fed at the dock

- At 22:40 on July 12, 2009, a 44-year-old man went over the stern while the boat continued under autopilot.
- The Celia Jean was a 38-foot fiberglass sloop rebuilt over eleven years with a jackline anchor point positioned six inches further aft than the manufacturer recommended.
- Neil filed a float plan listing return July 13 but called his daughter and neighbor saying he would return July 12; the marina office was not notified of the change.
- Tug the brown pelican began appearing at his feeding rock at 16:00 daily after being rescued and could not be released back into the wild.
- Neil spent eight hours alone in open water navigating by the shape of a constellation using a flashlight while the search initially looked in the wrong direction.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1437falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/will-not-make-it-eleven-days-adrift-one-notebook-survived--73078790
Fear tightens the throat: a drowning mast, an eight-inch hole below the waterline, and a spiral notebook that outlived a boat and most of its crew-what did those final pages record as the sea closed over everything else? How did a one-dollar-and-twenty-nine-cent notebook, sealed in two zip-lock bags and pressed to a survivor’s skin, become the only continuous chronicle of eleven days at sea?

In this episode, we tell the sequence of events recorded in that notebook and the movements that led from an ordinary passage to an extraordinary survival ordeal, and we ask how navigation, equipment failure, and decisions on deck combined to leave a search looking in the wrong corridor.

Person: Donna Walsh
Person: Walt Brody
Person: Chris Albano
Date: June 4-14, 2014
Location: Caribbean Sea

- At 06:22 on June 6, 2014 Donna Walsh wrote the entry “Will not make it” in a spiral notebook bought for $1.29.
- The mast failed in a squall with sustained winds of approximately 42 knots and waves of 8-10 feet, punching an ~8-inch hole forward of the mast step below the waterline.
- Donna had packed in the dry bag: 2 liters of water, 6 energy bars, a handheld VHF radio, a signal mirror, a flashlight, antimotion sickness tablets, a space blanket, and the sealed notebook.
- The Nadine Blue departed Charlotte Amalie on June 5, 2014 bound for Fort-de-France, Martinique, a course of approximately 280 nautical miles.
- Eleven days later, a life raft was found about 60 miles off the vessel’s projected course containing one survivor, the spiral notebook, and an entry timed 15:41 with the name Chris Albano.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73078790Mon, 03 Aug 2026 08:00:03 +0000Creator at ObomediaWill Not Make It: Eleven Days Adrift, One Notebook Survived Fear tightens the throat: a drowning mast, an eight-inch hole below the waterline, and a spiral notebook that outlived a boat and most of its crew-what did those final pages record as the...
Fear tightens the throat: a drowning mast, an eight-inch hole below the waterline, and a spiral notebook that outlived a boat and most of its crew-what did those final pages record as the sea closed over everything else? How did a one-dollar-and-twenty-nine-cent notebook, sealed in two zip-lock bags and pressed to a survivor’s skin, become the only continuous chronicle of eleven days at sea?

In this episode, we tell the sequence of events recorded in that notebook and the movements that led from an ordinary passage to an extraordinary survival ordeal, and we ask how navigation, equipment failure, and decisions on deck combined to leave a search looking in the wrong corridor.

Person: Donna Walsh
Person: Walt Brody
Person: Chris Albano
Date: June 4-14, 2014
Location: Caribbean Sea

- At 06:22 on June 6, 2014 Donna Walsh wrote the entry “Will not make it” in a spiral notebook bought for $1.29.
- The mast failed in a squall with sustained winds of approximately 42 knots and waves of 8-10 feet, punching an ~8-inch hole forward of the mast step below the waterline.
- Donna had packed in the dry bag: 2 liters of water, 6 energy bars, a handheld VHF radio, a signal mirror, a flashlight, antimotion sickness tablets, a space blanket, and the sealed notebook.
- The Nadine Blue departed Charlotte Amalie on June 5, 2014 bound for Fort-de-France, Martinique, a course of approximately 280 nautical miles.
- Eleven days later, a life raft was found about 60 miles off the vessel’s projected course containing one survivor, the spiral notebook, and an entry timed 15:41 with the name Chris Albano.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1369falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/dad-says-stay-with-the-jacket-a-ferry-night-s-impossible-choice--73078789
Cold, isolated, and impossible: a child’s orange life jacket, a cracked adult eyeglass lens, and an eleven-word note written in a child’s hand washed up on a basalt shelf after a forty-knot storm-yet the paper was dry. What did those eleven words mean, and how did a routine seven-mile ferry crossing turn into a four-hour, sixteen-minute struggle in 51°F water?

In this episode, we tell the events surrounding the May 10, 2011 Maren Strait ferry sinking and the choices made that night. You’ll hear what was found on the rocks, who was aboard, and the key decision that left one passenger alive and another clinging to a plastic tote-what did the note cost, and why was it written?

Date: May 10, 2011
Event: Maren Strait ferry capsized
Location: Tanner Strait / Cutter's Point to Aldiss route
Passengers aboard: 22
Water temperature: 51°F

- The ferry left Cutter's Point at 6:15 a.m. with 22 passengers and one crew member working as ticket agent.
- At 6:38 a.m. winds increased to 38 knots and waves to 8 feet before a beam sea struck at 6:41 a.m.
- The Maren Strait rolled and capsized in 40 seconds after the beam sea impact.
- Kent Powell was in the water for 4 hours and 16 minutes, holding a child and stabilizing a 4-by-2-foot engine room tote bin.
- Around the second hour, Kent gave his life jacket to injured passenger Sylvia Crane, who survived; a child's jacket, adult glasses with a cracked left lens, and a dry folded note were found later.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73078789Sun, 02 Aug 2026 08:00:02 +0000Creator at ObomediaDad Says Stay With The Jacket: A Ferry Night's Impossible Choice Cold, isolated, and impossible: a child’s orange life jacket, a cracked adult eyeglass lens, and an eleven-word note written in a child’s hand washed up on a basalt shelf after a...
Cold, isolated, and impossible: a child’s orange life jacket, a cracked adult eyeglass lens, and an eleven-word note written in a child’s hand washed up on a basalt shelf after a forty-knot storm-yet the paper was dry. What did those eleven words mean, and how did a routine seven-mile ferry crossing turn into a four-hour, sixteen-minute struggle in 51°F water?

In this episode, we tell the events surrounding the May 10, 2011 Maren Strait ferry sinking and the choices made that night. You’ll hear what was found on the rocks, who was aboard, and the key decision that left one passenger alive and another clinging to a plastic tote-what did the note cost, and why was it written?

Date: May 10, 2011
Event: Maren Strait ferry capsized
Location: Tanner Strait / Cutter's Point to Aldiss route
Passengers aboard: 22
Water temperature: 51°F

- The ferry left Cutter's Point at 6:15 a.m. with 22 passengers and one crew member working as ticket agent.
- At 6:38 a.m. winds increased to 38 knots and waves to 8 feet before a beam sea struck at 6:41 a.m.
- The Maren Strait rolled and capsized in 40 seconds after the beam sea impact.
- Kent Powell was in the water for 4 hours and 16 minutes, holding a child and stabilizing a 4-by-2-foot engine room tote bin.
- Around the second hour, Kent gave his life jacket to injured passenger Sylvia Crane, who survived; a child's jacket, adult glasses with a cracked left lens, and a dry folded note were found later.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1229falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-notebook-washed-ashore-before-she-ever-did--73078788
The sea delivered a dry, sealed notebook to Talbot Reach before the woman who wrote it washed in-its pages intact despite fused plastic seals and a waterline mark; how did a journal survive open ocean worse than its owner? What does it mean that Michelle Evans prepared to be found without her and the book arrived first?

In this episode, we follow the timeline and details recorded in that marbled notebook and the rescue that followed, tracing Michelle Evans’s solo voyage, the loss that stranded her, and the makeshift survival she practiced - could the notes she left explain how she lasted eleven days at sea?

Person: Michelle Evans
Date: April 8-19, 2022
Location: approximately 58 nautical miles offshore; Talbot Reach
Vessel: Wren, 19-foot fiberglass sloop, built 1978
Guardian: Thomas Gault, grandfather, age 81

- Sandra Holmes found a notebook at 7:45 AM on April 19, 2022, wedged against a concrete seawall on Talbot Reach.
- The notebook was wrapped in layers of plastic bags sealed bead by bead with a cigarette lighter; two of four seals had separated and there was a waterline mark on the lower right corner.
- Michelle Evans was found barely conscious in a small sailboat a quarter mile off the southern beach, burned on face and forearms, after being at sea for eleven days.
- Michelle paid $4,000 for the Wren at an estate auction and spent 14 months rebuilding it alone, renting a slip for $40 a month.
- On April 11 at 2:00 PM the mast came down, knocking out the VHF radio and cracking the GPS; she survived by rationing one liter of water per day and one meal per day.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73078788Sat, 01 Aug 2026 08:00:02 +0000Creator at ObomediaThe Notebook Washed Ashore Before She Ever Did The sea delivered a dry, sealed notebook to Talbot Reach before the woman who wrote it washed in-its pages intact despite fused plastic seals and a waterline mark; how did a journal survive open ocean...
The sea delivered a dry, sealed notebook to Talbot Reach before the woman who wrote it washed in-its pages intact despite fused plastic seals and a waterline mark; how did a journal survive open ocean worse than its owner? What does it mean that Michelle Evans prepared to be found without her and the book arrived first?

In this episode, we follow the timeline and details recorded in that marbled notebook and the rescue that followed, tracing Michelle Evans’s solo voyage, the loss that stranded her, and the makeshift survival she practiced - could the notes she left explain how she lasted eleven days at sea?

Person: Michelle Evans
Date: April 8-19, 2022
Location: approximately 58 nautical miles offshore; Talbot Reach
Vessel: Wren, 19-foot fiberglass sloop, built 1978
Guardian: Thomas Gault, grandfather, age 81

- Sandra Holmes found a notebook at 7:45 AM on April 19, 2022, wedged against a concrete seawall on Talbot Reach.
- The notebook was wrapped in layers of plastic bags sealed bead by bead with a cigarette lighter; two of four seals had separated and there was a waterline mark on the lower right corner.
- Michelle Evans was found barely conscious in a small sailboat a quarter mile off the southern beach, burned on face and forearms, after being at sea for eleven days.
- Michelle paid $4,000 for the Wren at an estate auction and spent 14 months rebuilding it alone, renting a slip for $40 a month.
- On April 11 at 2:00 PM the mast came down, knocking out the VHF radio and cracking the GPS; she survived by rationing one liter of water per day and one meal per day.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>952falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/hours-a-glitch-and-the-two-words-that-sank-the-gull-witch--73078787
A single eleven-second radio transmission - two words, "taking water" - went unreviewed for nearly four hours, and by then the Gull Witch was on the ocean floor. One woman survived, floating for eighty-two hours in fifty-three-degree water; a software glitch and a child's pink sneaker would become the unlikely leads that finally connected the gaps. How did a string of routine habits and one missed alert send search teams looking in the wrong place?

In this episode, we tell the sequence of events aboard the forty-two-foot trawler and ashore in Harwick, tracing crew routines, logged positions, and the failures in systems that kept Marcia Lawson from being found sooner. We follow the radio transmission, the decision to chase a sonar return without updating coordinates, and the glitch that ultimately located her - but why did every safeguard miss her until it was almost too late?

Date: March 8, 2019
Vessel: Gull Witch
Person: Marcia Lawson
Survival time: 82 hours
Water temperature: 53 degrees Fahrenheit

- The Gull Witch sent an eleven-second radio transmission at 06:47 with the words "taking water."
- The radio message sat unreviewed in the harbormaster's auto-flag queue for nearly four hours.
- Marcia Lawson was 38 years old and held a hundred-ton master's license with 14 years of commercial fishing experience.
- The vessel had moved 14 miles northeast from the last reported coordinate; the formal search used the old coordinate about 78 miles offshore.
- Marcia floated in 53°F water for 82 hours before being found; she was the only survivor.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73078787Fri, 31 Jul 2026 08:00:02 +0000Creator at ObomediaHours, a Glitch, and the Two Words That Sank the Gull Witch A single eleven-second radio transmission - two words, "taking water" - went unreviewed for nearly four hours, and by then the Gull Witch was on the ocean floor. One woman survived,...
A single eleven-second radio transmission - two words, "taking water" - went unreviewed for nearly four hours, and by then the Gull Witch was on the ocean floor. One woman survived, floating for eighty-two hours in fifty-three-degree water; a software glitch and a child's pink sneaker would become the unlikely leads that finally connected the gaps. How did a string of routine habits and one missed alert send search teams looking in the wrong place?

In this episode, we tell the sequence of events aboard the forty-two-foot trawler and ashore in Harwick, tracing crew routines, logged positions, and the failures in systems that kept Marcia Lawson from being found sooner. We follow the radio transmission, the decision to chase a sonar return without updating coordinates, and the glitch that ultimately located her - but why did every safeguard miss her until it was almost too late?

Date: March 8, 2019
Vessel: Gull Witch
Person: Marcia Lawson
Survival time: 82 hours
Water temperature: 53 degrees Fahrenheit

- The Gull Witch sent an eleven-second radio transmission at 06:47 with the words "taking water."
- The radio message sat unreviewed in the harbormaster's auto-flag queue for nearly four hours.
- Marcia Lawson was 38 years old and held a hundred-ton master's license with 14 years of commercial fishing experience.
- The vessel had moved 14 miles northeast from the last reported coordinate; the formal search used the old coordinate about 78 miles offshore.
- Marcia floated in 53°F water for 82 hours before being found; she was the only survivor.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1332falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-watch-kept-time-while-she-hung-to-a-hull-for-four-days--73078785
Cold salt water, two fractured ribs, and a sixty-two-year-old sailor who kept moving until a Seiko automatic kept right on ticking - the watch was found running to within thirty seconds after four days and nearly fifteen hours at sea. The rescue team was searching thirty miles in the wrong direction; what kept Heather Fisher alive when the emergency kit was locked below the waterline, and how did a single missing float-plan update change everything?

In this episode, we follow the sequence of events from Heather Fisher leaving Brunswick at 6:40 on February 15 to the watch being found by Vicki Stein at 6:41 on February 19, and we outline the decisions, conditions, and evidence that shaped the four-day ordeal. What does the timing of the barometer drop, the capsizing, and the missing position report reveal about how the search went off course?

Person: Heather Fisher
Date: February 15-19
Location: Thirty miles offshore from Brunswick; watch found below Route Nine mud flat
Item: Seiko automatic wristwatch, correct to within 30 seconds
Injury: Two fractured ribs

- Heather left the dock at Brunswick at 6:40 AM on February 15 and was sixty-two years old.
- The watch was found by Vicki Stein at 6:41 AM on February 19, pressed upright against an oyster shell.
- The hull capsized while reefing; the boom vang was tensioned hard and the mast floated separately without sails.
- The emergency kit (flares, partial first-aid) was stored in the port-side deck locker below the waterline and became unreachable after inversion.
- The barometer dropped nine millibars in three hours before the capsize; seas later ran six to seven feet and water temperature was 51-54°F.

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73078785Thu, 30 Jul 2026 08:00:02 +0000Creator at ObomediaThe Watch Kept Time While She Hung to a Hull for Four Days Cold salt water, two fractured ribs, and a sixty-two-year-old sailor who kept moving until a Seiko automatic kept right on ticking - the watch was found running to within thirty seconds...
Cold salt water, two fractured ribs, and a sixty-two-year-old sailor who kept moving until a Seiko automatic kept right on ticking - the watch was found running to within thirty seconds after four days and nearly fifteen hours at sea. The rescue team was searching thirty miles in the wrong direction; what kept Heather Fisher alive when the emergency kit was locked below the waterline, and how did a single missing float-plan update change everything?

In this episode, we follow the sequence of events from Heather Fisher leaving Brunswick at 6:40 on February 15 to the watch being found by Vicki Stein at 6:41 on February 19, and we outline the decisions, conditions, and evidence that shaped the four-day ordeal. What does the timing of the barometer drop, the capsizing, and the missing position report reveal about how the search went off course?

Person: Heather Fisher
Date: February 15-19
Location: Thirty miles offshore from Brunswick; watch found below Route Nine mud flat
Item: Seiko automatic wristwatch, correct to within 30 seconds
Injury: Two fractured ribs

- Heather left the dock at Brunswick at 6:40 AM on February 15 and was sixty-two years old.
- The watch was found by Vicki Stein at 6:41 AM on February 19, pressed upright against an oyster shell.
- The hull capsized while reefing; the boom vang was tensioned hard and the mast floated separately without sails.
- The emergency kit (flares, partial first-aid) was stored in the port-side deck locker below the waterline and became unreachable after inversion.
- The barometer dropped nine millibars in three hours before the capsize; seas later ran six to seven feet and water temperature was 51-54°F.

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1412falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-brass-compass-on-the-bluff-how-amy-vanished-at-sea--73078783
Fear and curiosity collide: a brass pelorus the size of a dinner plate was found thirty feet above the Pacific on a rock ledge that had been buried under eighteen feet of surge for two weeks - and the woman who unbolted it from her boat in the middle of a storm vanished without a trace. Why would a prepared solo sailor choose a nearly worthless bearing compass over radio or GPS and carry it into the surf?

In this episode, you will hear the sequence of events from a marina auction to a sinking mast, the lone woman’s log entries, and the discovery of the pelorus on the bluff that starts every question anew. What decision pushed Amy to take that brass instrument and head toward shore when help seemed possible?

Person: Amy Simmons
Date: Pelorus found January 14
Location: Harwick Cove bluffs
Vessel: Cormorant, 1983 Pacific Seacraft sloop, 32 feet
Event: Mast pulled out at 14:02 on January 4

- Amy prepared four months of provisions: 30 days of food and 20 days of water.
- She bought Cormorant for $11,000 after it sat on the hard for three years.
- At 14:02 on January 4 the port chainplate pulled clean out and the mast went over starboard.
- Amy wrote a log entry 14 seconds after the mast collapse: “Rig gone. Port chainplate pulled. Mast over starboard. No injuries. Hole in coaming above waterline.”
- Diane Coleman found the pelorus on January 14; its brass ring was green with oxidation except for one polished edge and its gimbal was still level.

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73078783Wed, 29 Jul 2026 08:00:03 +0000Creator at ObomediaThe Brass Compass on the Bluff: How Amy Vanished at Sea Fear and curiosity collide: a brass pelorus the size of a dinner plate was found thirty feet above the Pacific on a rock ledge that had been buried under eighteen feet of surge for two weeks -...
Fear and curiosity collide: a brass pelorus the size of a dinner plate was found thirty feet above the Pacific on a rock ledge that had been buried under eighteen feet of surge for two weeks - and the woman who unbolted it from her boat in the middle of a storm vanished without a trace. Why would a prepared solo sailor choose a nearly worthless bearing compass over radio or GPS and carry it into the surf?

In this episode, you will hear the sequence of events from a marina auction to a sinking mast, the lone woman’s log entries, and the discovery of the pelorus on the bluff that starts every question anew. What decision pushed Amy to take that brass instrument and head toward shore when help seemed possible?

Person: Amy Simmons
Date: Pelorus found January 14
Location: Harwick Cove bluffs
Vessel: Cormorant, 1983 Pacific Seacraft sloop, 32 feet
Event: Mast pulled out at 14:02 on January 4

- Amy prepared four months of provisions: 30 days of food and 20 days of water.
- She bought Cormorant for $11,000 after it sat on the hard for three years.
- At 14:02 on January 4 the port chainplate pulled clean out and the mast went over starboard.
- Amy wrote a log entry 14 seconds after the mast collapse: “Rig gone. Port chainplate pulled. Mast over starboard. No injuries. Hole in coaming above waterline.”
- Diane Coleman found the pelorus on January 14; its brass ring was green with oxidation except for one polished edge and its gimbal was still level.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1327falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-silent-turn-why-a-routine-crossing-never-sent-a-signal--73078782
The thought of a routine commuter crossing dissolving into silent disaster creates a tight, cold unease: by 9:47 a.m. on December 6, 2019 the Pell Marin lay upside down with one of three aboard already dead, and no distress call had ever been sent. How did a vessel with more than 600 crossings, helmed by a meticulous captain, pivot sharply toward a reported disabled boat and then vanish from its transponder in plain calm water?

In this episode, we lay out the sequence of departures, decisions, equipment notes, and currents that define that morning and follow the unanswered question at its center: what combination of human choice, deferred maintenance, and unseen geography erased the Pell Marin's signal?

Date: December 6, 2019
Person: Jennifer Ford, age 48
Vessel: Pell Marin, 32-foot aluminum hull with two outboard motors
Last transponder position: 4.5 miles southwest of direct route to Cressa Key
Water temperature: 53 degrees Fahrenheit

- Departure time from Palma Shoal fuel dock: 6:47 a.m.
- Sudden 90-degree turn recorded at 7:02 a.m. toward coordinates given by crewman Brian Ott.
- Last transponder upload timestamp: 7:14 a.m.
- Two of three people aboard were alive when the boat was found inverted; one was already dead by 9:47 a.m.
- Deferred maintenance: starboard engine injector flagged in October but not repaired before the incident.

