1 00:00:00,280 --> 00:00:04,480 Speaker 1: Andrew stared back at the approaching boat in disbelief. It 2 00:00:04,559 --> 00:00:08,480 was closing in on them, now less than fifty yards away. 3 00:00:08,560 --> 00:00:12,800 How could they not see his boat. If they didn't 4 00:00:12,919 --> 00:00:16,800 change course soon, Andrew feared they'd collide in the middle 5 00:00:16,920 --> 00:00:24,679 of the ocean. This is the Miracle Files. 6 00:00:25,239 --> 00:00:29,359 Speaker 2: I'm Emily Jones and I'm Holly Worthington. We're two sisters 7 00:00:29,399 --> 00:00:32,960 who love a captivating true story, but we're also seeking 8 00:00:33,000 --> 00:00:34,159 more light in our lives. 9 00:00:34,640 --> 00:00:37,880 Speaker 1: So we're on a mission to find and share unforgettable, 10 00:00:38,079 --> 00:00:42,560 uplifting stories of God's miracles. We hope you'll join us 11 00:00:42,640 --> 00:00:44,560 on this journey. 12 00:00:46,079 --> 00:00:49,600 Speaker 2: Welcome back to the Miracle Files. This story is a 13 00:00:49,640 --> 00:00:50,600 really good one. 14 00:00:51,039 --> 00:00:53,079 Speaker 1: Yeah, I love doing the interview for this one. I 15 00:00:53,119 --> 00:00:55,719 always think that, you know, our most recent episode is 16 00:00:55,719 --> 00:00:59,280 my favorite, but this one is just really, really interesting. Yeah. 17 00:00:59,359 --> 00:01:02,759 Speaker 2: It's full of twists and turns. And it's called the 18 00:01:02,799 --> 00:01:05,359 Mystery Boat for a reason because this has a lot 19 00:01:05,359 --> 00:01:06,480 of mystery in it too, So. 20 00:01:07,120 --> 00:01:09,359 Speaker 1: We won't give away any more details. 21 00:01:09,359 --> 00:01:13,079 Speaker 2: Right So here it is the Mystery Boat. 22 00:01:15,840 --> 00:01:18,319 Speaker 1: It was a perfect day to go deep sea fishing 23 00:01:18,439 --> 00:01:22,159 off the coast of North Carolina. The sun shone brightly 24 00:01:22,200 --> 00:01:26,719 in a nearly cloudless summer sky. Andrew Sherman and his 25 00:01:26,840 --> 00:01:29,719 twenty one year old son Jack headed out, like they 26 00:01:29,760 --> 00:01:33,079 had done many times, to troll offshore near a place 27 00:01:33,159 --> 00:01:37,519 called twenty three mile Rock. They cruised along slowly with 28 00:01:37,599 --> 00:01:41,319 several baited lures hung from their boat, but found no fish. 29 00:01:42,159 --> 00:01:46,000 They decided to head out further and further. They eventually 30 00:01:46,040 --> 00:01:49,319 worked their way about thirty seven miles off shore, the 31 00:01:49,359 --> 00:01:52,799 furthest they had ever gone out to fish. Hoping to 32 00:01:52,879 --> 00:01:55,879 change their luck, the father and son duo decided to 33 00:01:55,920 --> 00:01:58,560 take a break from trolling and dropped some lures to 34 00:01:58,599 --> 00:02:02,319 the bottom of the ocean. Their boat drifted along, bobbing 35 00:02:02,319 --> 00:02:04,879 above depths of one hundred and ten to one hundred 36 00:02:04,920 --> 00:02:08,599 and fifteen feet of deep blue water. Nothing seemed out 37 00:02:08,599 --> 00:02:12,120 of the ordinary on this beautiful summer day until Andrew 38 00:02:12,159 --> 00:02:15,479 spotted a distant boat heading straight at them. 39 00:02:17,240 --> 00:02:20,919 Speaker 3: I looked out in the distance and heading