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73078782Tue, 28 Jul 2026 08:00:23 +0000Creator at ObomediaThe Silent Turn: Why a Routine Crossing Never Sent a Signal The thought of a routine commuter crossing dissolving into silent disaster creates a tight, cold unease: by 9:47 a.m. on December 6, 2019 the Pell Marin lay upside down with one of three...
The thought of a routine commuter crossing dissolving into silent disaster creates a tight, cold unease: by 9:47 a.m. on December 6, 2019 the Pell Marin lay upside down with one of three aboard already dead, and no distress call had ever been sent. How did a vessel with more than 600 crossings, helmed by a meticulous captain, pivot sharply toward a reported disabled boat and then vanish from its transponder in plain calm water?

In this episode, we lay out the sequence of departures, decisions, equipment notes, and currents that define that morning and follow the unanswered question at its center: what combination of human choice, deferred maintenance, and unseen geography erased the Pell Marin's signal?

Date: December 6, 2019
Person: Jennifer Ford, age 48
Vessel: Pell Marin, 32-foot aluminum hull with two outboard motors
Last transponder position: 4.5 miles southwest of direct route to Cressa Key
Water temperature: 53 degrees Fahrenheit

- Departure time from Palma Shoal fuel dock: 6:47 a.m.
- Sudden 90-degree turn recorded at 7:02 a.m. toward coordinates given by crewman Brian Ott.
- Last transponder upload timestamp: 7:14 a.m.
- Two of three people aboard were alive when the boat was found inverted; one was already dead by 9:47 a.m.
- Deferred maintenance: starboard engine injector flagged in October but not repaired before the incident.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1348falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/survivor-fires-last-flare-at-a-passing-boat-the-janet-underwood-rescue--73078781
Fear and relief collide: a left-handed marine insurance adjuster drifted alone for nineteen days with a dry, wire-bound notebook found on the beach - impossible until you hear how it survived. How did six handheld flares, two rockets, a broken forestay and a missing eight-foot gap turn into a rescue that began with a single flare sighted by a shrimping captain?

In this episode, we tell the sequence of events from the October 21 departure to the November 11 tideline discovery, following the decisions, equipment failures, and timings that shaped Janet Underwood’s survival. What small miscalculations nearly cost her life, and how did one flare finally change everything?

Person: Janet Underwood
Vessel: Caraway (thirty-two-foot sloop)
Date of departure: October 21, 2011
Date liferaft deployed: October 22, 2011
Date notebook found: November 11, 2011

- The forestay failed shortly after midnight on October 22, eight hours out from Thunderbolt Marina.
- Janet clipped a 15-foot liferaft painter to the stern cleat but the flare locker was 23 feet forward, creating an 8-foot gap.
- Caraway sank about 40 minutes after she boarded the liferaft; last transponder ping at 4:51 AM, 63 miles ENE of Savannah.
- The raft’s manual specified eight liters of water but the actual emergency kit contained about five liters.
- Harvey Osborne found the dry, 19-day-old, wire-bound notebook on the Briar Inlet tideline on November 11, 2011.

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73078781Mon, 27 Jul 2026 08:00:03 +0000Creator at ObomediaSurvivor Fires Last Flare at a Passing Boat: The Janet Underwood Rescue Fear and relief collide: a left-handed marine insurance adjuster drifted alone for nineteen days with a dry, wire-bound notebook found on the beach - impossible until you hear...
Fear and relief collide: a left-handed marine insurance adjuster drifted alone for nineteen days with a dry, wire-bound notebook found on the beach - impossible until you hear how it survived. How did six handheld flares, two rockets, a broken forestay and a missing eight-foot gap turn into a rescue that began with a single flare sighted by a shrimping captain?

In this episode, we tell the sequence of events from the October 21 departure to the November 11 tideline discovery, following the decisions, equipment failures, and timings that shaped Janet Underwood’s survival. What small miscalculations nearly cost her life, and how did one flare finally change everything?

Person: Janet Underwood
Vessel: Caraway (thirty-two-foot sloop)
Date of departure: October 21, 2011
Date liferaft deployed: October 22, 2011
Date notebook found: November 11, 2011

- The forestay failed shortly after midnight on October 22, eight hours out from Thunderbolt Marina.
- Janet clipped a 15-foot liferaft painter to the stern cleat but the flare locker was 23 feet forward, creating an 8-foot gap.
- Caraway sank about 40 minutes after she boarded the liferaft; last transponder ping at 4:51 AM, 63 miles ENE of Savannah.
- The raft’s manual specified eight liters of water but the actual emergency kit contained about five liters.
- Harvey Osborne found the dry, 19-day-old, wire-bound notebook on the Briar Inlet tideline on November 11, 2011.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1428falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/she-spoke-to-sharks-22-days-adrift-a-voice-recorder-survived--73078780
A 53-year-old sailor spent 22 days alone in a life raft after her 31-foot cutter sank; a digital voice recorder captured her voice every hour and recorded her speaking to sharks. How did an EPIRB error send rescuers to the wrong ocean while she drifted 87 nautical miles from the reported coordinates?

In this episode, you will hear the sequence of events from departure to rescue, what Cheryl Barnes carried and lost, and the daily recordings she made - including her naming of two sharks as Index and Reference - as she tracked her true position and survival choices. What did the voice recorder reveal about those 22 days adrift?

Person: Cheryl Barnes
Age: 53
Boat: Ledger Line, 31-foot fiberglass cutter built in 1984
Distance from land at sinking: approximately 91 miles
EPIRB offset: 87 nautical miles northeast from Barnes’s actual drift

- Departure date: October 8, 2019, from Carrabelle bound for Clearwater (220 nautical miles)
- Collision and abandonment: October 10, 2019; 12 minutes from impact to leaving the boat
- Drift measured by day four: roughly 31 miles south-southeast from the sinking location
- Rescue discovery: life raft seen by shrimper Steve Norris at 2:00 a.m. on October 31, 2019, fifty-five miles southwest of Apalachicola
- Recorded survival kit: four-person life raft, EPIRB, handheld VHF, handheld GPS, compass, raft kit with water packets (three extra water packets were in a dry bag)

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73078780Sun, 26 Jul 2026 08:00:02 +0000Creator at ObomediaShe Spoke to Sharks: 22 Days Adrift, a Voice Recorder Survived A 53-year-old sailor spent 22 days alone in a life raft after her 31-foot cutter sank; a digital voice recorder captured her voice every hour and recorded her speaking to sharks. How...
A 53-year-old sailor spent 22 days alone in a life raft after her 31-foot cutter sank; a digital voice recorder captured her voice every hour and recorded her speaking to sharks. How did an EPIRB error send rescuers to the wrong ocean while she drifted 87 nautical miles from the reported coordinates?

In this episode, you will hear the sequence of events from departure to rescue, what Cheryl Barnes carried and lost, and the daily recordings she made - including her naming of two sharks as Index and Reference - as she tracked her true position and survival choices. What did the voice recorder reveal about those 22 days adrift?

Person: Cheryl Barnes
Age: 53
Boat: Ledger Line, 31-foot fiberglass cutter built in 1984
Distance from land at sinking: approximately 91 miles
EPIRB offset: 87 nautical miles northeast from Barnes’s actual drift

- Departure date: October 8, 2019, from Carrabelle bound for Clearwater (220 nautical miles)
- Collision and abandonment: October 10, 2019; 12 minutes from impact to leaving the boat
- Drift measured by day four: roughly 31 miles south-southeast from the sinking location
- Rescue discovery: life raft seen by shrimper Steve Norris at 2:00 a.m. on October 31, 2019, fifty-five miles southwest of Apalachicola
- Recorded survival kit: four-person life raft, EPIRB, handheld VHF, handheld GPS, compass, raft kit with water packets (three extra water packets were in a dry bag)

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1317falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/alone-with-a-broken-boat-the-37-days-sharon-survived-at-sea--73078779
A forty-two-foot sloop lost its mast to a 22-26 foot wave and two of three people aboard did not come home - but one science teacher walked off the boat after 41 days alone, asking for her daughter before water. How did a cracked EPIRB, a kitchen-foil radar reflector and a dry suit that changed hands the night before a death shape survival two hundred miles offshore?

In this episode, we tell what happened aboard the Carver Point from departure to the storm, the failed distress signal, and the weeks that followed, following Sharon Riley’s journal and the subsequent case records to answer how she stayed alive.

Person: Sharon Riley
Person: Dennis Craft
Person: Kevin Sorrell
Vessel: Carver Point (42-foot cutter sloop, built 1989)
Event: Dismasting on night of September 7-8 with a 22-26 foot wave

- Departure date: September 3 from Fernandina Beach
- Storm impact: between midnight and 0200 on September 8
- Sharon’s journal entry time and date: 03:40 on September 14, wrote “Dennis gone at 0340. Kevin and I committed him to the sea.”
- Sharon’s age and occupation: 45, eighth-grade science teacher from Savannah
- Dennis’s age and sailing record: 51, had crossed to the Bahamas four times and delivered a vessel to Bermuda once

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73078779Sat, 25 Jul 2026 08:00:02 +0000Creator at ObomediaAlone with a Broken Boat: The 37 Days Sharon Survived at Sea A forty-two-foot sloop lost its mast to a 22-26 foot wave and two of three people aboard did not come home - but one science teacher walked off the boat after 41 days alone, asking for...
A forty-two-foot sloop lost its mast to a 22-26 foot wave and two of three people aboard did not come home - but one science teacher walked off the boat after 41 days alone, asking for her daughter before water. How did a cracked EPIRB, a kitchen-foil radar reflector and a dry suit that changed hands the night before a death shape survival two hundred miles offshore?

In this episode, we tell what happened aboard the Carver Point from departure to the storm, the failed distress signal, and the weeks that followed, following Sharon Riley’s journal and the subsequent case records to answer how she stayed alive.

Person: Sharon Riley
Person: Dennis Craft
Person: Kevin Sorrell
Vessel: Carver Point (42-foot cutter sloop, built 1989)
Event: Dismasting on night of September 7-8 with a 22-26 foot wave

- Departure date: September 3 from Fernandina Beach
- Storm impact: between midnight and 0200 on September 8
- Sharon’s journal entry time and date: 03:40 on September 14, wrote “Dennis gone at 0340. Kevin and I committed him to the sea.”
- Sharon’s age and occupation: 45, eighth-grade science teacher from Savannah
- Dennis’s age and sailing record: 51, had crossed to the Bahamas four times and delivered a vessel to Bermuda once

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1379falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/shoe-nailed-to-buoy-seven-how-a-mother-vanished-after-the-sea--73078777
The image is simple and strange: a size four white canvas sneaker, laces fused by brine, nailed with a galvanized roofing nail to Buoy Seven - carried seventy miles across open water after a ketch capsized. Who walked ashore alive around August 8 and left the only proof of her landing pinned to a federal navigation marker, then vanished without trace?

In this episode, we lay out the sequence of events from departure to aftermath, describing the people aboard Maren Rose, the storm that capsized her, the search activated by an EPIRB, and the one physical clue recovered weeks later - and ask what that clue might mean.

Person: Sandra Crews
Person: Sophie Crews
Person: Paula Collins
Event: Capsize of Maren Rose on August 5, 2011
Location: Buoy Seven (shoe found) - discovered by Frank Slater on August 19, 2011

- The shoe was a size four white canvas sneaker with the sole cracked and laces fused by brine.
- A single galvanized roofing nail was driven through the toe box to hold the shoe to the steel buoy.
- Buoy Seven was confirmed clean six weeks earlier in Coast Guard records, with no shoe or nail.
- Maren Rose capsized at 00:17 on August 5, 2011 after winds rose from 12 to 41 knots in under four minutes.
- The EPIRB signal reached COSPAS-SARSAT at 00:49 and was relayed within 11 minutes, but an EPIRB encoding drift and a six-minute activation delay produced a position error that sent rescue assets 22 nautical miles off the actual sinking location.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73078777Fri, 24 Jul 2026 08:00:05 +0000Creator at ObomediaShoe Nailed to Buoy Seven: How a Mother Vanished After the Sea The image is simple and strange: a size four white canvas sneaker, laces fused by brine, nailed with a galvanized roofing nail to Buoy Seven - carried seventy miles across open water...
The image is simple and strange: a size four white canvas sneaker, laces fused by brine, nailed with a galvanized roofing nail to Buoy Seven - carried seventy miles across open water after a ketch capsized. Who walked ashore alive around August 8 and left the only proof of her landing pinned to a federal navigation marker, then vanished without trace?

In this episode, we lay out the sequence of events from departure to aftermath, describing the people aboard Maren Rose, the storm that capsized her, the search activated by an EPIRB, and the one physical clue recovered weeks later - and ask what that clue might mean.

Person: Sandra Crews
Person: Sophie Crews
Person: Paula Collins
Event: Capsize of Maren Rose on August 5, 2011
Location: Buoy Seven (shoe found) - discovered by Frank Slater on August 19, 2011

- The shoe was a size four white canvas sneaker with the sole cracked and laces fused by brine.
- A single galvanized roofing nail was driven through the toe box to hold the shoe to the steel buoy.
- Buoy Seven was confirmed clean six weeks earlier in Coast Guard records, with no shoe or nail.
- Maren Rose capsized at 00:17 on August 5, 2011 after winds rose from 12 to 41 knots in under four minutes.
- The EPIRB signal reached COSPAS-SARSAT at 00:49 and was relayed within 11 minutes, but an EPIRB encoding drift and a six-minute activation delay produced a position error that sent rescue assets 22 nautical miles off the actual sinking location.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1379falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/beacon-blinked-system-said-no-she-drifted-four-days-alone--73078776
The thought of a working emergency beacon that was received and dismissed chills the spine: an EPIRB transmitted correctly for four days and nine hours, the national system logged the signal and decided no search was needed. How did a functioning distress beacon tied to a solo sailor drift unheard of while a cutter, an aircraft, and two paper trails converged without finding her?

In this episode, we follow the chain of events from a grader operator finding a blinking orange EPIRB in a county ditch to the federal database records that misidentified its owner, and we ask how an administrative error became a life-or-death gap in the search system.

Person: Peggy Harris
Vessel: Linnet
Date: July 9-14, 2019
Location: Gulf of Mexico / Portsmith, Florida
Equipment: EPIRB (registered to Victor Crane in NOAA database)

- The EPIRB activated at 23:57 on July 11, 2019, seventeen minutes after Linnet’s mast came down.
- Peggy departed Portsmith marina at 06:48 on July 9, 2019, with provisions for ten days including twelve liters of bottled water and a watermaker.
- The NOAA registry had a data-migration error from spring 2018 that left the beacon registered to Victor Crane and Osprey Bay.
- Nancy Adams found the orange EPIRB blinking at 04:17 on July 14, 2019, on County Road Seven in Dellard County, 31 miles inland from the nearest coastline.
- The coast guard received the beacon’s signal identifying Osprey Bay in its slip at Palafox Pier, leading to the classification of the alert as a false alarm.

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73078776Thu, 23 Jul 2026 08:00:02 +0000Creator at ObomediaBeacon Blinked, System Said No - She Drifted Four Days Alone The thought of a working emergency beacon that was received and dismissed chills the spine: an EPIRB transmitted correctly for four days and nine hours, the national system logged the...
The thought of a working emergency beacon that was received and dismissed chills the spine: an EPIRB transmitted correctly for four days and nine hours, the national system logged the signal and decided no search was needed. How did a functioning distress beacon tied to a solo sailor drift unheard of while a cutter, an aircraft, and two paper trails converged without finding her?

In this episode, we follow the chain of events from a grader operator finding a blinking orange EPIRB in a county ditch to the federal database records that misidentified its owner, and we ask how an administrative error became a life-or-death gap in the search system.

Person: Peggy Harris
Vessel: Linnet
Date: July 9-14, 2019
Location: Gulf of Mexico / Portsmith, Florida
Equipment: EPIRB (registered to Victor Crane in NOAA database)

- The EPIRB activated at 23:57 on July 11, 2019, seventeen minutes after Linnet’s mast came down.
- Peggy departed Portsmith marina at 06:48 on July 9, 2019, with provisions for ten days including twelve liters of bottled water and a watermaker.
- The NOAA registry had a data-migration error from spring 2018 that left the beacon registered to Victor Crane and Osprey Bay.
- Nancy Adams found the orange EPIRB blinking at 04:17 on July 14, 2019, on County Road Seven in Dellard County, 31 miles inland from the nearest coastline.
- The coast guard received the beacon’s signal identifying Osprey Bay in its slip at Palafox Pier, leading to the classification of the alert as a false alarm.

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1147falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/she-survived-six-days-adrift-how-the-sea-led-her-home--73078773
The ocean should have been a grave; instead it became Julie Vickers’s unlikely path back to land - she spent six days clinging to a four-foot fiberglass panel after her thirty-eight-foot sloop capsized and the EPIRB sent only one weak pulse. Drift models, Coast Guard search grids and every deployed asset pointed forty miles north, while Julie crawled ashore at Otter Inlet where nobody was looking; how did childhood scents and a lifetime of reading the water guide her to that exact beach?

In this episode, we tell the sequence of events from the June 15-22, 2009 voyage: the weather that turned, the capsize in 12-foot seas, the failed EPIRB signal, and the small decisions and habits that kept Julie alive - and we ask what this case reveals about the limits of search systems and the power of local knowledge.

Person: Julie Vickers
Date: June 15-22, 2009
Location: Otter Inlet, Oregon coast
Vessel: 38-foot sloop named Tern's Wake
Cause: Mast sheared, EPIRB antenna cracked (one weak logged pulse)

- At 2:40 AM on June 16 the first rogue wave capsized the sloop and the mast was sheared at the deck.
- The EPIRB logged a single weak position approximately 39 miles west-southwest of Tillamook Bay before failing.
- Julie survived six days afloat on a 4 ft by 2.5 ft fiberglass panel after the vessel sank by noon on June 16.
- She had two life vests, a handheld VHF radio at 40% battery, three liters of water, trail mix, crackers, and a sealed chart case on a lanyard.
- On the morning of June 22 at 6:41 AM, a utility lineman found her alive on a gravel beach at Otter Inlet still gripping the fiberglass panel.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73078773Wed, 22 Jul 2026 08:00:03 +0000Creator at ObomediaShe Survived Six Days Adrift - How the Sea Led Her Home The ocean should have been a grave; instead it became Julie Vickers’s unlikely path back to land - she spent six days clinging to a four-foot fiberglass panel after her thirty-eight-foot sloop...
The ocean should have been a grave; instead it became Julie Vickers’s unlikely path back to land - she spent six days clinging to a four-foot fiberglass panel after her thirty-eight-foot sloop capsized and the EPIRB sent only one weak pulse. Drift models, Coast Guard search grids and every deployed asset pointed forty miles north, while Julie crawled ashore at Otter Inlet where nobody was looking; how did childhood scents and a lifetime of reading the water guide her to that exact beach?

In this episode, we tell the sequence of events from the June 15-22, 2009 voyage: the weather that turned, the capsize in 12-foot seas, the failed EPIRB signal, and the small decisions and habits that kept Julie alive - and we ask what this case reveals about the limits of search systems and the power of local knowledge.

Person: Julie Vickers
Date: June 15-22, 2009
Location: Otter Inlet, Oregon coast
Vessel: 38-foot sloop named Tern's Wake
Cause: Mast sheared, EPIRB antenna cracked (one weak logged pulse)

- At 2:40 AM on June 16 the first rogue wave capsized the sloop and the mast was sheared at the deck.
- The EPIRB logged a single weak position approximately 39 miles west-southwest of Tillamook Bay before failing.
- Julie survived six days afloat on a 4 ft by 2.5 ft fiberglass panel after the vessel sank by noon on June 16.
- She had two life vests, a handheld VHF radio at 40% battery, three liters of water, trail mix, crackers, and a sealed chart case on a lanyard.
- On the morning of June 22 at 6:41 AM, a utility lineman found her alive on a gravel beach at Otter Inlet still gripping the fiberglass panel.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1330falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/she-threw-a-cake-base-into-the-gulf-day-six-jlp--73078772
A foam cake base with coordinates, a hand-drawn chart, and the three calm words "Day six. South. JLP." washed ashore in Gulfport - but four days earlier a woman named Janet Lynn Lynn was found alive on the roof of a half-sunken sailboat, waving a yellow jacket at an aircraft that nearly missed her. How did a discarded cake disc become the hinge between a wrong search box and a rescue that almost never happened?

In this episode, you will hear the sequence of events from Janet Lynn leaving Gulfport on May 9 to the storm, the EPIRB activation, the mislocated search area, and the cake base that turned up on May 19 - and the question that drove every decision: how did a 22-mile route deviation change everything?

Person: Janet Lynn Lynn
Date: May 9-19 (May 9 departure; May 10 storm; May 19 foam found)
Location: Gulfport, Mississippi and offshore Gulf of Mexico
Vessel: 32-foot sloop named Ardent Fix
Supply: 4 gallons of water and 8 days of food

- Janet Lynn left Gulfport alone on the afternoon of May 9 planning an east-southeast route roughly 90 miles to Pensacola.
- She deviated 22 miles south of her filed course to avoid an offshore platform with inadequate lighting.
- At about 5:30 AM on May 10 the Ardent Fix broached and capsized to starboard; Janet activated her EPIRB at 6:22 AM.
- The EPIRB signal reached satellites and triggered a search, but coordinators drew a search box based on her filed route that was approximately 60 miles north of her actual position.
- A white foam cake base marked in red with coordinates and the words "Day six. South. JLP." washed up at Gulfport beach access at 6:15 AM on May 19.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73078772Tue, 21 Jul 2026 08:00:03 +0000Creator at ObomediaShe Threw a Cake Base Into the Gulf - Day Six, JLP A foam cake base with coordinates, a hand-drawn chart, and the three calm words "Day six. South. JLP." washed ashore in Gulfport - but four days earlier a woman named Janet Lynn Lynn was found...
A foam cake base with coordinates, a hand-drawn chart, and the three calm words "Day six. South. JLP." washed ashore in Gulfport - but four days earlier a woman named Janet Lynn Lynn was found alive on the roof of a half-sunken sailboat, waving a yellow jacket at an aircraft that nearly missed her. How did a discarded cake disc become the hinge between a wrong search box and a rescue that almost never happened?