dead center 40 00:02:21,080 --> 00:02:24,520 towards our boat was another boat, and I was like, 41 00:02:24,879 --> 00:02:26,719 what is going on here? We're in the middle of 42 00:02:26,759 --> 00:02:30,599 nowhere and this guy is just running towards us. 43 00:02:31,800 --> 00:02:34,879 Speaker 1: At that point, the stranger's boat was about two hundred 44 00:02:34,960 --> 00:02:38,199 yards away from them. Andrew looked down at his rod 45 00:02:38,240 --> 00:02:38,960 to reel it in. 46 00:02:39,759 --> 00:02:43,120 Speaker 3: I looked up again. The boat is still right on 47 00:02:43,159 --> 00:02:45,439 our path one hundred and fifty to one hundred yards. 48 00:02:45,919 --> 00:02:48,039 I looked back at Jack to see where he is 49 00:02:48,080 --> 00:02:50,120 in terms of what he's doing, and I'm like, hey, 50 00:02:50,120 --> 00:02:53,719 are you almost off the bottom? And he was like, yeah, yeah, 51 00:02:53,719 --> 00:02:54,919 I'm almost off the bottom. 52 00:02:55,840 --> 00:02:58,479 Speaker 1: Andrew looked back at the boat. It was closing in 53 00:02:58,520 --> 00:03:01,400 on them, now less than one hundred yards away and 54 00:03:01,479 --> 00:03:06,400 still heading straight at them. 55 00:03:04,520 --> 00:03:06,680 Speaker 3: And I say to Jack, you know, I can believe this. 56 00:03:06,719 --> 00:03:10,400 We have some yahoo and he has no idea we're here, 57 00:03:10,639 --> 00:03:12,199 and he's going to run straight into us. 58 00:03:13,400 --> 00:03:16,560 Speaker 1: The mystery boat closed in on them. Jack finished reeling 59 00:03:16,599 --> 00:03:19,840 in his lure. Andrew knew they had to move quickly. 60 00:03:20,680 --> 00:03:23,240 Speaker 3: And I went to turn the boat on, and there 61 00:03:23,280 --> 00:03:25,719 was a brief moment where I thought to myself, I 62 00:03:25,800 --> 00:03:28,360 really hope the boat doesn't, you know, have a problem. 63 00:03:28,400 --> 00:03:30,639 And it turns on, no problem, because if not, this 64 00:03:30,719 --> 00:03:32,360 guy's going to run into us. 65 00:03:33,199 --> 00:03:37,319 Speaker 1: Andrew turned the ignition to his relief, the engine fired up. 66 00:03:38,319 --> 00:03:41,639 Speaker 3: We put the motor in year and we started puttering forward. 67 00:03:42,199 --> 00:03:45,800 And as we powdered forward. This boat just passed within 68 00:03:46,520 --> 00:03:48,319 ten yards or so of our stern. 69 00:03:52,000 --> 00:03:55,240 Speaker 1: In disbelief, Andrew and Jack watched the boat drive past. 70 00:03:55,960 --> 00:03:58,080 They thought it was strange that they hadn't noticed the 71 00:03:58,120 --> 00:04:01,039 boat sooner, and wondered why the oh had almost run 72 00:04:01,120 --> 00:04:05,080 straight into them. But stranger still was what they observed 73 00:04:05,400 --> 00:04:09,800 as the boat drove past. Here's Andrew's son, Jack, explaining 74 00:04:09,800 --> 00:04:11,159 what happened next. 75 00:04:13,439 --> 00:04:15,400 Speaker 3: As the boat drove by, you could hear the radio 76 00:04:15,479 --> 00:04:17,759 was playing on the boat. There was like music. He 77 00:04:17,800 --> 00:04:20,199 had like five rods out or something, and he was trolling. 78 00:04:21,040 --> 00:04:23,319 As it goes by. We look in the cabin and 79 00:04:23,360 --> 00:04:25,519 there was no one behind the steering wheel. 