In this episode, you will hear the sequence of events from Janet Lynn leaving Gulfport on May 9 to the storm, the EPIRB activation, the mislocated search area, and the cake base that turned up on May 19 - and the question that drove every decision: how did a 22-mile route deviation change everything?

Person: Janet Lynn Lynn
Date: May 9-19 (May 9 departure; May 10 storm; May 19 foam found)
Location: Gulfport, Mississippi and offshore Gulf of Mexico
Vessel: 32-foot sloop named Ardent Fix
Supply: 4 gallons of water and 8 days of food

- Janet Lynn left Gulfport alone on the afternoon of May 9 planning an east-southeast route roughly 90 miles to Pensacola.
- She deviated 22 miles south of her filed course to avoid an offshore platform with inadequate lighting.
- At about 5:30 AM on May 10 the Ardent Fix broached and capsized to starboard; Janet activated her EPIRB at 6:22 AM.
- The EPIRB signal reached satellites and triggered a search, but coordinators drew a search box based on her filed route that was approximately 60 miles north of her actual position.
- A white foam cake base marked in red with coordinates and the words "Day six. South. JLP." washed up at Gulfport beach access at 6:15 AM on May 19.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1200falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/left-the-stove-on-how-a-beacon-whispered-for-four-days--73078771
The idea of a lone beacon sending signals for four days while its owner drifted alone in the Atlantic is terrifyingly intimate: two fried eggs left on a skillet, an autopilot-engaged sloop idling at eight knots, and a personal locator beacon transmitting into a system that wasn't listening - how did a 61-year-old woman survive when rescue was almost missed? What chain of failures and precise near-misses allowed Emily Duncan to float for days before being found?

In this episode, we tell the sequence of events from departure to rescue, following the boat, the beacon transmissions, and the decisions that led Emily to sail east instead of the filed route - and we ask how a safety system built to find her almost failed when it mattered most.

Person: Emily Duncan
Date: April 12, 2019
Vessel: Patrice C., 42-foot sloop
Fuel: 220 gallons filled April 10
Injury: fractured right forearm (radius and ulna)

- The boat was idling with autopilot engaged and engine running at eight knots when officers boarded.
- Two fried eggs were found on a cast-iron skillet, their yolks not yet set, after more than 24 hours.
- Emily activated her personal locator beacon underwater to the wrist after falling overboard in 58°F water.
- The squall produced 38-knot northwest winds that caused Emily to be clipped to her safety line and fall overboard.
- Marcus Teel filled both tanks with 220 gallons on April 10 and saw navigation lights leave the harbor before dawn on April 11.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73078771Tue, 21 Jul 2026 02:23:59 +0000Creator at ObomediaLeft the Stove On: How a Beacon Whispered for Four Days The idea of a lone beacon sending signals for four days while its owner drifted alone in the Atlantic is terrifyingly intimate: two fried eggs left on a skillet, an autopilot-engaged sloop...
The idea of a lone beacon sending signals for four days while its owner drifted alone in the Atlantic is terrifyingly intimate: two fried eggs left on a skillet, an autopilot-engaged sloop idling at eight knots, and a personal locator beacon transmitting into a system that wasn't listening - how did a 61-year-old woman survive when rescue was almost missed? What chain of failures and precise near-misses allowed Emily Duncan to float for days before being found?

In this episode, we tell the sequence of events from departure to rescue, following the boat, the beacon transmissions, and the decisions that led Emily to sail east instead of the filed route - and we ask how a safety system built to find her almost failed when it mattered most.

Person: Emily Duncan
Date: April 12, 2019
Vessel: Patrice C., 42-foot sloop
Fuel: 220 gallons filled April 10
Injury: fractured right forearm (radius and ulna)

- The boat was idling with autopilot engaged and engine running at eight knots when officers boarded.
- Two fried eggs were found on a cast-iron skillet, their yolks not yet set, after more than 24 hours.
- Emily activated her personal locator beacon underwater to the wrist after falling overboard in 58°F water.
- The squall produced 38-knot northwest winds that caused Emily to be clipped to her safety line and fall overboard.
- Marcus Teel filled both tanks with 220 gallons on April 10 and saw navigation lights leave the harbor before dawn on April 11.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1265falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-dry-card-on-a-soggy-boat-how-three-calls-were-missed-at-sea--73078770
A single laminated card, bone-dry on the soaking deck of a boat that looked like it had been underwater for days - that impossibility led to a woman being found alive after nearly four days adrift. How could three people, all sending distress signals and searching for each other after a squall, remain invisible across the same stretch of water?

In this episode, we follow the timeline from a March squall to the discovery on a Buras dock and trace the decisions and small artifacts that shaped what happened. What did a laminated tracking card, a ripped radio transmission, and six bottles of water add up to in those crucial hours?

Date: March 22, 2017
Person: Kimberly Green
Location: Buras dock / lower Mississippi delta
Boat: Calvert Sound (14-foot fiberglass, 30-horsepower)
Event: Squall on March 18, 2017 (40-48 knots, 22 minutes)

- Kimberly Green was found unconscious in the bow on March 22, 2017 after being alone for almost four days.
- The laminated tracking card covered March 4-April 2 with the first 18 cells filled in blue ink and was kept inside a waterproof sleeve.
- The squall hit at 11:53 AM on March 18, 2017 with winds of 40-48 knots and lasted 22 minutes, ending visual contact between Calvert Sound and Lena B.
- Kimberly had six bottles of water and half a bag of popcorn and rationed them while circling within roughly two miles of her last visual contact.
- She heard a garbled, partial rescue-channel transmission the afternoon of March 18 and believed it indicated Scott and Marcus were being helped.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73078770Tue, 21 Jul 2026 02:23:56 +0000Creator at ObomediaThe Dry Card on a Soggy Boat: How Three Calls Were Missed at Sea A single laminated card, bone-dry on the soaking deck of a boat that looked like it had been underwater for days - that impossibility led to a woman being found alive after nearly...
A single laminated card, bone-dry on the soaking deck of a boat that looked like it had been underwater for days - that impossibility led to a woman being found alive after nearly four days adrift. How could three people, all sending distress signals and searching for each other after a squall, remain invisible across the same stretch of water?

In this episode, we follow the timeline from a March squall to the discovery on a Buras dock and trace the decisions and small artifacts that shaped what happened. What did a laminated tracking card, a ripped radio transmission, and six bottles of water add up to in those crucial hours?

Date: March 22, 2017
Person: Kimberly Green
Location: Buras dock / lower Mississippi delta
Boat: Calvert Sound (14-foot fiberglass, 30-horsepower)
Event: Squall on March 18, 2017 (40-48 knots, 22 minutes)

- Kimberly Green was found unconscious in the bow on March 22, 2017 after being alone for almost four days.
- The laminated tracking card covered March 4-April 2 with the first 18 cells filled in blue ink and was kept inside a waterproof sleeve.
- The squall hit at 11:53 AM on March 18, 2017 with winds of 40-48 knots and lasted 22 minutes, ending visual contact between Calvert Sound and Lena B.
- Kimberly had six bottles of water and half a bag of popcorn and rationed them while circling within roughly two miles of her last visual contact.
- She heard a garbled, partial rescue-channel transmission the afternoon of March 18 and believed it indicated Scott and Marcus were being helped.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1383falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/signal-mirror-how-40-saved-a-sailor-lost-at-sea--73078767
A single flash of reflected sunlight from a $40 signal mirror, sealed in a ziplock at the bottom of a ditch bag, was the only reason Terry Cox was seen from the air after four days and seventeen hours adrift. The EPIRB had separated and drifted northwest while he and his raft drifted southeast, placing searchers roughly 32 nautical miles away - how did a little mirror become the decisive lifeline?

In this episode, we follow the sequence of small decisions and failed systems that determined whether Terry Cox would be found, from the moment the EPIRB transmitted to the sighting over the open Atlantic; could redundancy and a habit of verifying equipment be the difference between rescue and loss?

Person: Terry Cox
Date: February 14-19
Location: 61 nautical miles offshore; EPIRB placed roughly 32 nautical miles from actual position
Person: Carla Hennessey
Person: Simone Cox

- The EPIRB alert was received by search coordinator Glenn Rice at 19:43 on February 14.
- Terry Cox spent four days and seventeen hours alone in a gray-orange raft before being seen.
- The Miriam Jane broached at 18:20 approximately 40 miles southeast of Cape Lookout.
- Terry was 47 years old and had been reading the water around Beaufort, North Carolina for nearly 19 years.
- The signal mirror was purchased about six months before the incident and stored sealed in a ziplock at the bottom of his ditch bag.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73078767Tue, 21 Jul 2026 02:23:52 +0000Creator at ObomediaSignal Mirror: How $40 Saved a Sailor Lost at Sea A single flash of reflected sunlight from a $40 signal mirror, sealed in a ziplock at the bottom of a ditch bag, was the only reason Terry Cox was seen from the air after four days and seventeen...
A single flash of reflected sunlight from a $40 signal mirror, sealed in a ziplock at the bottom of a ditch bag, was the only reason Terry Cox was seen from the air after four days and seventeen hours adrift. The EPIRB had separated and drifted northwest while he and his raft drifted southeast, placing searchers roughly 32 nautical miles away - how did a little mirror become the decisive lifeline?

In this episode, we follow the sequence of small decisions and failed systems that determined whether Terry Cox would be found, from the moment the EPIRB transmitted to the sighting over the open Atlantic; could redundancy and a habit of verifying equipment be the difference between rescue and loss?

Person: Terry Cox
Date: February 14-19
Location: 61 nautical miles offshore; EPIRB placed roughly 32 nautical miles from actual position
Person: Carla Hennessey
Person: Simone Cox

- The EPIRB alert was received by search coordinator Glenn Rice at 19:43 on February 14.
- Terry Cox spent four days and seventeen hours alone in a gray-orange raft before being seen.
- The Miriam Jane broached at 18:20 approximately 40 miles southeast of Cape Lookout.
- Terry was 47 years old and had been reading the water around Beaufort, North Carolina for nearly 19 years.
- The signal mirror was purchased about six months before the incident and stored sealed in a ziplock at the bottom of his ditch bag.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1344falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-library-book-that-drifted-eleven-miles-missing-man-silent-beacon--73078766
A library field guide checked out on January 9th turned up floating eleven miles offshore with pages wet at the edges and a Thibodaux Parish Public Library due stamp dated February 3rd-yet its borrower, a meticulous sailor who filed a float plan, vanished after a rogue wave sheared equipment from her vessel. How did a near-perfect book become the silent clue that triggered a nine-day, 800-mile search across the Gulf, and what did it finally reveal about the missing man?

In this episode, we tell the sequence of events from the book retrieved at sea to the disappearance on board the Cordelia B., following the evidence that led to the Coast Guard search and the unanswered question that began it all. What caused the boat to be pushed off its planned route, and why did the emergency beacon not signal?

Person: Rhonda Wagner
Date: January 11
Location: Gulf of Mexico
Event: Rogue wave sheared stern fittings and removed cockpit equipment
Case: Book checked out January 9, found floating eleven miles offshore

- The field guide was checked out from Thibodaux Parish Public Library on January 9 and stamped Due February 3.
- The book was found floating eleven miles offshore in four-to-six-foot seas and 58-degree water.
- Rhonda Wagner was 32 years old and the owner/operator of the 41-foot sloop Cordelia B., purchased unfinished 18 months earlier.
- The Coast Guard conducted a nine-day search covering 800 miles of open water with C-130s searching the wrong area for four days.
- On January 11 at 08:42 the jackline had sheared at the stern cleat and the EPIRB bracket at the stern was gone, leaving uncertainty whether any distress signal was transmitted.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73078766Tue, 21 Jul 2026 02:23:48 +0000Creator at ObomediaThe Library Book That Drifted Eleven Miles: Missing Man, Silent Beacon A library field guide checked out on January 9th turned up floating eleven miles offshore with pages wet at the edges and a Thibodaux Parish Public Library due stamp dated...
A library field guide checked out on January 9th turned up floating eleven miles offshore with pages wet at the edges and a Thibodaux Parish Public Library due stamp dated February 3rd-yet its borrower, a meticulous sailor who filed a float plan, vanished after a rogue wave sheared equipment from her vessel. How did a near-perfect book become the silent clue that triggered a nine-day, 800-mile search across the Gulf, and what did it finally reveal about the missing man?

In this episode, we tell the sequence of events from the book retrieved at sea to the disappearance on board the Cordelia B., following the evidence that led to the Coast Guard search and the unanswered question that began it all. What caused the boat to be pushed off its planned route, and why did the emergency beacon not signal?

Person: Rhonda Wagner
Date: January 11
Location: Gulf of Mexico
Event: Rogue wave sheared stern fittings and removed cockpit equipment
Case: Book checked out January 9, found floating eleven miles offshore

- The field guide was checked out from Thibodaux Parish Public Library on January 9 and stamped Due February 3.
- The book was found floating eleven miles offshore in four-to-six-foot seas and 58-degree water.
- Rhonda Wagner was 32 years old and the owner/operator of the 41-foot sloop Cordelia B., purchased unfinished 18 months earlier.
- The Coast Guard conducted a nine-day search covering 800 miles of open water with C-130s searching the wrong area for four days.
- On January 11 at 08:42 the jackline had sheared at the stern cleat and the EPIRB bracket at the stern was gone, leaving uncertainty whether any distress signal was transmitted.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1197falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-dry-notebook-how-a-floating-legal-pad-outsmarted-a-failed-rescue--73078764
The sight of a yellow legal pad, still dry after five days in the Atlantic, turned a missing-person search into a map of human error and survival. A zip-lock bag, a plastic tie, and pencil marks written so hard the cardboard showed were the only proof that the EPIRB had lied and the rescue was looking thirty-one miles away from where two people clung to life - so how did a small notebook become the crucial clue?

In this episode, we tell the sequence of events that led from a routine offshore passage to a failed beacon, a life raft, and a dry notebook found in the reeds; we follow how the crew improvised navigation, documented their drift, and left the only paper trail that contradicted the official search area. What did those penciled entries reveal about where they actually were?

Person: Monica Hughes
Person: Chris Baird
Event: EPIRB signal off by 31 miles
Date: December 6, 2011
Location: Atlantic Ocean (drift toward Pelican Marsh, Harker County, North Carolina)

- The Celia Ann sank in the early hours of December 6, 2011 after a wave struck broadside and the mast came down.
- Monica activated the EPIRB at 04:40 but the beacon transmitted a position that was 31 miles off from where they were.
- Monica and Chris reached the life raft with a signal mirror and a three-inch wax pencil found on day four.
- The yellow legal pad had floated in the Atlantic for five days and was dry when Stanley Christensen found it on December 14, 2011.
- Monica estimated their drift at 8 to 12 miles per day toward the coast using sun angles, wind direction, and wave patterns.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73078764Tue, 21 Jul 2026 02:23:45 +0000Creator at ObomediaThe Dry Notebook: How a Floating Legal Pad Outsmarted a Failed Rescue The sight of a yellow legal pad, still dry after five days in the Atlantic, turned a missing-person search into a map of human error and survival. A zip-lock bag, a plastic tie,...
The sight of a yellow legal pad, still dry after five days in the Atlantic, turned a missing-person search into a map of human error and survival. A zip-lock bag, a plastic tie, and pencil marks written so hard the cardboard showed were the only proof that the EPIRB had lied and the rescue was looking thirty-one miles away from where two people clung to life - so how did a small notebook become the crucial clue?

In this episode, we tell the sequence of events that led from a routine offshore passage to a failed beacon, a life raft, and a dry notebook found in the reeds; we follow how the crew improvised navigation, documented their drift, and left the only paper trail that contradicted the official search area. What did those penciled entries reveal about where they actually were?

Person: Monica Hughes
Person: Chris Baird
Event: EPIRB signal off by 31 miles
Date: December 6, 2011
Location: Atlantic Ocean (drift toward Pelican Marsh, Harker County, North Carolina)

- The Celia Ann sank in the early hours of December 6, 2011 after a wave struck broadside and the mast came down.
- Monica activated the EPIRB at 04:40 but the beacon transmitted a position that was 31 miles off from where they were.
- Monica and Chris reached the life raft with a signal mirror and a three-inch wax pencil found on day four.
- The yellow legal pad had floated in the Atlantic for five days and was dry when Stanley Christensen found it on December 14, 2011.
- Monica estimated their drift at 8 to 12 miles per day toward the coast using sun angles, wind direction, and wave patterns.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1325falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/names-on-a-list-the-sinking-of-the-mv-harlan-strait--73078763
A single salt-soaked zip bag washed ashore containing one notebook page with eleven names and a Y or N beside each - written twelve hours after a tanker sank 63 miles offshore; why did one man make a list that could decide who lived or died? Who chose, and on what grounds, while rescue beacons stayed silent?

In this episode, we follow the timeline from the collision in the early hours of November 4, 2011, through the silent EPIRB, the damaged lifeboat, and the page that drifted to shore, asking how routine procedures failed and what was recorded by the people still fighting to survive.

Person: Cynthia Dempsey
Date: November 19, 2011
Event: Collision and sinking on November 4, 2011
Location: Gulf of Mexico, 63 nautical miles offshore; Portsmith Marine Industries seawall, Calcasieu Lake
Vessel: MV Harlan Strait, 112 meters, registered out of Morgan City, Louisiana

- At 07:52 on November 19, 2011, Cynthia Dempsey found a knotted zip-close bag on the Portsmith seawall containing one torn notebook page.
- The MV Harlan Strait sank at approximately 01:15 on November 4, 2011, after being struck amidships on the starboard side by the Panamanian bulk carrier Estrella Poniente.
- Seven of eleven crew launched the port lifeboat; four crew did not make it at the time of the collision.
- Seas were 12-15 feet with northwest winds at 38 knots; water temperature was between 63 and 67 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Twelve hours after the sinking, Paul Nettles tore a page from his water-resistant journal and wrote eleven names with a single letter (Y or N) beside each.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73078763Tue, 21 Jul 2026 02:23:41 +0000Creator at ObomediaNames on a List: The Sinking of the MV Harlan Strait A single salt-soaked zip bag washed ashore containing one notebook page with eleven names and a Y or N beside each - written twelve hours after a tanker sank 63 miles offshore; why did one man...
A single salt-soaked zip bag washed ashore containing one notebook page with eleven names and a Y or N beside each - written twelve hours after a tanker sank 63 miles offshore; why did one man make a list that could decide who lived or died? Who chose, and on what grounds, while rescue beacons stayed silent?

In this episode, we follow the timeline from the collision in the early hours of November 4, 2011, through the silent EPIRB, the damaged lifeboat, and the page that drifted to shore, asking how routine procedures failed and what was recorded by the people still fighting to survive.

Person: Cynthia Dempsey
Date: November 19, 2011
Event: Collision and sinking on November 4, 2011
Location: Gulf of Mexico, 63 nautical miles offshore; Portsmith Marine Industries seawall, Calcasieu Lake
Vessel: MV Harlan Strait, 112 meters, registered out of Morgan City, Louisiana

- At 07:52 on November 19, 2011, Cynthia Dempsey found a knotted zip-close bag on the Portsmith seawall containing one torn notebook page.
- The MV Harlan Strait sank at approximately 01:15 on November 4, 2011, after being struck amidships on the starboard side by the Panamanian bulk carrier Estrella Poniente.
- Seven of eleven crew launched the port lifeboat; four crew did not make it at the time of the collision.
- Seas were 12-15 feet with northwest winds at 38 knots; water temperature was between 63 and 67 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Twelve hours after the sinking, Paul Nettles tore a page from his water-resistant journal and wrote eleven names with a single letter (Y or N) beside each.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1448falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/found-adrift-the-sailboat-with-two-missing-souls-and-eleven-days-lost--73078761
A forty-two-foot sloop washed up on an Alabama tidal flat with its mast snapped, a hull split along the port side, and a dated journal showing twenty-two signed entries - yet two of its three crew were gone. How did a system built to find them spend eleven days searching in exactly the wrong place?

In this episode, we tell the chain of events recorded in the crew’s journal from the morning they left Orange Beach to the moment the boat was found, following the mechanical failures, improvised survival, and the single structural break that changed everything; what went wrong with the search, and what the journal reveals about where those eleven days were spent?