80 00:04:25,279 --> 00:04:26,199 Speaker 2: And we're like, what the heck? 81 00:04:26,240 --> 00:04:27,839 Speaker 3: And I just like super bizarre. 82 00:04:28,480 --> 00:04:30,680 Speaker 1: The two men wondered if the boat's owner could be 83 00:04:30,720 --> 00:04:33,519 down in the cabin unaware of how close they'd come 84 00:04:33,560 --> 00:04:34,160 to colliding. 85 00:04:34,959 --> 00:04:36,560 Speaker 3: So it's like goes by, we like yell at him 86 00:04:36,560 --> 00:04:39,240 to try to get his attention, and there was no response, 87 00:04:39,360 --> 00:04:41,800 So we like put our rods in the rod wolvers 88 00:04:42,319 --> 00:04:44,160 and we took off after him. I think he was 89 00:04:44,199 --> 00:04:47,000 going like eight or nine knots, so like ten miles fryar, 90 00:04:47,839 --> 00:04:51,120 and we were coached up alongside him, and we had 91 00:04:51,120 --> 00:04:53,040 an air horn and my dad dug that out and 92 00:04:53,079 --> 00:04:55,360 he starts blasting air horn and kind of dropped next 93 00:04:55,399 --> 00:04:58,680 to him, and there's no response, and we were like, 94 00:04:58,680 --> 00:05:01,079 oh my gosh, like, what is someone like had a 95 00:05:01,120 --> 00:05:04,959 heart attack or a stroke below deck? So we'd talk him. 96 00:05:04,959 --> 00:05:07,279 We're like, if there's no response to the next two minutes, 97 00:05:07,279 --> 00:05:08,920 we should probably go and try to board the boat. 98 00:05:09,959 --> 00:05:13,120 Speaker 1: Minutes ticked by with Andrew and Jack coasting alongside the 99 00:05:13,160 --> 00:05:17,639 boat trying to get someone's attention with no response. So 100 00:05:17,759 --> 00:05:20,639 a debate ensued between the father and son about who 101 00:05:20,639 --> 00:05:25,199 would make the treacherous leap onto the mystery boat to investigate. Jack, 102 00:05:25,560 --> 00:05:29,319 a midshipman at the Naval Academy, was younger and felt 103 00:05:29,399 --> 00:05:32,399 he would be better to make the leap. Andrew feared 104 00:05:32,399 --> 00:05:34,360 what Jack might find aboard the boat. 105 00:05:35,120 --> 00:05:37,519 Speaker 3: You know, as we're having this joking conversation about who's 106 00:05:37,600 --> 00:05:39,600 jumping in the boat, I actually did say to him 107 00:05:39,720 --> 00:05:43,160 very seriously, are you prepared for what you may find 108 00:05:43,199 --> 00:05:44,199 when you go on this boat. 109 00:05:46,480 --> 00:05:49,079 Speaker 1: Jack assured his father that he was prepared to deal 110 00:05:49,199 --> 00:05:51,959 with whatever lay beyond the deck of the boat, but 111 00:05:52,000 --> 00:05:54,199 he still couldn't help but wonder what he was about 112 00:05:54,240 --> 00:05:54,639 to face. 113 00:05:56,160 --> 00:05:58,360 Speaker 3: Mcamp alongside, and he kind of like match the waves 114 00:05:58,360 --> 00:06:01,560 and everything does that flamed, big, big adrenaline ross just 115 00:06:01,639 --> 00:06:04,240 jumping in like somebody's boat forty miles off shore, and 116 00:06:04,279 --> 00:06:06,480 you didn't know like anything. I was like, for sure, 117 00:06:06,480 --> 00:06:08,000 there's gotta be some dead guy down here. 118 00:06:08,480 --> 00:06:11,000 Speaker 1: Jack made the leap and was stunned at what he found, 119 00:06:11,600 --> 00:06:15,040 or perhaps more accurately, what he didn't find. 120 00:06:15,360 --> 00:06:17,560 Speaker 3: So he jumped on board and look, there's no way 121 00:06:17,600 --> 00:06:19,639 in the deck. I'm like, all right, cool, and like 122 00:06:19,720 --> 00:06:22,399 ease my way to the cabin, expecting to find something. 