Person: George Allen
Person: Patricia Ogle
Person: Person: Tommy Vance
Date: Found: November 4, 2014 at 06:17
Vessel: Carver's Run, 42-foot sloop, 1988 model

- The journal contained twenty-two dated, timed, and signed entries with a ballpoint pen clipped to the spine.
- On day one Allen recorded "Forty liters" remaining after the water purifier failed, amounting to nine days of minimum survival.
- The diesel engine was contaminated from fuel taken on in Orange Beach, forcing constant management starting day two.
- Vance built a condensation collection rig that yielded between 0.5 and 1.0 liters on fog-heavy nights by day five.
- On day six the forestay parted in a squall and the mast came down to port, splitting the hull along the port side.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73078761Tue, 21 Jul 2026 02:23:37 +0000Creator at ObomediaFound Adrift: The Sailboat With Two Missing Souls and Eleven Days Lost A forty-two-foot sloop washed up on an Alabama tidal flat with its mast snapped, a hull split along the port side, and a dated journal showing twenty-two signed entries - yet...
A forty-two-foot sloop washed up on an Alabama tidal flat with its mast snapped, a hull split along the port side, and a dated journal showing twenty-two signed entries - yet two of its three crew were gone. How did a system built to find them spend eleven days searching in exactly the wrong place?

In this episode, we tell the chain of events recorded in the crew’s journal from the morning they left Orange Beach to the moment the boat was found, following the mechanical failures, improvised survival, and the single structural break that changed everything; what went wrong with the search, and what the journal reveals about where those eleven days were spent?

Person: George Allen
Person: Patricia Ogle
Person: Person: Tommy Vance
Date: Found: November 4, 2014 at 06:17
Vessel: Carver's Run, 42-foot sloop, 1988 model

- The journal contained twenty-two dated, timed, and signed entries with a ballpoint pen clipped to the spine.
- On day one Allen recorded "Forty liters" remaining after the water purifier failed, amounting to nine days of minimum survival.
- The diesel engine was contaminated from fuel taken on in Orange Beach, forcing constant management starting day two.
- Vance built a condensation collection rig that yielded between 0.5 and 1.0 liters on fog-heavy nights by day five.
- On day six the forestay parted in a squall and the mast came down to port, splitting the hull along the port side.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1382falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/sixteen-year-old-finds-a-dry-life-vest-the-rescue-of-amy-wells--73078760
A teenage delivery driver found a salt-soaked life vest with warm foam and the handwritten message "CHAIN - 4" wedged in concrete at a boat ramp - the vest should not have been dry inside. That single photograph, sent through a county line, would reach a Coast Guard search coordinator two hours and twenty-three minutes later and send a helicopter seven miles southwest; who wrote the note and why was someone meant to come read it?

In this episode, we tell the sequence of events from the moment Gordon Fleming discovered the vest through the emergency response and the prior hours aboard Parallel Lines, asking how every safety system Amy Wells built for herself failed in the space of minutes. What gap in procedure did that photograph close, and how did a prepared sailor end up adrift with an anchor chain still hung below her boat?

Person: Amy Wells
Age: 54
Vessel: Parallel Lines, 42-foot catamaran
Discoverer: Gordon Fleming, 16-year-old delivery driver
Date: September 9, 2022

- Gordon photographed the life vest and transmitted it via a non-emergency county line; the photo reached a Coast Guard search coordinator 2 hours and 23 minutes later.
- The photograph prompted a helicopter to move seven miles southwest from its starting position.
- Amy owned Parallel Lines for 11 years and kept a detailed logbook with departure time, weather, fuel, waypoints, and crew names.
- At 11:47 p.m. the port hull caught fire due to a probable ignition from a slow propane leak and the electrical panel; Amy had roughly 40 seconds to reach the EPIRB.
- The anchor chain had tripped the windlass circuit breaker earlier, the chain hung from the hawse pipe with the anchor suspended ~50 feet below and remained overlooked as the boat moved.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73078760Tue, 21 Jul 2026 02:23:33 +0000Creator at ObomediaSixteen-Year-Old Finds a Dry Life Vest: The Rescue of Amy Wells A teenage delivery driver found a salt-soaked life vest with warm foam and the handwritten message "CHAIN - 4" wedged in concrete at a boat ramp - the vest should not have been dry...
A teenage delivery driver found a salt-soaked life vest with warm foam and the handwritten message "CHAIN - 4" wedged in concrete at a boat ramp - the vest should not have been dry inside. That single photograph, sent through a county line, would reach a Coast Guard search coordinator two hours and twenty-three minutes later and send a helicopter seven miles southwest; who wrote the note and why was someone meant to come read it?

In this episode, we tell the sequence of events from the moment Gordon Fleming discovered the vest through the emergency response and the prior hours aboard Parallel Lines, asking how every safety system Amy Wells built for herself failed in the space of minutes. What gap in procedure did that photograph close, and how did a prepared sailor end up adrift with an anchor chain still hung below her boat?

Person: Amy Wells
Age: 54
Vessel: Parallel Lines, 42-foot catamaran
Discoverer: Gordon Fleming, 16-year-old delivery driver
Date: September 9, 2022

- Gordon photographed the life vest and transmitted it via a non-emergency county line; the photo reached a Coast Guard search coordinator 2 hours and 23 minutes later.
- The photograph prompted a helicopter to move seven miles southwest from its starting position.
- Amy owned Parallel Lines for 11 years and kept a detailed logbook with departure time, weather, fuel, waypoints, and crew names.
- At 11:47 p.m. the port hull caught fire due to a probable ignition from a slow propane leak and the electrical panel; Amy had roughly 40 seconds to reach the EPIRB.
- The anchor chain had tripped the windlass circuit breaker earlier, the chain hung from the hawse pipe with the anchor suspended ~50 feet below and remained overlooked as the boat moved.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1387falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/radio-found-standing-in-a-ditch-the-drift-factor-survival--73078759
A single VHF marine radio, battery at two bars, and a GPS coordinate logged forty-seven miles offshore were found balanced upright in a ditch thirty-one miles from navigable water - why would someone discard gear that recent and precise? The radio was tuned to Channel Sixteen and logged a fix at 11:42 the previous night; who was that person and how did their signal end up on land?

In this episode, we follow the chain of events from a grader operator’s discovery to the days that preceded it, tracing a twenty-two-year-old singlehanded sailor, his damaged boat, and the minutes that turned survival into mystery. What did a hacksaw blade, a cracked fuel fitting, and a squall that came in four minutes make possible - and what did they make inevitable?

Person: Terry Walker
Date: August 3, 2019
Location: Riverview Marina and 22-47 miles offshore in the Gulf of Mexico
Event: Squall with 62-knot winds and mast loss
Item: VHF marine radio tuned to Channel 16 showing GPS coordinate

- A black plastic dry bag was found standing upright in a ditch on County Road Seven, Harmon County, on a humid morning in August 2019.
- The VHF marine radio inside was powered on with battery showing two bars and displayed a GPS coordinate logged at 11:42 the previous night, forty-seven miles offshore.
- Harmon County is thirty-one miles from the nearest navigable water, and no tire tracks or footprints were found at the scene.
- Terry Walker left Riverview Marina at 07:15 on August 3, 2019, heading solo to a sand bar roughly twenty-two miles offshore.
- At 14:00 a squall produced 62-knot winds; by 14:40 Terry cut the forestay with a hacksaw blade and at 14:51 a MAYDAY registered at 26°41′N, 82°18′W.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73078759Tue, 21 Jul 2026 02:23:30 +0000Creator at ObomediaRadio Found Standing in a Ditch: The Drift Factor Survival A single VHF marine radio, battery at two bars, and a GPS coordinate logged forty-seven miles offshore were found balanced upright in a ditch thirty-one miles from navigable water - why...
A single VHF marine radio, battery at two bars, and a GPS coordinate logged forty-seven miles offshore were found balanced upright in a ditch thirty-one miles from navigable water - why would someone discard gear that recent and precise? The radio was tuned to Channel Sixteen and logged a fix at 11:42 the previous night; who was that person and how did their signal end up on land?

In this episode, we follow the chain of events from a grader operator’s discovery to the days that preceded it, tracing a twenty-two-year-old singlehanded sailor, his damaged boat, and the minutes that turned survival into mystery. What did a hacksaw blade, a cracked fuel fitting, and a squall that came in four minutes make possible - and what did they make inevitable?

Person: Terry Walker
Date: August 3, 2019
Location: Riverview Marina and 22-47 miles offshore in the Gulf of Mexico
Event: Squall with 62-knot winds and mast loss
Item: VHF marine radio tuned to Channel 16 showing GPS coordinate

- A black plastic dry bag was found standing upright in a ditch on County Road Seven, Harmon County, on a humid morning in August 2019.
- The VHF marine radio inside was powered on with battery showing two bars and displayed a GPS coordinate logged at 11:42 the previous night, forty-seven miles offshore.
- Harmon County is thirty-one miles from the nearest navigable water, and no tire tracks or footprints were found at the scene.
- Terry Walker left Riverview Marina at 07:15 on August 3, 2019, heading solo to a sand bar roughly twenty-two miles offshore.
- At 14:00 a squall produced 62-knot winds; by 14:40 Terry cut the forestay with a hacksaw blade and at 14:51 a MAYDAY registered at 26°41′N, 82°18′W.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1362falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/she-came-ashore-counting-return-that-orange-watch--73078758
A woman came ashore in the Florida Keys wearing an offshore harness, counting aloud with her eyes open, and the first thing she said was, "I need to return that watch." The watch was an orange Casio G-Shock she had found onboard another boat three days earlier, and she arrived onshore thirty-seven hours after her own sloop sailed away without her-how did she survive the night and why did her first words name a stranger's timepiece?

In this episode, we tell the sequence of events from the morning Douglas Parker found the woman in the shallows to the hours before she went overboard, laying out what she carried, what was found, and what she said-does the orange watch explain her actions or deepen the mystery?

Person: Douglas Parker
Person: Janet Edwards
Date: July 16, 2011
Event: Found an orange Casio G-Shock in a ketch chart table
Location: Big Pine Key / Cudjoe Key area

- Janet Edwards was 38 years old and lived aboard a 32-foot sloop named Vera.
- She found the orange Casio G-Shock in a ketch's chart table on July 16 and slipped it onto her wrist.
- At 4:51 PM on July 16 gusts between 40 and 50 knots hit Vera during a squall line.
- The tether carabiner gate had a hairline fracture noted eight months earlier and snapped when Vera rolled past 45 degrees.
- Douglas Parker found the woman standing in the shallows before dawn on July 19, approximately 37 hours after she went into the water.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73078758Tue, 21 Jul 2026 02:23:26 +0000Creator at ObomediaShe Came Ashore Counting-"Return That Orange Watch" A woman came ashore in the Florida Keys wearing an offshore harness, counting aloud with her eyes open, and the first thing she said was, "I need to return that watch." The watch was an orange...
A woman came ashore in the Florida Keys wearing an offshore harness, counting aloud with her eyes open, and the first thing she said was, "I need to return that watch." The watch was an orange Casio G-Shock she had found onboard another boat three days earlier, and she arrived onshore thirty-seven hours after her own sloop sailed away without her-how did she survive the night and why did her first words name a stranger's timepiece?

In this episode, we tell the sequence of events from the morning Douglas Parker found the woman in the shallows to the hours before she went overboard, laying out what she carried, what was found, and what she said-does the orange watch explain her actions or deepen the mystery?

Person: Douglas Parker
Person: Janet Edwards
Date: July 16, 2011
Event: Found an orange Casio G-Shock in a ketch chart table
Location: Big Pine Key / Cudjoe Key area

- Janet Edwards was 38 years old and lived aboard a 32-foot sloop named Vera.
- She found the orange Casio G-Shock in a ketch's chart table on July 16 and slipped it onto her wrist.
- At 4:51 PM on July 16 gusts between 40 and 50 knots hit Vera during a squall line.
- The tether carabiner gate had a hairline fracture noted eight months earlier and snapped when Vera rolled past 45 degrees.
- Douglas Parker found the woman standing in the shallows before dawn on July 19, approximately 37 hours after she went into the water.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1347falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/she-survived-nine-days-with-a-full-coffee-mug-how--73078757
A sixty-three-year-old sailor clung to a full ceramic coffee mug through a capsizing, a flooded radio, and nine days stranded on an unmapped sandbar seven miles from any charted anchorage - how did the mug survive and how did she survive without an EPIRB signal? What critical decisions and hidden risks explain the places where the official positions and her story don't match?

In this episode, we follow the chronological events from departure to rescue, laying out the boat failure, the improvised survival tactics, and the discrepancies in location that officials noted, asking whether secrecy about a medical condition and a false float plan changed everything.

Person: Nancy Reed
Vessel: Mabel Grace
Date: June 6-June 15, 2019 (nine days)
Location: unmapped sandbar seven miles from charted anchorage; Mabel Grace wreck at 40 ft depth, nine nautical miles offshore
Investigator: Frank Delgado

- Nancy held a full ceramic coffee mug through the capsize and for nine days afterward.
- The Mabel Grace is a 32-foot sloop now lying forty feet down, nine nautical miles offshore.
- Nancy had logged more than 14,000 nautical miles of sailing experience before the voyage.
- The vang-boom fittings failed simultaneously, causing the boom to swing and the boat to invert on the night of June 7.
- She survived on half a liter of water and four protein bars, which she rationed into 16 quarters lasting four days.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73078757Tue, 21 Jul 2026 02:23:22 +0000Creator at ObomediaShe Survived Nine Days With a Full Coffee Mug - How? A sixty-three-year-old sailor clung to a full ceramic coffee mug through a capsizing, a flooded radio, and nine days stranded on an unmapped sandbar seven miles from any charted anchorage - how...
A sixty-three-year-old sailor clung to a full ceramic coffee mug through a capsizing, a flooded radio, and nine days stranded on an unmapped sandbar seven miles from any charted anchorage - how did the mug survive and how did she survive without an EPIRB signal? What critical decisions and hidden risks explain the places where the official positions and her story don't match?

In this episode, we follow the chronological events from departure to rescue, laying out the boat failure, the improvised survival tactics, and the discrepancies in location that officials noted, asking whether secrecy about a medical condition and a false float plan changed everything.

Person: Nancy Reed
Vessel: Mabel Grace
Date: June 6-June 15, 2019 (nine days)
Location: unmapped sandbar seven miles from charted anchorage; Mabel Grace wreck at 40 ft depth, nine nautical miles offshore
Investigator: Frank Delgado

- Nancy held a full ceramic coffee mug through the capsize and for nine days afterward.
- The Mabel Grace is a 32-foot sloop now lying forty feet down, nine nautical miles offshore.
- Nancy had logged more than 14,000 nautical miles of sailing experience before the voyage.
- The vang-boom fittings failed simultaneously, causing the boom to swing and the boat to invert on the night of June 7.
- She survived on half a liter of water and four protein bars, which she rationed into 16 quarters lasting four days.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1247falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/a-dry-boot-in-the-flood-the-maren-star-capsize--73078756
A dry, size four yellow rubber duck boot was found wedged behind an electrical panel nine days after the Maren Star sank - the dock had been submerged under four feet of storm surge yet the boot was bone dry. That single object matched a missing six-year-old passenger and opened a three-week search that revealed unexpected details about the capsize; where was Owen Speer when that boot stayed dry?

In this episode, we follow the timeline from the May 5 ferry crossing to the May 14 discovery and the records that connected the boot to a missing child, and we ask how decisions, weather thresholds, and who was aboard shaped the outcome.

Person: Heather Barrett
Date: May 14, 2011
Event: Capsize on May 5, 2011
Vessel capacity: 60 passengers and crew of 3
Water temperature: 68 degrees

- Heather Barrett found and photographed the boot at 11:41 AM on May 14, 2011.
- The dock had been submerged under four feet of storm surge nine days earlier.
- The Maren Star left the dock at approximately 3:00 PM on May 5, 2011 and capsized eleven minutes into the crossing.
- Wind gusts reached 31 knots and the channel buoy read 22 knots at decision time; the small craft advisory was issued at 2:47 PM.
- Owen Speer, age six, was wearing size four yellow rubber duck rain boots when the ferry departed.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73078756Tue, 21 Jul 2026 02:23:19 +0000Creator at ObomediaA Dry Boot in the Flood: The Maren Star Capsize A dry, size four yellow rubber duck boot was found wedged behind an electrical panel nine days after the Maren Star sank - the dock had been submerged under four feet of storm surge yet the boot was...
A dry, size four yellow rubber duck boot was found wedged behind an electrical panel nine days after the Maren Star sank - the dock had been submerged under four feet of storm surge yet the boot was bone dry. That single object matched a missing six-year-old passenger and opened a three-week search that revealed unexpected details about the capsize; where was Owen Speer when that boot stayed dry?

In this episode, we follow the timeline from the May 5 ferry crossing to the May 14 discovery and the records that connected the boot to a missing child, and we ask how decisions, weather thresholds, and who was aboard shaped the outcome.

Person: Heather Barrett
Date: May 14, 2011
Event: Capsize on May 5, 2011
Vessel capacity: 60 passengers and crew of 3
Water temperature: 68 degrees

- Heather Barrett found and photographed the boot at 11:41 AM on May 14, 2011.
- The dock had been submerged under four feet of storm surge nine days earlier.
- The Maren Star left the dock at approximately 3:00 PM on May 5, 2011 and capsized eleven minutes into the crossing.
- Wind gusts reached 31 knots and the channel buoy read 22 knots at decision time; the small craft advisory was issued at 2:47 PM.
- Owen Speer, age six, was wearing size four yellow rubber duck rain boots when the ferry departed.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1361falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-church-notebook-found-dry-while-she-drifts-missing-at-sea--73078755
A dry spiral notebook, closed and resting on a pew in a locked church, described eleven days aboard a sailboat while its author was missing somewhere in the Atlantic - and the church had been locked since Sunday with no sign of forced entry. How did a personal account that names a cat, a best friend, and a loose armrest end up inside St. Agatha's when the real logbook was still on the boat?

In this episode, we follow the timeline from departure at Morrow Basin Marina to the contrasting records found ashore and aboard, and we ask how two different documents could tell overlapping but divergent stories about the same days at sea.

Person: Peggy Stevens
Date: April 9-18, 2019
Location: Morrow Basin Marina to roughly 340 miles toward Great Exuma, Bahamas
Event: Departure, squall April 11, missed radio check-ins April 13-14, life raft launch April 18
Item: Spiral notebook found April 22 at St. Agatha's Episcopal Church

- Peggy bought 12 gallons of diesel and a $5.20 block of ice before departure on April 9.
- The Ardent Fair is a 1982 sloop, 31 feet long, with fiberglass hull and tiller steering.
- Peggy's last confirmed radio transmission was April 12, about 200 miles offshore, voice tense but not alarmed.
- An unforecast squall on April 11 knocked the boat flat and pulled the forestay fitting partially free from the deck.
- On April 18 Peggy deployed the life raft, transferring her ziplocked logbook, an emergency bag, and Marcus the gray tabby.

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73078755Tue, 21 Jul 2026 02:23:15 +0000Creator at ObomediaThe Church Notebook Found Dry While She Drifts Missing at Sea A dry spiral notebook, closed and resting on a pew in a locked church, described eleven days aboard a sailboat while its author was missing somewhere in the Atlantic - and the church had...
A dry spiral notebook, closed and resting on a pew in a locked church, described eleven days aboard a sailboat while its author was missing somewhere in the Atlantic - and the church had been locked since Sunday with no sign of forced entry. How did a personal account that names a cat, a best friend, and a loose armrest end up inside St. Agatha's when the real logbook was still on the boat?

In this episode, we follow the timeline from departure at Morrow Basin Marina to the contrasting records found ashore and aboard, and we ask how two different documents could tell overlapping but divergent stories about the same days at sea.

Person: Peggy Stevens
Date: April 9-18, 2019
Location: Morrow Basin Marina to roughly 340 miles toward Great Exuma, Bahamas
Event: Departure, squall April 11, missed radio check-ins April 13-14, life raft launch April 18
Item: Spiral notebook found April 22 at St. Agatha's Episcopal Church

- Peggy bought 12 gallons of diesel and a $5.20 block of ice before departure on April 9.
- The Ardent Fair is a 1982 sloop, 31 feet long, with fiberglass hull and tiller steering.
- Peggy's last confirmed radio transmission was April 12, about 200 miles offshore, voice tense but not alarmed.
- An unforecast squall on April 11 knocked the boat flat and pulled the forestay fitting partially free from the deck.
- On April 18 Peggy deployed the life raft, transferring her ziplocked logbook, an emergency bag, and Marcus the gray tabby.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1273falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/a-dog-finds-the-card-that-saves-two-lives-the-celia-rae-disaster--73078754
A frantic, salt-soaked search missed the Celia Rae by sixty-one miles while two survivors clung to a life raft for twelve days - and a laminated crew card, pulled from the bushes by an Australian shepherd mix, turned out to be the crucial clue. How could an intact card float ashore after eleven days at sea and change everything about where rescuers looked?

In this episode, we tell the sequence of events from the boat’s departure to the moment the card was found, covering the timeline of the sinking, the search that focused on the wrong area, and how that single piece of plastic reopened the case: where did the card come from and what did it reveal?

Date: March 2-14
Vessel: Celia Rae
Person: Tom Wicker, Pete Salazar, Danny Croft, Lori Burke, Diane Petty
Location: roughly 61 miles east of Tanner Cove; Ladder fishing ground ~30 miles southwest of filed waypoint
Event: Taking water transmission at 19:41 on March 3; two survivors on life raft for 12 days

- The Celia Rae was a 38-foot commercial fishing vessel operating out of Tanner Cove.
- The vessel left the dock at 08:15 on March 2 for a planned four-day trip about 90 miles offshore.
- At 19:41 on March 3 someone aboard transmitted “Taking water” on a working frequency with no position given.
- Search coordinators drew a search zone roughly 88 miles northeast of Tanner Cove covering about 3,000 square miles based on the filed float plan.
- A laminated crew card bearing the vessel name Celia Rae was found intact in brush by a dog on the morning of March 14, eleven days after the boat went missing.