123 00:06:22,399 --> 00:06:25,079 And the cabin's just completely empty. So I put the 124 00:06:25,079 --> 00:06:28,279 boat in neutral, turn everything off, reeling off the lines. 125 00:06:29,079 --> 00:06:31,360 I called my dad and like the boat's empty, and 126 00:06:31,399 --> 00:06:33,560 my dad goes, are you sure, Like check again, it's 127 00:06:33,600 --> 00:06:35,920 like a twenty boat. I'm like, Dad, it's like twenty 128 00:06:35,920 --> 00:06:37,759 three feet I promised. There's like nothing here to see 129 00:06:37,879 --> 00:06:39,319 and there's secret doors. 130 00:06:40,240 --> 00:06:43,920 Speaker 1: No secret doors. But Jack did soon find some items 131 00:06:44,000 --> 00:06:48,279 that alarmed both father and son, a wallet and a 132 00:06:48,319 --> 00:06:52,319 life jacket. These articles spelled that one thing for entering 133 00:06:52,439 --> 00:06:58,160 Jack man overboard, and even worse, man overboard without a 134 00:06:58,240 --> 00:07:02,199 life jacket. Had this this man been fishing and somehow fallen, 135 00:07:03,040 --> 00:07:05,480 All they had to go on was an empty boat 136 00:07:05,560 --> 00:07:10,000 with some eerily important belongings on board. Beyond that, the 137 00:07:10,040 --> 00:07:12,879 two men had no idea how long ago the boat's 138 00:07:12,920 --> 00:07:16,240 captain might have gone over. It could have been hours ago. 139 00:07:16,360 --> 00:07:19,519 If the boat's captain had survived the fall, it must 140 00:07:19,519 --> 00:07:22,480 have been horrific to watch his boat drive off into 141 00:07:22,480 --> 00:07:26,800 the distance without him. Andrew and Jack had a sinking 142 00:07:26,839 --> 00:07:31,120 feeling that someone was likely out there forty miles from shore, 143 00:07:31,519 --> 00:07:34,279 fighting for their life, if they were even still alive. 144 00:07:37,639 --> 00:07:40,040 The father and son hurried and tied the boats up 145 00:07:40,079 --> 00:07:44,319 together and radioed the coastguard. Here is the actual call 146 00:07:44,439 --> 00:07:46,800 Andrew and Jack made. 147 00:07:47,519 --> 00:07:50,959 Speaker 4: Coastguard station, will right still beach. Coastguard station, right still beach. 148 00:07:51,040 --> 00:07:54,360 Speaker 5: Come in. That's hailing this coast guard. 149 00:07:54,399 --> 00:07:58,560 Speaker 4: Go ahead, Coastguard station, rightful beach. We just found a 150 00:07:58,720 --> 00:08:05,240 boat at thirty three fifty one three sixty two north 151 00:08:06,079 --> 00:08:10,560 seventy seven ten one seventy seven west. 152 00:08:10,839 --> 00:08:15,959 Speaker 5: There is no one aboard rodacab Can you see a 153 00:08:16,040 --> 00:08:17,480 description of the vessel in the vessel name. 154 00:08:19,680 --> 00:08:22,319 Speaker 4: Uh, we will check for vessel name. I can give 155 00:08:22,360 --> 00:08:23,680 you the IV we found. 156 00:08:23,439 --> 00:08:30,720 Speaker 5: On board Sheller s C H E L L E R. 157 00:08:31,079 --> 00:08:33,759 When we found the vessel, it was doing about eight knots. 