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73078754Tue, 21 Jul 2026 02:23:12 +0000Creator at ObomediaA Dog Finds the Card That Saves Two Lives: The Celia Rae Disaster A frantic, salt-soaked search missed the Celia Rae by sixty-one miles while two survivors clung to a life raft for twelve days - and a laminated crew card, pulled from the bushes by...
A frantic, salt-soaked search missed the Celia Rae by sixty-one miles while two survivors clung to a life raft for twelve days - and a laminated crew card, pulled from the bushes by an Australian shepherd mix, turned out to be the crucial clue. How could an intact card float ashore after eleven days at sea and change everything about where rescuers looked?

In this episode, we tell the sequence of events from the boat’s departure to the moment the card was found, covering the timeline of the sinking, the search that focused on the wrong area, and how that single piece of plastic reopened the case: where did the card come from and what did it reveal?

Date: March 2-14
Vessel: Celia Rae
Person: Tom Wicker, Pete Salazar, Danny Croft, Lori Burke, Diane Petty
Location: roughly 61 miles east of Tanner Cove; Ladder fishing ground ~30 miles southwest of filed waypoint
Event: Taking water transmission at 19:41 on March 3; two survivors on life raft for 12 days

- The Celia Rae was a 38-foot commercial fishing vessel operating out of Tanner Cove.
- The vessel left the dock at 08:15 on March 2 for a planned four-day trip about 90 miles offshore.
- At 19:41 on March 3 someone aboard transmitted “Taking water” on a working frequency with no position given.
- Search coordinators drew a search zone roughly 88 miles northeast of Tanner Cove covering about 3,000 square miles based on the filed float plan.
- A laminated crew card bearing the vessel name Celia Rae was found intact in brush by a dog on the morning of March 14, eleven days after the boat went missing.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1236falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/alone-at-sea-why-she-cut-her-keel-and-walked-away--73078753
A running watch, dry crystal, and an inverted hull drifting for 97 hours - a methodical marine surveyor removed her keel mid-ocean and stepped off a stable, upside-down platform. What would make a meticulous, experienced sailor deliberately flip a seaworthy sloop and abandon ship without firing its emergency beacon?

In this episode, we present the sequence of events, the physical evidence, and the choices recorded by Paula Draper and her boat to understand that decision. What do the watch, the missing life raft, and the removed keel tell us about why she walked away?

Person: Paula Draper
Vessel: Celia Ann
Date: February 5-9, 2019
Location: 22 miles offshore; found 11 miles southeast of Cutter Reef
Status: Keel removed, hull inverted, life raft missing, emergency beacon not activated

- At 6:14 AM on February 9, 2019, a diving watch was found face up on the hull of an upside-down 32-foot sloop; the watch was still running.
- The Celia Ann transmitted its last AIS position at 11:47 AM on February 5 while approximately 22 miles offshore; the signal then stopped.
- The forestay fitting failed at about 2:00 PM on February 5, causing the mast to fall and the sail to be lost.
- The Celia Ann’s keel was bolted through the hull with six 1/2-inch stainless steel bolts, each backed with a steel plate; Paula removed the bolts in alternating sequence until three were off and three were loose.
- The life raft canister was at the stern and Paula launched the life raft after removing keel bolts; the life raft itself was later found to be gone and the emergency beacon had never fired.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73078753Tue, 21 Jul 2026 02:23:08 +0000Creator at ObomediaAlone at Sea: Why She Cut Her Keel and Walked Away A running watch, dry crystal, and an inverted hull drifting for 97 hours - a methodical marine surveyor removed her keel mid-ocean and stepped off a stable, upside-down platform. What would make a...
A running watch, dry crystal, and an inverted hull drifting for 97 hours - a methodical marine surveyor removed her keel mid-ocean and stepped off a stable, upside-down platform. What would make a meticulous, experienced sailor deliberately flip a seaworthy sloop and abandon ship without firing its emergency beacon?

In this episode, we present the sequence of events, the physical evidence, and the choices recorded by Paula Draper and her boat to understand that decision. What do the watch, the missing life raft, and the removed keel tell us about why she walked away?

Person: Paula Draper
Vessel: Celia Ann
Date: February 5-9, 2019
Location: 22 miles offshore; found 11 miles southeast of Cutter Reef
Status: Keel removed, hull inverted, life raft missing, emergency beacon not activated

- At 6:14 AM on February 9, 2019, a diving watch was found face up on the hull of an upside-down 32-foot sloop; the watch was still running.
- The Celia Ann transmitted its last AIS position at 11:47 AM on February 5 while approximately 22 miles offshore; the signal then stopped.
- The forestay fitting failed at about 2:00 PM on February 5, causing the mast to fall and the sail to be lost.
- The Celia Ann’s keel was bolted through the hull with six 1/2-inch stainless steel bolts, each backed with a steel plate; Paula removed the bolts in alternating sequence until three were off and three were loose.
- The life raft canister was at the stern and Paula launched the life raft after removing keel bolts; the life raft itself was later found to be gone and the emergency beacon had never fired.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1232falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/she-survived-17-days-the-sticky-note-that-rewrote-her-rescue--73078752
A single yellow sticky note, intact after six weeks in Atlantic winter, led a county surveyor to a laminated card that recorded seventeen days of ocean survival - and two numbers that no one had been searching for. How did a transcription error reroute a full-scale search away from the woman it was meant to save, and what did those coordinates hidden on a note ultimately reveal?

In this episode, we follow the timeline from departure to discovery, tracing the decisions, equipment and small human details that shaped the outcome, and we ask how a single misplaced digit altered the search for Jennifer Underwood.

Person: Jennifer Underwood
Date: January 5-January 22 (17 days)
Location: Beaufort Inlet departure; drifted east-northeast of Cape Hatteras
Event: EPIRB activation with transposed latitude leading to misplaced search box
Person: Cheryl Gardner

- Jennifer departed Beaufort Inlet on January 5 aboard the 42-foot sloop Solace Found.
- At 04:17 on January 6 wind jumped from 18 to 41 knots in under 20 minutes, knocking down the 62-foot aluminum mast.
- The EPIRB transmitted position data immediately, but a data-entry operator transposed two digits in the latitude, placing the search 17 miles off.
- Jennifer transferred to a life raft after ~60 hours awake and carried a crew-safety card and a hand-powered desalination pump pumping ~1 liter/hour (rationed to ~0.5 L/day).
- On February 9, five weeks after departure, Cheryl Gardner found a laminated card with 17 days of waterproof-marker entries and a sticky note showing coordinates 37.4, -74.8.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73078752Tue, 21 Jul 2026 02:23:05 +0000Creator at ObomediaShe Survived 17 Days: The Sticky Note That Rewrote Her Rescue A single yellow sticky note, intact after six weeks in Atlantic winter, led a county surveyor to a laminated card that recorded seventeen days of ocean survival - and two numbers that no...
A single yellow sticky note, intact after six weeks in Atlantic winter, led a county surveyor to a laminated card that recorded seventeen days of ocean survival - and two numbers that no one had been searching for. How did a transcription error reroute a full-scale search away from the woman it was meant to save, and what did those coordinates hidden on a note ultimately reveal?

In this episode, we follow the timeline from departure to discovery, tracing the decisions, equipment and small human details that shaped the outcome, and we ask how a single misplaced digit altered the search for Jennifer Underwood.

Person: Jennifer Underwood
Date: January 5-January 22 (17 days)
Location: Beaufort Inlet departure; drifted east-northeast of Cape Hatteras
Event: EPIRB activation with transposed latitude leading to misplaced search box
Person: Cheryl Gardner

- Jennifer departed Beaufort Inlet on January 5 aboard the 42-foot sloop Solace Found.
- At 04:17 on January 6 wind jumped from 18 to 41 knots in under 20 minutes, knocking down the 62-foot aluminum mast.
- The EPIRB transmitted position data immediately, but a data-entry operator transposed two digits in the latitude, placing the search 17 miles off.
- Jennifer transferred to a life raft after ~60 hours awake and carried a crew-safety card and a hand-powered desalination pump pumping ~1 liter/hour (rationed to ~0.5 L/day).
- On February 9, five weeks after departure, Cheryl Gardner found a laminated card with 17 days of waterproof-marker entries and a sticky note showing coordinates 37.4, -74.8.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1151falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/logbook-washes-ashore-with-no-boat-the-amy-callahan-ordeal--73078749
The first sign that Amy Callahan might still be alive was a dry, spiral-bound logbook found sealed in plastic with a pen clipped to the cover - sitting 112 feet from the waterline and 14 feet upslope with no footprints, drag marks, or boat nearby. How did a boat reported overdue six days earlier leave behind a perfectly preserved logbook yet no other trace, and what sequence of unseen failures put a careful captain in that position?

In this episode, we walk through the sequence of events, maintenance records, and small omissions that preceded Amy’s disappearance and the discovery that shifted the search - asking how five separate failures lined up to strand a seasoned mariner and how she managed to survive long enough for the ocean to return a single piece of evidence.

Person: Amy Callahan
Date: December 14, 2018
Location: Calder Key north shore, 112 feet from waterline and 14 feet upslope
Vessel: Miriam Rose, 28-foot center-console with twin outboards and 110-gallon fuel capacity
Event: Port engine quit at 12:14 on December 8 after fueling 11 gallons drawn from port tank

- Logbook discovered at 7:40 AM on December 14, 2018, dry and sealed in clear plastic with electrical tape.
- Logbook found 112 feet from the waterline and 14 feet upslope on the concrete apron of a wellhead.
- Owner Patrick Olen filled both tanks on December 5; fuel sender had been stuck at a quarter reading for at least a week.
- Amy drew 11 gallons from the port tank at Greer Key the afternoon before departure and transported the fuel in jugs.
- Port engine quit 29 minutes after leaving Tavernier marina on December 8 at 12:45 PM; starboard engine quit after 11 more minutes, leaving both tanks dry.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73078749Tue, 21 Jul 2026 02:23:01 +0000Creator at ObomediaLogbook Washes Ashore With No Boat: The Amy Callahan Ordeal The first sign that Amy Callahan might still be alive was a dry, spiral-bound logbook found sealed in plastic with a pen clipped to the cover - sitting 112 feet from the waterline and 14...
The first sign that Amy Callahan might still be alive was a dry, spiral-bound logbook found sealed in plastic with a pen clipped to the cover - sitting 112 feet from the waterline and 14 feet upslope with no footprints, drag marks, or boat nearby. How did a boat reported overdue six days earlier leave behind a perfectly preserved logbook yet no other trace, and what sequence of unseen failures put a careful captain in that position?

In this episode, we walk through the sequence of events, maintenance records, and small omissions that preceded Amy’s disappearance and the discovery that shifted the search - asking how five separate failures lined up to strand a seasoned mariner and how she managed to survive long enough for the ocean to return a single piece of evidence.

Person: Amy Callahan
Date: December 14, 2018
Location: Calder Key north shore, 112 feet from waterline and 14 feet upslope
Vessel: Miriam Rose, 28-foot center-console with twin outboards and 110-gallon fuel capacity
Event: Port engine quit at 12:14 on December 8 after fueling 11 gallons drawn from port tank

- Logbook discovered at 7:40 AM on December 14, 2018, dry and sealed in clear plastic with electrical tape.
- Logbook found 112 feet from the waterline and 14 feet upslope on the concrete apron of a wellhead.
- Owner Patrick Olen filled both tanks on December 5; fuel sender had been stuck at a quarter reading for at least a week.
- Amy drew 11 gallons from the port tank at Greer Key the afternoon before departure and transported the fuel in jugs.
- Port engine quit 29 minutes after leaving Tavernier marina on December 8 at 12:45 PM; starboard engine quit after 11 more minutes, leaving both tanks dry.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1379falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/forty-one-miles-the-79-hours-richard-hall-drifted-alone--73078748
The Gulf threw a forty-two-foot ketch on her beam and tore the mast away, leaving a 55-year-old man adrift forty-one miles offshore with two and a half gallons of water and three flares; a laminated grocery-and-fire-card washed free from the sinking Mara Blue and later turned up dry on a Louisiana breakwater - how did a small piece of paper outlast a ship and almost everything else, and who finally saw the raft before it was almost too late?

In this episode, you will hear a chronological account of Richard Hall’s solo voyage, the knockdown that sank the Mara Blue, the seventy-nine hours he spent in an inflatable life raft, and the odd trail of evidence that began with a laminated card; what sequence of events connected the EPIRB signal, the life-raft supplies, the search aircraft, and the card found at Keller Inlet?

Person: Richard Hall
Date: November 9-14, 2019
Location: Gulf of Mexico (departure Sutter Landing; card found at Keller Inlet, Louisiana)
Event: Knockdown and sinking of the 42-foot ketch Mara Blue
Duration: 79 hours adrift

- Hall departed Sutter Landing fuel dock at 06:15 on November 9, 2019.
- The barometer dropped four millibars in six hours on the evening of November 12, 2019.
- The EPIRB signal was registered at the Rescue Coordination Center in New Orleans at 04:41 on November 13, 2019.
- Hall launched a life raft with 2.5 gallons of water, five days of food, five handheld flares, and a VHF radio.
- A laminated galley/fire suppression card from Mara Blue was found dry on a granite shelf at Keller Inlet by birdwatcher Gary Johnson.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73078748Tue, 21 Jul 2026 02:22:57 +0000Creator at ObomediaForty-One Miles: The 79 Hours Richard Hall Drifted Alone The Gulf threw a forty-two-foot ketch on her beam and tore the mast away, leaving a 55-year-old man adrift forty-one miles offshore with two and a half gallons of water and three flares; a...
The Gulf threw a forty-two-foot ketch on her beam and tore the mast away, leaving a 55-year-old man adrift forty-one miles offshore with two and a half gallons of water and three flares; a laminated grocery-and-fire-card washed free from the sinking Mara Blue and later turned up dry on a Louisiana breakwater - how did a small piece of paper outlast a ship and almost everything else, and who finally saw the raft before it was almost too late?

In this episode, you will hear a chronological account of Richard Hall’s solo voyage, the knockdown that sank the Mara Blue, the seventy-nine hours he spent in an inflatable life raft, and the odd trail of evidence that began with a laminated card; what sequence of events connected the EPIRB signal, the life-raft supplies, the search aircraft, and the card found at Keller Inlet?

Person: Richard Hall
Date: November 9-14, 2019
Location: Gulf of Mexico (departure Sutter Landing; card found at Keller Inlet, Louisiana)
Event: Knockdown and sinking of the 42-foot ketch Mara Blue
Duration: 79 hours adrift

- Hall departed Sutter Landing fuel dock at 06:15 on November 9, 2019.
- The barometer dropped four millibars in six hours on the evening of November 12, 2019.
- The EPIRB signal was registered at the Rescue Coordination Center in New Orleans at 04:41 on November 13, 2019.
- Hall launched a life raft with 2.5 gallons of water, five days of food, five handheld flares, and a VHF radio.
- A laminated galley/fire suppression card from Mara Blue was found dry on a granite shelf at Keller Inlet by birdwatcher Gary Johnson.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1232falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-voice-on-the-flotation-sleeve-11-days-adrift-and-unheard--73078747
Orange blinking in the mangroves led a fourteen-year-old to a waterproof voice recorder that had drifted 230 nautical miles in 11 hours - a journey oceanographers say is impossible. Inside is eleven days of voice recordings from a 24-year-old solo sailor who watched her boat sink, rationed six ounces of water per day, and spoke calmly to two sharks; how did the recorder get so far, and what does Monica’s last voice tell us about those final days?

In this episode, we follow the timeline recovered from radio logs, witness accounts, and the recorder found on Kellmore Inlet and present the sequence of events and unanswered puzzles that arise from Monica Smith’s recordings and movements at sea. How did a voice recorder travel faster than recorded currents, and what do the recordings reveal about survival, patience, and the limits of search?

Person: Monica Smith
Age: 24
Vessel: 26-foot sloop Meridian Clause
Distance traveled (recorder): 230 nautical miles from entry point
Water ration: 6 ounces per day

- The recorder was purchased at 6:42 AM on October 7 and was in a bright orange waterproof sleeve.
- Last satellite call from Monica occurred at 11:15 PM on October 9, approximately 212 nautical miles southwest of Prevett Harbor.
- A waterspout struck the Meridian Clause on October 10, tearing down the mast and fracturing the cabin deck.
- Monica deployed the life raft and watched the Meridian Clause sink on October 12 in about 300 feet of water.
- Monica transmitted hourly on VHF Channel 16 through October 12-13; the VHF battery died on October 13, after which she recorded on the voice recorder through October 18.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73078747Tue, 21 Jul 2026 02:22:54 +0000Creator at ObomediaThe Voice on the Flotation Sleeve: 11 Days Adrift and Unheard Orange blinking in the mangroves led a fourteen-year-old to a waterproof voice recorder that had drifted 230 nautical miles in 11 hours - a journey oceanographers say is impossible....
Orange blinking in the mangroves led a fourteen-year-old to a waterproof voice recorder that had drifted 230 nautical miles in 11 hours - a journey oceanographers say is impossible. Inside is eleven days of voice recordings from a 24-year-old solo sailor who watched her boat sink, rationed six ounces of water per day, and spoke calmly to two sharks; how did the recorder get so far, and what does Monica’s last voice tell us about those final days?

In this episode, we follow the timeline recovered from radio logs, witness accounts, and the recorder found on Kellmore Inlet and present the sequence of events and unanswered puzzles that arise from Monica Smith’s recordings and movements at sea. How did a voice recorder travel faster than recorded currents, and what do the recordings reveal about survival, patience, and the limits of search?

Person: Monica Smith
Age: 24
Vessel: 26-foot sloop Meridian Clause
Distance traveled (recorder): 230 nautical miles from entry point
Water ration: 6 ounces per day

- The recorder was purchased at 6:42 AM on October 7 and was in a bright orange waterproof sleeve.
- Last satellite call from Monica occurred at 11:15 PM on October 9, approximately 212 nautical miles southwest of Prevett Harbor.
- A waterspout struck the Meridian Clause on October 10, tearing down the mast and fracturing the cabin deck.
- Monica deployed the life raft and watched the Meridian Clause sink on October 12 in about 300 feet of water.
- Monica transmitted hourly on VHF Channel 16 through October 12-13; the VHF battery died on October 13, after which she recorded on the voice recorder through October 18.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1351falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-dry-suit-how-a-sealed-suit-became-a-missing-mariner-s-last-clue--73078746
A sealed dry suit, zipper latched and pocketed with a laminated tide chart and a neat handwritten index card naming Dale Marshall, drifted approximately 112 nautical miles in ten days before coming to rest three miles from his departure harbor - placed, not washed ashore. How did a suit sized for a man who knew the water like a neighborly street end up as the single, precise clue in a disappearance that left a vessel on the bottom and two survivors hospitalized?

In this episode, we follow the timeline from a routine September transit run to the nine-hour emergency forty-seven nautical miles offshore, covering the failed equipment, the men on board, and the sealed evidence that reframes the final hours. What does a dry suit sealed from the inside tell us about Dale Marshall’s choices and the sequence of failures aboard the Westbrook Rose?

Person: Dale Marshall
Vessel: Westbrook Rose
Date: early September (departure September fourth; critical events September fifth-sixth)
Location: 47 nautical miles offshore; suit found 3 miles from departure harbor
Condition: Dry suit sealed from the inside, zipper latched, no tears or blood

- The dry suit drifted ~112 nautical miles in ten days on storm-residual surface current before coming to rest 3 miles from the harbor.
- The dry suit contained a laminated tide chart and an index card reading "DALE MARSHALL - VESSEL WESTBROOK ROSE - IF FOUND CALL FRANCES POWELL - SAR HARRWICK."
- Dale Marshall was 44 years old and had spent 19 years working on wooden boats; he had spent 11 years rebuilding the 42-foot Friendship sloop built in 1961.
- The Westbrook Rose was 47 nautical miles offshore when a wave filled the forward cabin, bilge pump ran for 20 minutes then quit, and sustained winds reached 44 knots with 18-foot seas.
- The vessel was later found resting in 240 feet of water with its emergency beacon still locked in the locker and two people who last saw Marshall recovering in a hospital.

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73078746Tue, 21 Jul 2026 02:22:50 +0000Creator at ObomediaThe Dry Suit: How a Sealed Suit Became a Missing Mariner's Last Clue A sealed dry suit, zipper latched and pocketed with a laminated tide chart and a neat handwritten index card naming Dale Marshall, drifted approximately 112 nautical miles in ten...
A sealed dry suit, zipper latched and pocketed with a laminated tide chart and a neat handwritten index card naming Dale Marshall, drifted approximately 112 nautical miles in ten days before coming to rest three miles from his departure harbor - placed, not washed ashore. How did a suit sized for a man who knew the water like a neighborly street end up as the single, precise clue in a disappearance that left a vessel on the bottom and two survivors hospitalized?