158 00:08:34,919 --> 00:08:36,919 Speaker 3: Roger Cabam. We copied seller is the last name? 159 00:08:36,960 --> 00:08:37,519 Speaker 2: Can you say again? 160 00:08:37,559 --> 00:08:38,000 Speaker 5: First name? 161 00:08:39,679 --> 00:08:47,919 Speaker 4: First name, Sasha s A s c Ha Roger Cabam, 162 00:08:48,000 --> 00:08:50,440 Sasha Sheller, request you say again? 163 00:08:50,639 --> 00:08:52,320 Speaker 2: Was a boat moving when you came upon it? 164 00:08:53,399 --> 00:08:58,480 Speaker 4: Boat was moving. It almost ran us down, so we 165 00:08:58,519 --> 00:09:01,720 moved out of the way. Followed the boat, hit it 166 00:09:01,799 --> 00:09:03,200 with four or. 167 00:09:03,159 --> 00:09:06,840 Speaker 5: Five blasts on an air horn. Waited about ten minutes. 168 00:09:07,399 --> 00:09:11,320 My son found no one on board boat. Vessel number 169 00:09:11,480 --> 00:09:16,159 is NC two six A three. He is an echo 170 00:09:16,240 --> 00:09:17,480 and is a Nancy. 171 00:09:20,080 --> 00:09:22,320 Speaker 4: Roger that gab Other than the idea on board? 172 00:09:22,320 --> 00:09:23,919 Speaker 2: Did you see the other sign of any other person's 173 00:09:23,960 --> 00:09:24,360 on the boat. 174 00:09:26,200 --> 00:09:27,679 Speaker 4: We went over the entire boat. 175 00:09:27,799 --> 00:09:31,480 Speaker 5: It's a twenty three foot Parker cutty cabin. No one 176 00:09:31,559 --> 00:09:34,840 on board that we can find. Lines were all deployed 177 00:09:35,440 --> 00:09:36,960 like he was fishing a spread. 178 00:09:38,759 --> 00:09:39,480 Speaker 3: Rod. That gab. 179 00:09:41,440 --> 00:09:44,480 Speaker 1: The coast guard encouraged Andrew and Jack to access the 180 00:09:44,519 --> 00:09:47,080 GPS system on the boat to see if they could 181 00:09:47,080 --> 00:09:50,200 give any coordinates of where the boat might have come from. 182 00:09:50,720 --> 00:09:54,000 With the two boats tied up and drifting together, Andrew 183 00:09:54,000 --> 00:09:57,159 boarded the mystery boat and joined Jack in the cabin, 184 00:09:57,519 --> 00:10:01,000 where they radioed the coastguard again with the history. 185 00:10:01,799 --> 00:10:05,399 Speaker 3: Yeah, so the boat leaves like a track essentially, so 186 00:10:05,440 --> 00:10:07,879 you'd see where the boat left, where he started, where 187 00:10:07,879 --> 00:10:10,759 he came out, and then he went like twenty three 188 00:10:10,759 --> 00:10:12,919 miles off shore, actually the same place that we initially 189 00:10:12,960 --> 00:10:16,039 were at, and then he began pushing off for further 190 00:10:16,120 --> 00:10:19,120 and further. So we could see where the boat went. 191 00:10:19,519 --> 00:10:21,399 We were able to like report those coordinates to the 192 00:10:21,440 --> 00:10:23,799 coast guard. We probably talked to the coast guard for 193 00:10:23,840 --> 00:10:26,039 twenty or thirty minutes on the radio, and the coast 194 00:10:26,080 --> 00:10:28,240 guard was like okay, like Roger, thank you, and I 195 00:10:28,279 --> 00:10:31,120 was like here in the conversation were like boys, like 196 00:10:31,519 --> 00:10:33,240 there's a dude out here with no life jacket, all 197 00:10:33,240 --> 00:10:36,120 what do you mean? Like thank you? So we're like golly, 198 00:10:36,320 --> 00:10:38,480 like we gotta we should go try to find this guy. 199 00:10:38,519 --> 00:10:40,440 We can't just let him drown out of here, which 200 00:10:40,480 --> 00:10:42,799 we knew was pretty futile. Like, I mean, the chances 201 00:10:42,840 --> 00:10:45,279 of I was I was convinced the whole time that 202 00:10:45,399 --> 00:10:47,080 we were probably gonna wait for like a body to 203 00:10:47,200 --> 00:10:49,480 gas up and then float back of the surface. Is 204 00:10:49,519 --> 00:10:51,320 a chance of like floating out there with no life 205 00:10:51,360 --> 00:10:56,840 jacket for a while, it's not too high. 206 00:10:56,879 --> 00:11:00,399 Speaker 1: There are critical moments in life, forks in the road, 207 00:11:00,480 --> 00:11:03,159 some call them, and this was one of those moments 208 00:11:03,200 --> 00:11:06,519 for Andrew and Jack. They could go home and leave 209 00:11:06,639 --> 00:11:10,679 everything in the hands of the coastguard, or they could 210 00:11:10,720 --> 00:11:14,720 search for the man overboard, this stranger now known to 211 00:11:14,799 --> 00:11:19,639 them as Sasha Scheller. The ocean is vast and endless. 212 00:11:20,279 --> 00:11:23,000 Only those who spend time out on the ocean truly 213 00:11:23,120 --> 00:11:27,039 understand how vast it is, and these two men understood 214 00:11:27,080 --> 00:11:30,759 it well. They knew any attempt at rescue would be 215 00:11:30,840 --> 00:11:34,519 almost impossible, like trying to find a needle in a haystack. 216 00:11:35,080 --> 00:11:37,080 But they weren't the type of men to just give 217 00:11:37,240 --> 00:11:40,360 up when someone could possibly still be alive and in 218 00:11:40,399 --> 00:11:44,480 a desperate situation. In fact, as soon as the coastguard 219 00:11:44,519 --> 00:11:49,360 said thank you, Jack said we're going to go find him. 220 00:11:49,639 --> 00:11:52,919 They ended the call with the coastguard and immediately devised 221 00:11:52,919 --> 00:11:53,320 a plan. 222 00:11:57,240 --> 00:12:00,120 Speaker 3: So end up looking on the GPS we deemed he 223 00:12:00,200 --> 00:12:02,679 was making normal fishing patterns. They're trolling around, and then 224 00:12:02,679 --> 00:12:04,320 at one point we saw the boat kind of go 225 00:12:04,399 --> 00:12:06,279 straight for a while and then it just kind of 226 00:12:06,399 --> 00:12:09,720 veered off and it was like weird abnormal pattern where 227 00:12:09,720 --> 00:12:12,360 it intersected our about a few miles later, and we're like, 228 00:12:12,360 --> 00:12:14,279 that seems like where he may have fallen off, and 229 00:12:14,360 --> 00:12:18,279 he did fall off, so to give this some more perspective. 230 00:12:18,759 --> 00:12:22,360 On his GPS, he saw this dotted line, a trail 231 00:12:22,919 --> 00:12:25,399 that came out, you know, fished around a little bit, 232 00:12:25,639 --> 00:12:27,840 fished around a little bit, fished around a little bit, 233 00:12:28,399 --> 00:12:30,799 got out to the area that we were in, and 234 00:12:30,840 --> 00:12:33,360 then what it did was it made this looping turn 235 00:12:34,200 --> 00:12:39,799 ross back on itself, curved back around, and then headed 236 00:12:39,919 --> 00:12:42,759 back towards land and encountered us like right there. 