In this episode, we follow the timeline from a routine September transit run to the nine-hour emergency forty-seven nautical miles offshore, covering the failed equipment, the men on board, and the sealed evidence that reframes the final hours. What does a dry suit sealed from the inside tell us about Dale Marshall’s choices and the sequence of failures aboard the Westbrook Rose?

Person: Dale Marshall
Vessel: Westbrook Rose
Date: early September (departure September fourth; critical events September fifth-sixth)
Location: 47 nautical miles offshore; suit found 3 miles from departure harbor
Condition: Dry suit sealed from the inside, zipper latched, no tears or blood

- The dry suit drifted ~112 nautical miles in ten days on storm-residual surface current before coming to rest 3 miles from the harbor.
- The dry suit contained a laminated tide chart and an index card reading "DALE MARSHALL - VESSEL WESTBROOK ROSE - IF FOUND CALL FRANCES POWELL - SAR HARRWICK."
- Dale Marshall was 44 years old and had spent 19 years working on wooden boats; he had spent 11 years rebuilding the 42-foot Friendship sloop built in 1961.
- The Westbrook Rose was 47 nautical miles offshore when a wave filled the forward cabin, bilge pump ran for 20 minutes then quit, and sustained winds reached 44 knots with 18-foot seas.
- The vessel was later found resting in 240 feet of water with its emergency beacon still locked in the locker and two people who last saw Marshall recovering in a hospital.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1238falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-shoe-on-the-buoy-how-a-lost-epirb-kept-a-grandfather-adrift--73078743
A salt-bleached toddler sneaker nailed to a channel marker in Terrebonne Bay became the single clue that something had gone terribly wrong: a functioning EPIRB was broadcasting the wrong coordinates, and a man named Lloyd drifted for thirty-three days while search teams combed the wrong stretch of Gulf. Who nailed a two-year-old Bree’s shoe to a buoy, and how did a certified beacon end up telling rescuers the wrong place?

In this episode, we tell the sequence of events starting with Lloyd Whitley leaving Fourchon Harbor on July 14, 2019, through the storm that dismasted his forty-two-foot ketch, to the eight-day coast guard search guided by the EPIRB’s incorrect fix. How did a beacon registered and recertified still lead searchers away from a man clinging to his boat?

Person: Lloyd Whitley
Date: July 14, 2019
Location: Fourchon Harbor / Gulf of Mexico
Status: Drifting for thirty-three days
Event: Eight-day coast guard search in wrong area

- Lloyd was sixty-three years old when he sailed out on July 14, 2019.
- The Ardent Reach is a forty-two-foot ketch built in Clearwater, Florida, in the late 1980s.
- Bree, the two-year-old granddaughter, owned white canvas sneakers in size five.
- The weather produced sustained winds of thirty-five knots and gusts to fifty, with seas building to twelve feet in under four hours.
- The coast guard search ran for eight days, beginning July 20, using EPIRB coordinates that placed the boat roughly forty miles southwest of its actual position.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73078743Tue, 21 Jul 2026 02:22:46 +0000Creator at ObomediaThe Shoe on the Buoy: How a Lost EPIRB Kept a Grandfather Adrift A salt-bleached toddler sneaker nailed to a channel marker in Terrebonne Bay became the single clue that something had gone terribly wrong: a functioning EPIRB was broadcasting the...
A salt-bleached toddler sneaker nailed to a channel marker in Terrebonne Bay became the single clue that something had gone terribly wrong: a functioning EPIRB was broadcasting the wrong coordinates, and a man named Lloyd drifted for thirty-three days while search teams combed the wrong stretch of Gulf. Who nailed a two-year-old Bree’s shoe to a buoy, and how did a certified beacon end up telling rescuers the wrong place?

In this episode, we tell the sequence of events starting with Lloyd Whitley leaving Fourchon Harbor on July 14, 2019, through the storm that dismasted his forty-two-foot ketch, to the eight-day coast guard search guided by the EPIRB’s incorrect fix. How did a beacon registered and recertified still lead searchers away from a man clinging to his boat?

Person: Lloyd Whitley
Date: July 14, 2019
Location: Fourchon Harbor / Gulf of Mexico
Status: Drifting for thirty-three days
Event: Eight-day coast guard search in wrong area

- Lloyd was sixty-three years old when he sailed out on July 14, 2019.
- The Ardent Reach is a forty-two-foot ketch built in Clearwater, Florida, in the late 1980s.
- Bree, the two-year-old granddaughter, owned white canvas sneakers in size five.
- The weather produced sustained winds of thirty-five knots and gusts to fifty, with seas building to twelve feet in under four hours.
- The coast guard search ran for eight days, beginning July 20, using EPIRB coordinates that placed the boat roughly forty miles southwest of its actual position.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1251falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-glove-on-the-jetty-how-a-40-beacon-lost-four-days--73078742
A single black-and-yellow sailing glove wedged at the waterline sent searchers chasing the wrong coordinates while a thirty-two-foot sloop and its crew went missing for four days - and the EPIRB that should have helped was registered to a different boat. How did a forty-dollar beacon from a swap meet end up directing a rescue forty miles away?

In this episode, we tell the sequence of events from the morning Roger O’Brien found the glove to the storm that struck Ardent Passage, describing the crew, the gear failures and the misregistered Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon that rerouted the search - could one small administrative detail explain nearly four days adrift?

Date: July 9-14, 2011
Vessel: Ardent Passage
Persons: Emily Mason; Frank Adler; Kyle Beattie; Philip Schofield
Event: Gulf Circuit offshore race

- Roger O’Brien found a single black-and-yellow sailing glove at the waterline on the north jetty at Clearwater on the morning of July 14, 2011.
- Ardent Passage was a thirty-two-foot sloop that left Clearwater Yacht Basin at 07:40 on July 9, 2011 for a 240-mile Gulf Circuit qualifier.
- The squall hit at 20:00 on July 10, 2011, with wind rising from about 18 knots to 50+ knots in under four minutes.
- It took Emily Mason and Frank Adler eleven minutes to bring Kyle Beattie and Philip Schofield back aboard after both went overboard during the broaching; Beattie suffered a broken collarbone.
- The EPIRB aboard Ardent Passage was registered to a different vessel, Meridian Cross, causing search aircraft to look approximately forty miles away for nearly four days.

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73078742Tue, 21 Jul 2026 02:22:41 +0000Creator at ObomediaThe Glove on the Jetty: How a $40 Beacon Lost Four Days A single black-and-yellow sailing glove wedged at the waterline sent searchers chasing the wrong coordinates while a thirty-two-foot sloop and its crew went missing for four days - and the...
A single black-and-yellow sailing glove wedged at the waterline sent searchers chasing the wrong coordinates while a thirty-two-foot sloop and its crew went missing for four days - and the EPIRB that should have helped was registered to a different boat. How did a forty-dollar beacon from a swap meet end up directing a rescue forty miles away?

In this episode, we tell the sequence of events from the morning Roger O’Brien found the glove to the storm that struck Ardent Passage, describing the crew, the gear failures and the misregistered Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon that rerouted the search - could one small administrative detail explain nearly four days adrift?

Date: July 9-14, 2011
Vessel: Ardent Passage
Persons: Emily Mason; Frank Adler; Kyle Beattie; Philip Schofield
Event: Gulf Circuit offshore race

- Roger O’Brien found a single black-and-yellow sailing glove at the waterline on the north jetty at Clearwater on the morning of July 14, 2011.
- Ardent Passage was a thirty-two-foot sloop that left Clearwater Yacht Basin at 07:40 on July 9, 2011 for a 240-mile Gulf Circuit qualifier.
- The squall hit at 20:00 on July 10, 2011, with wind rising from about 18 knots to 50+ knots in under four minutes.
- It took Emily Mason and Frank Adler eleven minutes to bring Kyle Beattie and Philip Schofield back aboard after both went overboard during the broaching; Beattie suffered a broken collarbone.
- The EPIRB aboard Ardent Passage was registered to a different vessel, Meridian Cross, causing search aircraft to look approximately forty miles away for nearly four days.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1205falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/she-drank-saltwater-drifted-nine-miles-and-woke-to-a-cake-with-her-name--73078740
The sunburned survivor who clung to a twenty-eight by twenty-two inch hatch cover drifted nine miles south and was found alive by a shrimping crew - and a full sheet cake with “Marcia” on it lay dry at a utility pole the morning a meter reader nearly stepped on it. How did a 47-year-old solo sailor survive six days on the Gulf with only a mylar blanket, a cracked compass, and twelve ounces of rainwater?

In this episode, you will hear the sequence of decisions, small habits, and weather shifts that led from a routine Wednesday sail to a six-day survival story, and how she was ultimately found - could those tiny preparations be the difference between life and death at sea?

Person: Marcia Clark
Age: 47
Vessel: Lorette B., 31 feet sloop
Distance drifted: nine miles south from intended destination
Time adrift: six days

- Marcia left Halsey Cove at 5:50 on June 9 aiming for Pelican Shoals, eleven nautical miles southwest.
- A squall struck around 3:40 PM with sustained winds of 34 knots and gusts to 47, causing Marcia to go overboard.
- Her ditch bag remained aboard; she had moved a mylar emergency blanket into her vest pocket before departing.
- She clung to a 28 x 22 inch hatch cover beginning about 4:15 PM and collected approximately 12 ounces of rainwater on day two.
- A commercial shrimping crew found her conscious and with 40% sunburned skin seventy-two hours after the search aircraft had turned back twice.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73078740Tue, 21 Jul 2026 02:22:38 +0000Creator at ObomediaShe Drank Saltwater, Drifted Nine Miles, and Woke to a Cake with Her Name The sunburned survivor who clung to a twenty-eight by twenty-two inch hatch cover drifted nine miles south and was found alive by a shrimping crew - and a full sheet cake...
The sunburned survivor who clung to a twenty-eight by twenty-two inch hatch cover drifted nine miles south and was found alive by a shrimping crew - and a full sheet cake with “Marcia” on it lay dry at a utility pole the morning a meter reader nearly stepped on it. How did a 47-year-old solo sailor survive six days on the Gulf with only a mylar blanket, a cracked compass, and twelve ounces of rainwater?

In this episode, you will hear the sequence of decisions, small habits, and weather shifts that led from a routine Wednesday sail to a six-day survival story, and how she was ultimately found - could those tiny preparations be the difference between life and death at sea?

Person: Marcia Clark
Age: 47
Vessel: Lorette B., 31 feet sloop
Distance drifted: nine miles south from intended destination
Time adrift: six days

- Marcia left Halsey Cove at 5:50 on June 9 aiming for Pelican Shoals, eleven nautical miles southwest.
- A squall struck around 3:40 PM with sustained winds of 34 knots and gusts to 47, causing Marcia to go overboard.
- Her ditch bag remained aboard; she had moved a mylar emergency blanket into her vest pocket before departing.
- She clung to a 28 x 22 inch hatch cover beginning about 4:15 PM and collected approximately 12 ounces of rainwater on day two.
- A commercial shrimping crew found her conscious and with 40% sunburned skin seventy-two hours after the search aircraft had turned back twice.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1407falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-notebook-that-drifted-220-miles-survivor-s-day-eleven--73078738
A single spiral notebook, rolled in a dry-compression bag, washed up on a marina dock 220 miles from the sunken sloop it belonged to - and it was dry enough to read. How did one object survive that distance and condition, and what did its pages reveal about the forty minutes that followed a midnight disaster?

In this episode, we follow the timeline recorded in that notebook and the events surrounding the loss and rescue of the Calder Run, asking how preparation, equipment failure, and a vanished crewmate shaped what happened at sea.

Person: Vernon Miller
Person: Jeff Corbin
Date: May 2, 2019 (departure)
Date: May 15, 2019 (notebook found)
Location: Granton Marina, slip fourteen
Event: Calder Run sank approximately 220 miles from Granton

- The Calder Run departed Granton on May 2, 2019 with Vernon Miller and Jeff Corbin aboard a 41-foot sloop.
- The forestay had been corroding and snapped around 1:00 AM on May 5, causing the mast to collapse and open a seam in the hull.
- The boat sank at approximately 3:15 AM on May 5, and Vernon estimated it went under in less than four minutes after he deployed the life raft.
- The handheld emergency beacon on the raft failed on day three and the EPIRB went down with the hull, leaving no signal for days.
- A spiral notebook in a dry-compression bag, with the last full entry titled "day eleven" dated May 14, was found on May 15 at slip 14 of Granton Marina, leading the Coast Guard to expand the search and recover Vernon on May 17.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73078738Tue, 21 Jul 2026 02:22:34 +0000Creator at ObomediaThe Notebook That Drifted 220 Miles: Survivor's Day Eleven A single spiral notebook, rolled in a dry-compression bag, washed up on a marina dock 220 miles from the sunken sloop it belonged to - and it was dry enough to read. How did one object...
A single spiral notebook, rolled in a dry-compression bag, washed up on a marina dock 220 miles from the sunken sloop it belonged to - and it was dry enough to read. How did one object survive that distance and condition, and what did its pages reveal about the forty minutes that followed a midnight disaster?

In this episode, we follow the timeline recorded in that notebook and the events surrounding the loss and rescue of the Calder Run, asking how preparation, equipment failure, and a vanished crewmate shaped what happened at sea.

Person: Vernon Miller
Person: Jeff Corbin
Date: May 2, 2019 (departure)
Date: May 15, 2019 (notebook found)
Location: Granton Marina, slip fourteen
Event: Calder Run sank approximately 220 miles from Granton

- The Calder Run departed Granton on May 2, 2019 with Vernon Miller and Jeff Corbin aboard a 41-foot sloop.
- The forestay had been corroding and snapped around 1:00 AM on May 5, causing the mast to collapse and open a seam in the hull.
- The boat sank at approximately 3:15 AM on May 5, and Vernon estimated it went under in less than four minutes after he deployed the life raft.
- The handheld emergency beacon on the raft failed on day three and the EPIRB went down with the hull, leaving no signal for days.
- A spiral notebook in a dry-compression bag, with the last full entry titled "day eleven" dated May 14, was found on May 15 at slip 14 of Granton Marina, leading the Coast Guard to expand the search and recover Vernon on May 17.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1345falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/lost-at-sea-found-alive-the-raft-that-never-opened--73078736
The image of a warm bowl of oatmeal left on a drifting boat becomes the first clue in a 53-hour survival mystery that begins with a 31-foot cabin cruiser found empty two miles north of the inlet and a life raft canister whose hydrostatic release pin was manually overridden. What led a methodical, retired maintenance supervisor to run twenty-two miles offshore, strike a submerged object, and end up missing while his boat idled in neutral?

In this episode, we recount the timeline from the dock sign-in at 4:50 a.m. through the GPS tracks and the discovery by Duval County Marine Unit, following Warren Kowalski’s own account from a hospital bed and the baffling equipment evidence that changed the investigation. How did a routine solo fishing trip turn into an incident that pushed the limits of human survival and left a life raft unused?

Person: Warren Kowalski
Date: April 9
Location: Two miles north of the St. Johns inlet
Vessel: Celia Jane, thirty-one-foot cabin cruiser
Response unit: Duval County Marine Unit

- Kowalski signed the marina log at 4:50 a.m. and motored out into the dark.
- The Duval County Marine Unit boarded the Celia Jane at 7:12 a.m, after a 6:40 a.m. 9-1-1 call.
- The GPS showed the Celia Jane traveled northeast at seven knots to about twenty-two miles offshore, then turned hard southwest back toward the inlet.
- A bowl of oatmeal on the galley table was warm, with a low flame under the pot keeping it warm for hours.
- The life raft canister had its hydrostatic release pin manually overridden and incorrectly reinserted.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73078736Tue, 21 Jul 2026 02:22:30 +0000Creator at ObomediaLost at Sea, Found Alive: The Raft That Never Opened The image of a warm bowl of oatmeal left on a drifting boat becomes the first clue in a 53-hour survival mystery that begins with a 31-foot cabin cruiser found empty two miles north of the inlet...
The image of a warm bowl of oatmeal left on a drifting boat becomes the first clue in a 53-hour survival mystery that begins with a 31-foot cabin cruiser found empty two miles north of the inlet and a life raft canister whose hydrostatic release pin was manually overridden. What led a methodical, retired maintenance supervisor to run twenty-two miles offshore, strike a submerged object, and end up missing while his boat idled in neutral?

In this episode, we recount the timeline from the dock sign-in at 4:50 a.m. through the GPS tracks and the discovery by Duval County Marine Unit, following Warren Kowalski’s own account from a hospital bed and the baffling equipment evidence that changed the investigation. How did a routine solo fishing trip turn into an incident that pushed the limits of human survival and left a life raft unused?

Person: Warren Kowalski
Date: April 9
Location: Two miles north of the St. Johns inlet
Vessel: Celia Jane, thirty-one-foot cabin cruiser
Response unit: Duval County Marine Unit

- Kowalski signed the marina log at 4:50 a.m. and motored out into the dark.
- The Duval County Marine Unit boarded the Celia Jane at 7:12 a.m, after a 6:40 a.m. 9-1-1 call.
- The GPS showed the Celia Jane traveled northeast at seven knots to about twenty-two miles offshore, then turned hard southwest back toward the inlet.
- A bowl of oatmeal on the galley table was warm, with a low flame under the pot keeping it warm for hours.
- The life raft canister had its hydrostatic release pin manually overridden and incorrectly reinserted.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1264falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-photograph-that-drifts-how-a-hook-found-a-missing-sailor--73078735
A laminated four-by-six photograph floated into a Georgian fisherwoman's trotline on March 14th, dry and legible after four days in the Gulf - and the woman pictured was still alive, drifting seven days from rescue. How did an administrative assumption put the active search zone thirty nautical miles away from where Diane Barnes was found, and what did that photograph actually mark?

In this episode, we tell what happened from departure to rescue, lay out the sequence of distress calls and search decisions, and follow how a single drifted photograph became a crucial clue - could a laminated image on a baited hook change where rescuers looked?

Person: Diane Barnes
Date: departed Corpus Christi March 5; distress calls March 10; photograph found March 14
Vessel: Wendell Cross, 42-foot sloop
SAR Coordinator: Todd Rafferty, Sector Mobile
Rescue asset: cutter Steadman reached distress coordinates March 10 at 14:40

- The photograph was factory-laminated, 4x6 inches, legible after floating in the Gulf for four days.
- Diane Barnes was 45 years old in the photograph and had sailed since her twenties.
- The Wendell Cross was dismasted and reported a slow hull breach in a distress call at 11:17 on March 10.
- A second distress call from the Kessler with a working EPIRB was activated at 11:41 on March 10 and led to two survivors rescued by nightfall.
- The Steadman arrived at the Wendell Cross coordinates at 14:40 on March 10 and found an open liferaft canister but no raft or survivors in the immediate debris field.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73078735Tue, 21 Jul 2026 02:22:27 +0000Creator at ObomediaThe Photograph That Drifts: How a Hook Found a Missing Sailor A laminated four-by-six photograph floated into a Georgian fisherwoman's trotline on March 14th, dry and legible after four days in the Gulf - and the woman pictured was still alive,...
A laminated four-by-six photograph floated into a Georgian fisherwoman's trotline on March 14th, dry and legible after four days in the Gulf - and the woman pictured was still alive, drifting seven days from rescue. How did an administrative assumption put the active search zone thirty nautical miles away from where Diane Barnes was found, and what did that photograph actually mark?

In this episode, we tell what happened from departure to rescue, lay out the sequence of distress calls and search decisions, and follow how a single drifted photograph became a crucial clue - could a laminated image on a baited hook change where rescuers looked?

Person: Diane Barnes
Date: departed Corpus Christi March 5; distress calls March 10; photograph found March 14
Vessel: Wendell Cross, 42-foot sloop
SAR Coordinator: Todd Rafferty, Sector Mobile
Rescue asset: cutter Steadman reached distress coordinates March 10 at 14:40

- The photograph was factory-laminated, 4x6 inches, legible after floating in the Gulf for four days.
- Diane Barnes was 45 years old in the photograph and had sailed since her twenties.
- The Wendell Cross was dismasted and reported a slow hull breach in a distress call at 11:17 on March 10.
- A second distress call from the Kessler with a working EPIRB was activated at 11:41 on March 10 and led to two survivors rescued by nightfall.
- The Steadman arrived at the Wendell Cross coordinates at 14:40 on March 10 and found an open liferaft canister but no raft or survivors in the immediate debris field.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1448falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/she-vanished-at-sea-found-by-a-signal-mirror-sixty-feet-up--73078732
A lone signal mirror, four inches by three with an olive-drab frame, was found face-up in spartina grass sixty feet above the waterline a quarter mile from the nearest boat ramp - crusted with salt the kind left by submersion. How did a trained, methodical sailor end up alone for four days sixty-one miles outside the search area, and what led that mirror to fly through the air over open water?

In this episode, we follow the sequence of events from a routine sail to a sudden cold front, engine failure, and a search that missed its mark; we trace the small decisions, the standard equipment aboard the Cistern, and the single unexpected tool that became central to the story: could a forgotten mirror reveal where rescue failed?

Person: Sharon Barnes
Age: 28
Vessel: 26-foot fiberglass sloop named Cistern
Date of departure: February 7, 2011
Distance from search area: 61 miles

- Mirror found: 4 inches by 3, military heliographic signal mirror with aluminum olive-drab frame.
- Location of mirror: lying face-up in spartina grass, 60 feet above waterline, 1/4 mile from nearest boat ramp.
- Emergency kit: contained ten signal flares (6 parachute, 4 handheld) stamped valid through end of 2012.
- Timeline: departed Apalachicola at 06:45 on February 7; cold front hit on afternoon of February 10 with wind jumping from ~12 to 32 knots within 40 minutes.
- Search error: standard drift model placed aircraft roughly 40 miles east of Sharon’s actual location.

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73078732Tue, 21 Jul 2026 02:22:23 +0000Creator at ObomediaShe Vanished at Sea - Found by a Signal Mirror Sixty Feet Up A lone signal mirror, four inches by three with an olive-drab frame, was found face-up in spartina grass sixty feet above the waterline a quarter mile from the nearest boat ramp - crusted...
A lone signal mirror, four inches by three with an olive-drab frame, was found face-up in spartina grass sixty feet above the waterline a quarter mile from the nearest boat ramp - crusted with salt the kind left by submersion. How did a trained, methodical sailor end up alone for four days sixty-one miles outside the search area, and what led that mirror to fly through the air over open water?

In this episode, we follow the sequence of events from a routine sail to a sudden cold front, engine failure, and a search that missed its mark; we trace the small decisions, the standard equipment aboard the Cistern, and the single unexpected tool that became central to the story: could a forgotten mirror reveal where rescue failed?

Person: Sharon Barnes
Age: 28
Vessel: 26-foot fiberglass sloop named Cistern
Date of departure: February 7, 2011
Distance from search area: 61 miles

- Mirror found: 4 inches by 3, military heliographic signal mirror with aluminum olive-drab frame.
- Location of mirror: lying face-up in spartina grass, 60 feet above waterline, 1/4 mile from nearest boat ramp.
- Emergency kit: contained ten signal flares (6 parachute, 4 handheld) stamped valid through end of 2012.
- Timeline: departed Apalachicola at 06:45 on February 7; cold front hit on afternoon of February 10 with wind jumping from ~12 to 32 knots within 40 minutes.
- Search error: standard drift model placed aircraft roughly 40 miles east of Sharon’s actual location.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1394falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/alone-after-the-rogue-wave-how-a-librarian-survived-eleven-days--73078731
The ocean should have ended her story: a forty-two-foot sloop capsized by a rogue wave, a dead emergency beacon, and nine days of open Atlantic between a fifty-four-year-old librarian and the North Carolina coast - yet she survived with every pill in her seven-compartment organizer still dry. What did she rely on when the chartplotter, primary EPIRB, and paper charts were gone and the Coast Guard was searching 140 miles the wrong way?

In this episode, you will hear the documented account of the voyage, the capsize, and the decisions that followed; the narrative follows her alone on Gale's End as she navigates by sun and shadow, improvises with failing gear, and heads for home without instruments - can dead reckoning and stubbornness overcome the Atlantic in January?

Person: Vicki Collins
Age: 54
Vessel: Gale's End, 42-foot sloop
Event: Rogue wave capsize on January 11, 2014
Search error: Coast Guard searching 140 miles in the wrong direction

- Departure: Left Oriental on January 9 at 8:00 AM with a float plan for 4-5 days to Nassau.
- Capsize timing: Rogue wave struck around 4:00 PM on January 11.
- Missing crew: Tom Okafor vanished after the capsize; Vicki searched for 40 minutes.
- Survival gear: Four-person life raft remained sealed; handheld EPIRB failed from a hairline crack.
- Navigation method: Vicki steered by sun position and a deck cleat's shadow to keep a northwest course.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73078731Tue, 21 Jul 2026 02:22:19 +0000Creator at ObomediaAlone After the Rogue Wave: How a Librarian Survived Eleven Days The ocean should have ended her story: a forty-two-foot sloop capsized by a rogue wave, a dead emergency beacon, and nine days of open Atlantic between a fifty-four-year-old librarian...
The ocean should have ended her story: a forty-two-foot sloop capsized by a rogue wave, a dead emergency beacon, and nine days of open Atlantic between a fifty-four-year-old librarian and the North Carolina coast - yet she survived with every pill in her seven-compartment organizer still dry. What did she rely on when the chartplotter, primary EPIRB, and paper charts were gone and the Coast Guard was searching 140 miles the wrong way?

In this episode, you will hear the documented account of the voyage, the capsize, and the decisions that followed; the narrative follows her alone on Gale's End as she navigates by sun and shadow, improvises with failing gear, and heads for home without instruments - can dead reckoning and stubbornness overcome the Atlantic in January?

Person: Vicki Collins
Age: 54
Vessel: Gale's End, 42-foot sloop
Event: Rogue wave capsize on January 11, 2014
Search error: Coast Guard searching 140 miles in the wrong direction

- Departure: Left Oriental on January 9 at 8:00 AM with a float plan for 4-5 days to Nassau.
- Capsize timing: Rogue wave struck around 4:00 PM on January 11.
- Missing crew: Tom Okafor vanished after the capsize; Vicki searched for 40 minutes.
- Survival gear: Four-person life raft remained sealed; handheld EPIRB failed from a hairline crack.
- Navigation method: Vicki steered by sun position and a deck cleat's shadow to keep a northwest course.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1352falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/she-came-ashore-alive-why-the-life-ring-never-saved-them--73078730
A sealed orange life ring from the missing ketch Caravel Dawn washed ashore, rope coiled and plastic unbroken-an object designed to save lives that was never used. The boat had been missing eleven days; three at sea became one survivor and a tangle of unanswered choices-how did a life-saving ring arrive intact while three safety systems vanished at sea?

In this episode, we tell the sequence of what happened on the Caravel Dawn from departure to the storm and its aftermath, tracking the gear on board, the crew's actions during the night of December 8, and the evidence found ashore to ask how the safety equipment failed to save them.

Person: Dennis Forde
Person: Tom Garza
Person: Amanda Schmidt
Date: December 8-19, 2014
Location: Gulf of Maine

- The Caravel Dawn was a 41-foot fiberglass ketch registered in Port Calder, Maine.
- The boat left Port Calder on the morning of December 8, 2014, for a winter refit in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, ~230 nautical miles away.
- On the night of December 8 at 11:45 pm, wind recorded 45-60 knots and waves 12-15 feet high.
- The vessel carried two factory-wrapped circular life rings, a VHF antenna, a chartplotter with GPS, and an EPIRB; all three calling-for-help devices were gone by the following morning.
- Amanda Schmidt remained clipped to the jackline at the companionway hatch and survived; Dennis was swept over the stern and Tom disappeared forward before the mast came down.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73078730Tue, 21 Jul 2026 02:22:15 +0000Creator at ObomediaShe Came Ashore Alive - Why the Life Ring Never Saved Them A sealed orange life ring from the missing ketch Caravel Dawn washed ashore, rope coiled and plastic unbroken-an object designed to save lives that was never used. The boat had been missing...
A sealed orange life ring from the missing ketch Caravel Dawn washed ashore, rope coiled and plastic unbroken-an object designed to save lives that was never used. The boat had been missing eleven days; three at sea became one survivor and a tangle of unanswered choices-how did a life-saving ring arrive intact while three safety systems vanished at sea?

In this episode, we tell the sequence of what happened on the Caravel Dawn from departure to the storm and its aftermath, tracking the gear on board, the crew's actions during the night of December 8, and the evidence found ashore to ask how the safety equipment failed to save them.

Person: Dennis Forde
Person: Tom Garza
Person: Amanda Schmidt
Date: December 8-19, 2014
Location: Gulf of Maine

- The Caravel Dawn was a 41-foot fiberglass ketch registered in Port Calder, Maine.
- The boat left Port Calder on the morning of December 8, 2014, for a winter refit in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, ~230 nautical miles away.
- On the night of December 8 at 11:45 pm, wind recorded 45-60 knots and waves 12-15 feet high.
- The vessel carried two factory-wrapped circular life rings, a VHF antenna, a chartplotter with GPS, and an EPIRB; all three calling-for-help devices were gone by the following morning.
- Amanda Schmidt remained clipped to the jackline at the companionway hatch and survived; Dennis was swept over the stern and Tom disappeared forward before the mast came down.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1317falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-life-ring-on-kessler-street-how-they-driftsaved-six-souls--73078729
The chill of a November morning, a life ring stenciled Cassoway Trader showing up on a Texas dock ninety miles from a sunken ship - and six people still alive in a lifeboat three days later. This episode follows that impossible drift, the frozen EPIRB that sent only a ninety-second ping, and one woman's waterproof list that would guide survival; how did a ring arrive before shore knew the ship was gone, and could a single note really mean the difference between life and death?

In this episode, we tell the sequence of events from the collision to the rescue, laying out the timeline, the equipment failures, and the actions of the crew that kept six people alive; what choices and errors created an eleven-nautical-mile blind spot, and what happened in the lifeboat during sixty-one hours at sea?

Date: November 14, 2009
Event: Collision between Cassoway Trader and Dolores Vance
Location: Gulf of Mexico, Campeche Bank (ship on sand at 340 feet)
Person: Rachel Griffin, second officer, age 38
Status: Six survivors rescued after 61 hours

- The life ring with "Cassoway Trader" printed on it washed up at Meridian Freight terminal on Kessler Street at 6:00 AM on November 14, 2009.
- The Cassoway Trader sank to the floor of the Gulf of Mexico at a depth of 340 feet on the Campeche Bank.
- The ship's EPIRB transmitted a signal for 90 seconds, too short for a Cospas-Sarsat satellite to fix a position.
- The last known GPS from the Dolores Vance was 40 minutes old at the time of collision, creating an 11-nautical-mile gap between search grids and the lifeboat.
- Rachel Griffin had written a "Swimmers" list on November 12, marking each of the eleven crew names with Y or N and kept it in a waterproof sleeve in her survival suit.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73078729Tue, 21 Jul 2026 02:22:11 +0000Creator at ObomediaThe Life Ring on Kessler Street - How They Driftsaved Six Souls The chill of a November morning, a life ring stenciled Cassoway Trader showing up on a Texas dock ninety miles from a sunken ship - and six people still alive in a lifeboat three days...
The chill of a November morning, a life ring stenciled Cassoway Trader showing up on a Texas dock ninety miles from a sunken ship - and six people still alive in a lifeboat three days later. This episode follows that impossible drift, the frozen EPIRB that sent only a ninety-second ping, and one woman's waterproof list that would guide survival; how did a ring arrive before shore knew the ship was gone, and could a single note really mean the difference between life and death?

In this episode, we tell the sequence of events from the collision to the rescue, laying out the timeline, the equipment failures, and the actions of the crew that kept six people alive; what choices and errors created an eleven-nautical-mile blind spot, and what happened in the lifeboat during sixty-one hours at sea?

Date: November 14, 2009
Event: Collision between Cassoway Trader and Dolores Vance
Location: Gulf of Mexico, Campeche Bank (ship on sand at 340 feet)
Person: Rachel Griffin, second officer, age 38
Status: Six survivors rescued after 61 hours

- The life ring with "Cassoway Trader" printed on it washed up at Meridian Freight terminal on Kessler Street at 6:00 AM on November 14, 2009.
- The Cassoway Trader sank to the floor of the Gulf of Mexico at a depth of 340 feet on the Campeche Bank.
- The ship's EPIRB transmitted a signal for 90 seconds, too short for a Cospas-Sarsat satellite to fix a position.
- The last known GPS from the Dolores Vance was 40 minutes old at the time of collision, creating an 11-nautical-mile gap between search grids and the lifeboat.
- Rachel Griffin had written a "Swimmers" list on November 12, marking each of the eleven crew names with Y or N and kept it in a waterproof sleeve in her survival suit.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1315falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/found-drifting-the-notebook-that-should-ve-drowned--73078728
The notebook that should've sunk held eight last words: "Water remaining: zero point six liters. Flare fired twenty-one thirty-eight. Light on horizon. Holding." A sixty-three-year-old retired chemistry teacher had not slept in two days while three people floated two hundred miles from shore with less than one bottle of water - how did that dry log end up in a roadside ditch and how did they all get home?

In this episode, we follow the voyage of the sailing vessel Patience Cove from departure to wreckage, the decisions recorded in a meticulous log, and the strange gaps between what was written and what was shared among the crew. Which entries in that notebook reveal survival, and which hide something else?

Person: Brenda Green
Person: Vic Parrish
Person: Keiko Strand
Date: October 3, 2019 (departure)
Event: Storm began October 5; thirty-six hours stationary two hundred miles offshore

- Boat: Patience Cove, a thirty-eight-foot sloop
- Water aboard at departure: fifty-two liters across two tanks and three jerry cans
- Calculated autonomy: eleven days at 1.5 liters per person per day
- Critical water remaining in last log entry: 0.6 liters
- Flare fired time recorded: 21:38

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73078728Tue, 21 Jul 2026 02:22:07 +0000Creator at ObomediaFound Drifting: The Notebook That Should've Drowned The notebook that should've sunk held eight last words: "Water remaining: zero point six liters. Flare fired twenty-one thirty-eight. Light on horizon. Holding." A sixty-three-year-old retired...
The notebook that should've sunk held eight last words: "Water remaining: zero point six liters. Flare fired twenty-one thirty-eight. Light on horizon. Holding." A sixty-three-year-old retired chemistry teacher had not slept in two days while three people floated two hundred miles from shore with less than one bottle of water - how did that dry log end up in a roadside ditch and how did they all get home?

In this episode, we follow the voyage of the sailing vessel Patience Cove from departure to wreckage, the decisions recorded in a meticulous log, and the strange gaps between what was written and what was shared among the crew. Which entries in that notebook reveal survival, and which hide something else?

Person: Brenda Green
Person: Vic Parrish
Person: Keiko Strand
Date: October 3, 2019 (departure)
Event: Storm began October 5; thirty-six hours stationary two hundred miles offshore

- Boat: Patience Cove, a thirty-eight-foot sloop
- Water aboard at departure: fifty-two liters across two tanks and three jerry cans
- Calculated autonomy: eleven days at 1.5 liters per person per day
- Critical water remaining in last log entry: 0.6 liters
- Flare fired time recorded: 21:38

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1312falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/dry-card-drowned-time-how-a-certification-solved-an-impossible-drift--73078727
A laminated marine safety certification lay face-up in four inches of brackish water, perfectly dry on its face-found eleven nautical miles from a boat that had burned and sunk four days earlier. The card carried the name Jessica White and became the first physical clue linking a sunken catamaran, a missing crew member, and a rescue that began far from official search efforts-how did that sealed card survive and what does it reveal about the night the fire started?

In this episode, we tell the sequence of events that connect a voluntary safety refresher, a lapsed inspector’s survey, an unnoticed fuel line abrasion, and a sixty-one hour survival in cold Gulf waters, asking: which ordinary decisions added up to catastrophe and how did a single certification become decisive?

Person: Jessica White
Date: September 11-14, 2019
Location: Eleven nautical miles off the Florida Panhandle; Pelican Flat Road, Heron Bay, Florida
Event: Fire aboard the 32-foot Leopard catamaran Flat Calm and subsequent sinking
Status: Survivor recovered hypothermic after 61 hours; one person did not reach the anchor chain

- The laminated certification was found dry in four inches of brackish water in a drainage culvert on the morning of September 14, 2019.
- Jessica White was pulled from the Gulf hypothermic after 61 hours clinging to an anchor chain with a friend.
- The fire began around 12:12 a.m. on September 11, 2019; it took 90 seconds to reach the bridgedeck from the starboard hull.
- The boat was a 32-foot Leopard catamaran named Flat Calm, stored three years by a previous owner before sale.
- The surveyor who completed the pre-sale inspection had a professional license that had lapsed six months earlier, and a starboard hull floor panel was not opened, leaving an abraded fuel line undiscovered.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73078727Tue, 21 Jul 2026 02:22:04 +0000Creator at ObomediaDry Card, Drowned Time: How a Certification Solved an Impossible Drift A laminated marine safety certification lay face-up in four inches of brackish water, perfectly dry on its face-found eleven nautical miles from a boat that had burned and sunk...
A laminated marine safety certification lay face-up in four inches of brackish water, perfectly dry on its face-found eleven nautical miles from a boat that had burned and sunk four days earlier. The card carried the name Jessica White and became the first physical clue linking a sunken catamaran, a missing crew member, and a rescue that began far from official search efforts-how did that sealed card survive and what does it reveal about the night the fire started?

In this episode, we tell the sequence of events that connect a voluntary safety refresher, a lapsed inspector’s survey, an unnoticed fuel line abrasion, and a sixty-one hour survival in cold Gulf waters, asking: which ordinary decisions added up to catastrophe and how did a single certification become decisive?

Person: Jessica White
Date: September 11-14, 2019
Location: Eleven nautical miles off the Florida Panhandle; Pelican Flat Road, Heron Bay, Florida
Event: Fire aboard the 32-foot Leopard catamaran Flat Calm and subsequent sinking
Status: Survivor recovered hypothermic after 61 hours; one person did not reach the anchor chain

- The laminated certification was found dry in four inches of brackish water in a drainage culvert on the morning of September 14, 2019.
- Jessica White was pulled from the Gulf hypothermic after 61 hours clinging to an anchor chain with a friend.
- The fire began around 12:12 a.m. on September 11, 2019; it took 90 seconds to reach the bridgedeck from the starboard hull.
- The boat was a 32-foot Leopard catamaran named Flat Calm, stored three years by a previous owner before sale.
- The surveyor who completed the pre-sale inspection had a professional license that had lapsed six months earlier, and a starboard hull floor panel was not opened, leaving an abraded fuel line undiscovered.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1485falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/dry-notebook-upside-down-boat-how-brenda-survived-seven-days--73078726
A dry spiral notebook washed up on a Gulf beach on August 14th - its pages bone dry and holding eleven days of sailing entries ending August 9th - yet dry paper shouldn’t survive open water. How did a woman’s logbook appear intact far from her boat, and what single detail would redirect the entire search for Brenda Fleming?

In this episode, we follow the timeline from Brenda’s filed float plan and her missed poker game to the search deployment that went the wrong way, and uncover the moment that explains how her notebook stayed dry and why rescue teams were searching a corridor she never traveled.

Person: Brenda Fleming
Date: Float plan filed July 25; last log entry August 9; notebook found August 14
Location: Meridian capsized 34 miles west-southwest of Pelican Flat in 40 feet of water
Vessel: 31-foot sloop named Meridian

- Brenda departed Calhoun Slip planning to sail approximately 220 miles southeast to the Dry Notebook on July 25.
- She missed her Tuesday poker game and left a float plan with Audrey Chin, who kept it for 19 days.
- A squall on July 27 tore the headsail and partially pulled a forestay fitting; Brenda diverted 18 miles east to Grady's Landing for repairs.
- Brenda pumped 12 gallons of diesel, spent about 1.5 days repairing Meridian at Grady's Landing, then resumed her voyage.
- On an inverted hull found 34 miles west-southwest of Pelican Flat, Brenda forced open the cockpit seat locker from the exterior and had 2 liters of water, foam cushions, dock line, and a stocked emergency kit with 6 parachute flares and 4 handheld reds.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73078726Tue, 21 Jul 2026 02:22:00 +0000Creator at ObomediaDry Notebook, Upside-Down Boat: How Brenda Survived Seven Days A dry spiral notebook washed up on a Gulf beach on August 14th - its pages bone dry and holding eleven days of sailing entries ending August 9th - yet dry paper shouldn’t survive open...
A dry spiral notebook washed up on a Gulf beach on August 14th - its pages bone dry and holding eleven days of sailing entries ending August 9th - yet dry paper shouldn’t survive open water. How did a woman’s logbook appear intact far from her boat, and what single detail would redirect the entire search for Brenda Fleming?

In this episode, we follow the timeline from Brenda’s filed float plan and her missed poker game to the search deployment that went the wrong way, and uncover the moment that explains how her notebook stayed dry and why rescue teams were searching a corridor she never traveled.

Person: Brenda Fleming
Date: Float plan filed July 25; last log entry August 9; notebook found August 14
Location: Meridian capsized 34 miles west-southwest of Pelican Flat in 40 feet of water
Vessel: 31-foot sloop named Meridian

- Brenda departed Calhoun Slip planning to sail approximately 220 miles southeast to the Dry Notebook on July 25.
- She missed her Tuesday poker game and left a float plan with Audrey Chin, who kept it for 19 days.
- A squall on July 27 tore the headsail and partially pulled a forestay fitting; Brenda diverted 18 miles east to Grady's Landing for repairs.
- Brenda pumped 12 gallons of diesel, spent about 1.5 days repairing Meridian at Grady's Landing, then resumed her voyage.
- On an inverted hull found 34 miles west-southwest of Pelican Flat, Brenda forced open the cockpit seat locker from the exterior and had 2 liters of water, foam cushions, dock line, and a stocked emergency kit with 6 parachute flares and 4 handheld reds.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1236falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/miles-from-shore-the-life-ring-that-solved-her-disappearance--73078725
Cold water, a training-perfect rescue, and a life ring found nine hundred miles from the nearest ocean - this episode opens with a faded buoy that would snap a thirty-one-hour mystery wide open. How did a Meridian Star life ring in a Nebraska cornfield become the single clue that led searchers to what they had been overlooking?

In this episode, we tell the story of Vicki Larsen from the moment she fell overboard until the photograph that changed the search, tracing the decisions, the currents, and the overlooked evidence that kept rescue teams searching the wrong way. What did a desert tortoise, an EPIRB, and a stenciled life ring reveal about how she moved through Lake Huron?