237 00:12:44,200 --> 00:12:47,200 Speaker 1: As Andrew and Jack mapped out the coordinates, they also 238 00:12:47,360 --> 00:12:51,320 noticed that Sasha had several way points on the GPS system. 239 00:12:51,720 --> 00:12:55,639 A waypoint happens when the GPS is manually touched and 240 00:12:55,799 --> 00:12:58,080 is a point of reference kind of like dropping a 241 00:12:58,120 --> 00:13:01,200 pin location for navigation purposes. 242 00:13:01,919 --> 00:13:05,320 Speaker 3: And not far from where we were, it had a waypoint, 243 00:13:05,519 --> 00:13:07,720 so we knew that he had touched his screen there. 244 00:13:08,639 --> 00:13:11,480 So we came up with a plan. Then I will 245 00:13:11,519 --> 00:13:16,279 run Sasha's boat and Jack will run mine, and I 246 00:13:16,279 --> 00:13:20,120 can see the GPS for Sasha. And I said, Jack, 247 00:13:20,200 --> 00:13:23,480 I'm going to take you back to his last waypoint 248 00:13:23,519 --> 00:13:25,600 where we knew he was on the boat. And when 249 00:13:25,600 --> 00:13:27,519 we get to that waypoint, I want you to make 250 00:13:27,639 --> 00:13:32,159 ever enlarging circles from that waypoint. Just keep going out 251 00:13:32,200 --> 00:13:35,919 from that waypoint. I'm going to go back over here 252 00:13:36,000 --> 00:13:38,960 to where the boat made this big loop, and I'm 253 00:13:39,000 --> 00:13:42,320 just going to crisscross through that whole area. I mean, 254 00:13:42,360 --> 00:13:44,080 I had no idea why I was doing it that way, 255 00:13:44,679 --> 00:13:45,919 but anyway, that's what we did. 256 00:13:46,480 --> 00:13:50,120 Speaker 1: Jack traveled to the last waypoint for several minutes, he 257 00:13:50,200 --> 00:13:54,480 made concentric circles around it, and then he spotted something 258 00:13:54,559 --> 00:13:55,120 in the water. 259 00:13:55,879 --> 00:13:58,159 Speaker 3: Yeah, so you started a search, and I guess like 260 00:13:58,320 --> 00:14:00,960 twenty or thirty minutes in, I saw this in the ocean. 261 00:14:01,039 --> 00:14:03,639 But I found a pair of boots like floating the water. 262 00:14:04,039 --> 00:14:07,120 It's regular deck boots he'd be fishing with. I scooped 263 00:14:07,120 --> 00:14:09,799 those up, raided in the coast guard, raided into my dad, 264 00:14:10,679 --> 00:14:13,320 and I thought, I'm like, oh my gosh, I did 265 00:14:13,360 --> 00:14:16,039 his boots slip off from when he like drowned or something. 266 00:14:16,960 --> 00:14:20,159 Speaker 1: While Jack saw the boots as a bad sign, Andrew 267 00:14:20,200 --> 00:14:21,360 had a different thought. 268 00:14:21,559 --> 00:14:24,000 Speaker 3: So I was about three quarters of a mile from Jack, 269 00:14:24,440 --> 00:14:28,159 searching through this big loop. I don't know why. It 270 00:14:28,240 --> 00:14:31,159 wasn't based on anything really concrete, but I just thought, 271 00:14:31,639 --> 00:14:34,120 if I had fallen overboard, I would take my boots 272 00:14:34,159 --> 00:14:36,679 off because I could swim easier with my boots off. 273 00:14:37,080 --> 00:14:39,919 And so that said to me he fell off and 274 00:14:39,960 --> 00:14:42,960 he was still alive. And then for some reason, that 275 00:14:43,039 --> 00:14:45,960 said to me between where he had touched the screen 276 00:14:46,000 --> 00:14:47,919 and there was a straight line before it made this 277 00:14:47,960 --> 00:14:50,600 big courage. I don't know