Person: Vicki Larsen
Age: 32
Date: July 8, 2011
Location: Lake Huron (fell overboard), Harlan County, Nebraska (life ring found)
Duration in water: 31 hours

- Vicki fell into the water at 9:47 PM on July 8, 2011, and the EPIRB was activated at 9:52 PM.
- The life ring found in a Nebraska cornfield was stenciled with the name "Meridian Star" and photographed by meter reader Megan Whitley.
- Vicki spent thirty-one hours alone in 58-degree water without a life vest on.
- Coast Guard coordinator Susan Murphy took the case at 11:15 PM and used NOAA surface data to build a datum that pointed northeast.
- The horseshoe buoy recovered by 9:00 AM the next morning had drifted northeast, while Vicki had been moved south-southwest by a narrow thermal counter-current.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73078725Tue, 21 Jul 2026 02:21:56 +0000Creator at ObomediaMiles From Shore: The Life Ring That Solved Her Disappearance Cold water, a training-perfect rescue, and a life ring found nine hundred miles from the nearest ocean - this episode opens with a faded buoy that would snap a thirty-one-hour mystery...
Cold water, a training-perfect rescue, and a life ring found nine hundred miles from the nearest ocean - this episode opens with a faded buoy that would snap a thirty-one-hour mystery wide open. How did a Meridian Star life ring in a Nebraska cornfield become the single clue that led searchers to what they had been overlooking?

In this episode, we tell the story of Vicki Larsen from the moment she fell overboard until the photograph that changed the search, tracing the decisions, the currents, and the overlooked evidence that kept rescue teams searching the wrong way. What did a desert tortoise, an EPIRB, and a stenciled life ring reveal about how she moved through Lake Huron?

Person: Vicki Larsen
Age: 32
Date: July 8, 2011
Location: Lake Huron (fell overboard), Harlan County, Nebraska (life ring found)
Duration in water: 31 hours

- Vicki fell into the water at 9:47 PM on July 8, 2011, and the EPIRB was activated at 9:52 PM.
- The life ring found in a Nebraska cornfield was stenciled with the name "Meridian Star" and photographed by meter reader Megan Whitley.
- Vicki spent thirty-one hours alone in 58-degree water without a life vest on.
- Coast Guard coordinator Susan Murphy took the case at 11:15 PM and used NOAA surface data to build a datum that pointed northeast.
- The horseshoe buoy recovered by 9:00 AM the next morning had drifted northeast, while Vicki had been moved south-southwest by a narrow thermal counter-current.

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1196falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/she-drifted-within-sight-of-land-for-41-days-how-did-she-survive--73078724
Fear and stubborn hope collide: a 42-foot sloop sank at 12:40 AM and its owner had six minutes to watch it go, then for 41 days she was unaccounted for while drifting within a quarter mile of land at times - how did she leave behind a blue-ink notebook that proved she kept time? What broke the chain between a functioning EPIRB and an effective search that might have found her sooner?

In this episode, we tell what happened from the boat’s last confirmed sightings through the failed search and the discovery that followed, following the timeline recorded in her own handwriting and asking how small gaps in data and chance sightings changed everything.

Person: Sherry Tillman
Vessel: Carabela, 42-foot sloop
Date: May 5 (sinking) and 41 days adrift
Location: Gulf of Mexico, roughly 88 miles WSW of the Dry Tortugas at EPIRB activation
Event: EPIRB activated at 12:40 AM; search placed ~40 miles east of actual location

- She deployed the life raft at approximately 12:30 AM and the Carabela sank eleven minutes later.
- The EPIRB activated at 12:40 AM and initially transmitted a GPS position about 88 miles west-southwest of the Dry Tortugas.
- Search models used northeastern Gulf buoy data with known gaps, placing the search roughly 40 miles east of where she actually was.
- A shrimping vessel passed within an estimated one to three miles on May 9; Sherry fired a daylight flare that was not seen.
- Her notebook contained 41 handwritten entries in blue ballpoint ink and was tied to a beacon left on a navigation piling in eighteen inches of water.

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73078724Tue, 21 Jul 2026 02:21:53 +0000Creator at ObomediaShe Drifted Within Sight of Land for 41 Days - How Did She Survive? Fear and stubborn hope collide: a 42-foot sloop sank at 12:40 AM and its owner had six minutes to watch it go, then for 41 days she was unaccounted for while drifting within a...
Fear and stubborn hope collide: a 42-foot sloop sank at 12:40 AM and its owner had six minutes to watch it go, then for 41 days she was unaccounted for while drifting within a quarter mile of land at times - how did she leave behind a blue-ink notebook that proved she kept time? What broke the chain between a functioning EPIRB and an effective search that might have found her sooner?

In this episode, we tell what happened from the boat’s last confirmed sightings through the failed search and the discovery that followed, following the timeline recorded in her own handwriting and asking how small gaps in data and chance sightings changed everything.

Person: Sherry Tillman
Vessel: Carabela, 42-foot sloop
Date: May 5 (sinking) and 41 days adrift
Location: Gulf of Mexico, roughly 88 miles WSW of the Dry Tortugas at EPIRB activation
Event: EPIRB activated at 12:40 AM; search placed ~40 miles east of actual location

- She deployed the life raft at approximately 12:30 AM and the Carabela sank eleven minutes later.
- The EPIRB activated at 12:40 AM and initially transmitted a GPS position about 88 miles west-southwest of the Dry Tortugas.
- Search models used northeastern Gulf buoy data with known gaps, placing the search roughly 40 miles east of where she actually was.
- A shrimping vessel passed within an estimated one to three miles on May 9; Sherry fired a daylight flare that was not seen.
- Her notebook contained 41 handwritten entries in blue ballpoint ink and was tied to a beacon left on a navigation piling in eighteen inches of water.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1209falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-yellow-lunchbox-that-ended-nine-days-of-searching--73078723
Hundreds of people scanned the lake for nine days while a yellow lunch box sat three feet from the water’s edge, dry despite fourteen inches of rain; inside it was evidence that changed a county’s emergency protocols. How did a waterprooflunchbox with a cartoon submarine and a four-dollar mylar blanket rewrite the way rescuers searched Lake Aldine?

In this episode, you will hear the sequence of events from the ferry departure to the moment the lunch box was found, and learn what Sandra Harris and her seven-year-old daughter Callie did while adrift; could a folded first-aid leaflet and a single decision be what kept them alive?

Person: Sandra Harris
Person: Callie Harris
Date: April 30, 2019
Location: Lake Aldine
Status: Found after nine days

- The Lake Aldine Queen capsized at 9:53 a.m., two and a half miles from the northern shore with water at 51°F.
- Eleven children and five adults were rescued within the first four hours; three children were never recovered.
- Sandra Harris counted silently to ninety, repeatedly, while keeping Callie on a fiberglass cooler roughly four feet long and eighteen inches wide.
- Michelle Gallagher found a yellow lunch box three feet from the water's edge and called Harker County Sheriff's Department at 3:17 p.m. on May 9, 2019.
- Sandra had tucked a four-dollar mylar emergency blanket into the inner pocket of her life vest after reading a first-aid leaflet three years earlier.

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73078723Tue, 21 Jul 2026 02:21:49 +0000Creator at ObomediaThe Yellow Lunchbox That Ended Nine Days of Searching Hundreds of people scanned the lake for nine days while a yellow lunch box sat three feet from the water’s edge, dry despite fourteen inches of rain; inside it was evidence that changed a...
Hundreds of people scanned the lake for nine days while a yellow lunch box sat three feet from the water’s edge, dry despite fourteen inches of rain; inside it was evidence that changed a county’s emergency protocols. How did a waterprooflunchbox with a cartoon submarine and a four-dollar mylar blanket rewrite the way rescuers searched Lake Aldine?

In this episode, you will hear the sequence of events from the ferry departure to the moment the lunch box was found, and learn what Sandra Harris and her seven-year-old daughter Callie did while adrift; could a folded first-aid leaflet and a single decision be what kept them alive?

Person: Sandra Harris
Person: Callie Harris
Date: April 30, 2019
Location: Lake Aldine
Status: Found after nine days

- The Lake Aldine Queen capsized at 9:53 a.m., two and a half miles from the northern shore with water at 51°F.
- Eleven children and five adults were rescued within the first four hours; three children were never recovered.
- Sandra Harris counted silently to ninety, repeatedly, while keeping Callie on a fiberglass cooler roughly four feet long and eighteen inches wide.
- Michelle Gallagher found a yellow lunch box three feet from the water's edge and called Harker County Sheriff's Department at 3:17 p.m. on May 9, 2019.
- Sandra had tucked a four-dollar mylar emergency blanket into the inner pocket of her life vest after reading a first-aid leaflet three years earlier.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1139falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/she-was-broadcasting-but-her-beacon-lied-lost-sailor-s-quiet-notes--73078722
The sea can feel like a promise until it suddenly becomes a mapmaker's liar: a rescue beacon transmitted perfectly but pointed searchers 61 nautical miles away, and a sealed freezer bag saved a notebook that survived nine days at sea. Who wrote steady, unsentimental lines about broken ribs and a dead engine while listening to searchplanes fly ever farther east - and why did her beacon point the wrong way?

In this episode, we follow the recovered notebook and the factual record to tell what happened to Erin Wells on a voyage that began on April 5 and unraveled in a single night; we trace the beacon's false coordinates, the physical injuries she recorded, and the small decisions that changed the outcome. How did a functioning beacon, accurate transmission, and a sealed notebook end up telling such different stories?

Person: Erin Wells
Date: April 5-April 19
Location: Pamlico Sound (notebook found), voyage began Beaufort to Brunswick route
Event: Beacon transmitted coordinates 61 nautical miles from actual position
Status: Notebook recovered intact in freezer bag

- Notebook surfaced in a fisherman's net on the morning of April 19, tangled near a line marker in the Pamlico Sound.
- Last notebook entry reads: "If you find this before you find me, look west of where you think I am. I am not where the beacon says."
- Beacon transmitted a location 61 nautical miles away from where Erin actually was.
- On the night of April 7 at 22:22, Erin wrote: "The boom came over," then logged ribs, wrist, wind reading, and course deviation.
- The engine ran for 11 minutes on the morning of April 8 before dying due to fuel contamination.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73078722Tue, 21 Jul 2026 02:21:46 +0000Creator at ObomediaShe Was Broadcasting-But Her Beacon Lied: Lost Sailor's Quiet Notes The sea can feel like a promise until it suddenly becomes a mapmaker's liar: a rescue beacon transmitted perfectly but pointed searchers 61 nautical miles away, and a sealed...
The sea can feel like a promise until it suddenly becomes a mapmaker's liar: a rescue beacon transmitted perfectly but pointed searchers 61 nautical miles away, and a sealed freezer bag saved a notebook that survived nine days at sea. Who wrote steady, unsentimental lines about broken ribs and a dead engine while listening to searchplanes fly ever farther east - and why did her beacon point the wrong way?

In this episode, we follow the recovered notebook and the factual record to tell what happened to Erin Wells on a voyage that began on April 5 and unraveled in a single night; we trace the beacon's false coordinates, the physical injuries she recorded, and the small decisions that changed the outcome. How did a functioning beacon, accurate transmission, and a sealed notebook end up telling such different stories?

Person: Erin Wells
Date: April 5-April 19
Location: Pamlico Sound (notebook found), voyage began Beaufort to Brunswick route
Event: Beacon transmitted coordinates 61 nautical miles from actual position
Status: Notebook recovered intact in freezer bag

- Notebook surfaced in a fisherman's net on the morning of April 19, tangled near a line marker in the Pamlico Sound.
- Last notebook entry reads: "If you find this before you find me, look west of where you think I am. I am not where the beacon says."
- Beacon transmitted a location 61 nautical miles away from where Erin actually was.
- On the night of April 7 at 22:22, Erin wrote: "The boom came over," then logged ribs, wrist, wind reading, and course deviation.
- The engine ran for 11 minutes on the morning of April 8 before dying due to fuel contamination.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1345falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/two-words-one-flare-how-a-captain-survived-nine-days-lost-at-sea--73078718
Cold, exhausted, and with a core temperature of 92°F, a captain was airlifted from a life raft after nine days at sea - but a bone-dry laminated tide chart washed ashore four days earlier with twenty mysterious words written in blue ink. What did those words say, who wrote them, and why did they matter more than any beacon that never transmitted?

In this episode, we follow the timeline from a four-second radio transmission to the discovery of debris and the rescue, describing the people, equipment, and gaps in data that shaped the search - and asking how one two-word call and a single flare changed everything.

Person: Jennifer West
Date: March 2 (capsize) and March 14 (tide chart found)
Location: approximately 41 miles offshore; Keller parcel four miles inland from Crescent Cove
Status: three crew not recovered; captain airlifted from life raft with core temperature 92 °F
Event: laminated tide chart found dry with twenty words written in blue ink; debris field located day six

- The last radio transmission lasted four seconds and contained two words: "Taking water."
- The Irene Kay departed with four people aboard and 43 miles of open water ahead.
- Forecast updated to nine- to twelve-foot swells and gusts exceeding 40 knots four hours after the last transmission.
- Debris matching the Irene Kay (a trap buoy with registration number, aluminum rail section, and fiberglass panel) was found by a cutter on day six about 60 miles offshore.
- The laminated tide chart from the survival kit was found on March 14, four miles inland and four days before the captain was airlifted.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73078718Tue, 21 Jul 2026 02:21:43 +0000Creator at ObomediaTwo Words, One Flare: How a Captain Survived Nine Days Lost at Sea Cold, exhausted, and with a core temperature of 92°F, a captain was airlifted from a life raft after nine days at sea - but a bone-dry laminated tide chart washed ashore four days...
Cold, exhausted, and with a core temperature of 92°F, a captain was airlifted from a life raft after nine days at sea - but a bone-dry laminated tide chart washed ashore four days earlier with twenty mysterious words written in blue ink. What did those words say, who wrote them, and why did they matter more than any beacon that never transmitted?

In this episode, we follow the timeline from a four-second radio transmission to the discovery of debris and the rescue, describing the people, equipment, and gaps in data that shaped the search - and asking how one two-word call and a single flare changed everything.

Person: Jennifer West
Date: March 2 (capsize) and March 14 (tide chart found)
Location: approximately 41 miles offshore; Keller parcel four miles inland from Crescent Cove
Status: three crew not recovered; captain airlifted from life raft with core temperature 92 °F
Event: laminated tide chart found dry with twenty words written in blue ink; debris field located day six

- The last radio transmission lasted four seconds and contained two words: "Taking water."
- The Irene Kay departed with four people aboard and 43 miles of open water ahead.
- Forecast updated to nine- to twelve-foot swells and gusts exceeding 40 knots four hours after the last transmission.
- Debris matching the Irene Kay (a trap buoy with registration number, aluminum rail section, and fiberglass panel) was found by a cutter on day six about 60 miles offshore.
- The laminated tide chart from the survival kit was found on March 14, four miles inland and four days before the captain was airlifted.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1410falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-watch-that-kept-time-while-he-clung-to-death-s-hull--73078717
Cold, relentless ocean and a single working watch: a stainless steel diver's watch kept perfect time at 7:14 after six days in the Atlantic while its owner clung to an overturned sloop 52 miles offshore-how did a seventeen-mile clerical error turn a survivable emergency into a four-day ordeal?

In this episode, we follow the sequence of events from departure to rescue, recounting the equipment that failed and the decisions that determined where searchers looked; what happened when a Mayday was logged against the wrong reference point, and how that one mistake changed the search area and stretched survival to the limit.

Person: Kenneth Fitzgerald
Date: February 2-6, 2019
Location: 52 miles offshore, Atlantic Ocean (six miles east of Sebastian Inlet at time of Mayday)
VHF Channel: 16
Temperature: Water 58°F, nighttime air 44°F

- The watch found on Pelican Cay marina was a stainless steel diver's watch showing 7:14 and had spent six days on the Atlantic without losing a second.
- The mast failed when the port chainplate sheared at approximately 2:15 AM, causing the 26-foot sloop Ardea to roll and invert in under a minute.
- Kenneth transmitted a Mayday at 2:22 AM on channel 16 and Port Canaveral acknowledged two minutes later with the position he gave.
- Petty Officer Travis Webb logged the incident position as six miles east of Satellite Beach, displacing the search 17 miles north of the Ardea’s actual location six miles east of Sebastian Inlet.
- Across four days, Kenneth collected about one liter of rainwater in his jacket hood, had no food, no life raft (in the cabin underwater), and no EPIRB (in the ditch bag underwater).

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73078717Tue, 21 Jul 2026 02:21:38 +0000Creator at ObomediaThe Watch That Kept Time While He Clung to Death's Hull Cold, relentless ocean and a single working watch: a stainless steel diver's watch kept perfect time at 7:14 after six days in the Atlantic while its owner clung to an overturned sloop 52...
Cold, relentless ocean and a single working watch: a stainless steel diver's watch kept perfect time at 7:14 after six days in the Atlantic while its owner clung to an overturned sloop 52 miles offshore-how did a seventeen-mile clerical error turn a survivable emergency into a four-day ordeal?

In this episode, we follow the sequence of events from departure to rescue, recounting the equipment that failed and the decisions that determined where searchers looked; what happened when a Mayday was logged against the wrong reference point, and how that one mistake changed the search area and stretched survival to the limit.

Person: Kenneth Fitzgerald
Date: February 2-6, 2019
Location: 52 miles offshore, Atlantic Ocean (six miles east of Sebastian Inlet at time of Mayday)
VHF Channel: 16
Temperature: Water 58°F, nighttime air 44°F

- The watch found on Pelican Cay marina was a stainless steel diver's watch showing 7:14 and had spent six days on the Atlantic without losing a second.
- The mast failed when the port chainplate sheared at approximately 2:15 AM, causing the 26-foot sloop Ardea to roll and invert in under a minute.
- Kenneth transmitted a Mayday at 2:22 AM on channel 16 and Port Canaveral acknowledged two minutes later with the position he gave.
- Petty Officer Travis Webb logged the incident position as six miles east of Satellite Beach, displacing the search 17 miles north of the Ardea’s actual location six miles east of Sebastian Inlet.
- Across four days, Kenneth collected about one liter of rainwater in his jacket hood, had no food, no life raft (in the cabin underwater), and no EPIRB (in the ditch bag underwater).

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1247falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-dry-loyalty-card-found-in-an-empty-life-raft--73078716
A laminated diner loyalty card survived eleven days in a January North Atlantic life raft, dry and legible after two named storms and a deflated, barnacled raft washed clean of everything else - but the woman who wrote its back had been missing for nine days when hope faded. What chain of physics, decisions, and a silent cargo ship turned a routine passage into this drifting puzzle?

In this episode, we follow the voyage described on a precise float plan, the failure that left a Hallberg-Rassy thirty-seven disabled, and the small, ordinary objects that became the last record of a sailor’s final hours. How did a rescue fail to reach a disciplined singlehanded sailor, and why did only a diner card survive to tell the end of the story?

Person: Lisa Lane
Vessel: Celia (Hallberg-Rassy 37)
Departure: January 3, 06:15
Destination: Hamilton, Bermuda
Distance offshore: about 280-300 miles

- Lisa was 38 years old and held a mechanical engineering degree from NC State.
- She had sailed singlehanded for eleven years and kept a detailed float plan filed before departure.
- The forestay parted at 09:12 on January 6, causing the mast to fall and disable the propeller.
- Lisa transmitted on VHF Channel 16 for four hours with no response; the radio’s range was roughly 20 miles.
- The loyalty card had eight punched holes, one red cashier stamp, and a blue ballpoint note: "Wednesday. Large drip. No sugar. Table by the window. Tell them I made it."

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73078716Tue, 21 Jul 2026 02:21:34 +0000Creator at ObomediaThe Dry Loyalty Card Found in an Empty Life Raft A laminated diner loyalty card survived eleven days in a January North Atlantic life raft, dry and legible after two named storms and a deflated, barnacled raft washed clean of everything else - but...
A laminated diner loyalty card survived eleven days in a January North Atlantic life raft, dry and legible after two named storms and a deflated, barnacled raft washed clean of everything else - but the woman who wrote its back had been missing for nine days when hope faded. What chain of physics, decisions, and a silent cargo ship turned a routine passage into this drifting puzzle?

In this episode, we follow the voyage described on a precise float plan, the failure that left a Hallberg-Rassy thirty-seven disabled, and the small, ordinary objects that became the last record of a sailor’s final hours. How did a rescue fail to reach a disciplined singlehanded sailor, and why did only a diner card survive to tell the end of the story?

Person: Lisa Lane
Vessel: Celia (Hallberg-Rassy 37)
Departure: January 3, 06:15
Destination: Hamilton, Bermuda
Distance offshore: about 280-300 miles

- Lisa was 38 years old and held a mechanical engineering degree from NC State.
- She had sailed singlehanded for eleven years and kept a detailed float plan filed before departure.
- The forestay parted at 09:12 on January 6, causing the mast to fall and disable the propeller.
- Lisa transmitted on VHF Channel 16 for four hours with no response; the radio’s range was roughly 20 miles.
- The loyalty card had eight punched holes, one red cashier stamp, and a blue ballpoint note: "Wednesday. Large drip. No sugar. Table by the window. Tell them I made it."

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1174falsefull