why. In my mind I 278 00:14:50,639 --> 00:14:53,720 thought he fell off somewhere in that straight long. 279 00:14:54,919 --> 00:14:57,039 Speaker 1: Andrew drove his boat back to the start of the 280 00:14:57,039 --> 00:15:01,200 straight line and let his boat drift rifted south, which 281 00:15:01,240 --> 00:15:04,879 made Andrew think that Sasha may have drifted south as well. 282 00:15:05,080 --> 00:15:07,720 He chriss crossed over the line slightly to the north 283 00:15:07,960 --> 00:15:11,039 and then back towards the south, scanning the horizon for 284 00:15:11,120 --> 00:15:15,360 any signs of life. He took another turn and went 285 00:15:15,440 --> 00:15:19,559 northward over the line and again headed south, and that's 286 00:15:19,600 --> 00:15:20,360 when he saw it. 287 00:15:21,759 --> 00:15:23,879 Speaker 3: I all of a sudden saw this big splash on 288 00:15:23,919 --> 00:15:27,799 the surface, probably like three hundred yards away, and I thought, 289 00:15:28,080 --> 00:15:31,559 that is either a big fish or that is somebody. 290 00:15:32,080 --> 00:15:34,519 And I sped the boat up as fast as it 291 00:15:34,559 --> 00:15:37,639 could go cut the distance, and then I just saw 292 00:15:37,679 --> 00:15:40,039 this hand come out of the water and reach across 293 00:15:40,120 --> 00:15:42,679 in a big arc like that, and I just came 294 00:15:42,720 --> 00:15:45,519 on the radio and I was like, Coast Guard Radio 295 00:15:45,559 --> 00:15:51,320 station Wilmington, I have found him. I have found him. 296 00:15:51,399 --> 00:15:57,559 Speaker 1: Earlier that day, Sasha Sheller, an experienced swimmer, surfer, and fishermen, 297 00:15:58,120 --> 00:16:00,639 had been out fishing on what started out to be 298 00:16:00,679 --> 00:16:04,240 a perfect day. Sasha heard over the radio the other 299 00:16:04,279 --> 00:16:08,000 fishermen were catching gaffer mahi mahi, which are very large 300 00:16:08,080 --> 00:16:11,480 mahi mahis, and he saw several boats heading that way. 301 00:16:12,519 --> 00:16:15,759 The waves were unusually calm, so he decided to drive 302 00:16:15,799 --> 00:16:19,080 out further than normal until he reached about forty miles 303 00:16:19,159 --> 00:16:24,279 off shore. Sasha had always been very safety minded, however, 304 00:16:24,600 --> 00:16:27,840 he let his guard down just for a moment, and 305 00:16:27,960 --> 00:16:29,759 a moment was all that it took. 306 00:16:33,200 --> 00:16:36,960 Speaker 6: I was out fishing and I set up on my rigs. 307 00:16:37,679 --> 00:16:40,320 Speaker 7: I was trolling them behind me, and it was calm, 308 00:16:40,320 --> 00:16:43,120 and say beautiful, and I'm gonna take my life jacket 309 00:16:43,120 --> 00:16:45,600 off just a little while and get some sun. And 310 00:16:45,679 --> 00:16:48,799 that was the biggest mistake I ever made. So I'm 311 00:16:48,840 --> 00:16:53,879 just cruising along. You're listening to some music, and this 312 00:16:54,000 --> 00:16:55,440 is a part of a lot of people kind of 313 00:16:55,440 --> 00:16:58,480 make fun of. So standing right here by a steerwheel, 314 00:16:58,480 --> 00:17:03,000 and I had to relieve myself. So I turned to 315 00:17:03,039 --> 00:17:05,559 the side of the boat right next to the steeringwheel, 316 00:17:07,400 --> 00:17:09,279 did what I had to do, and when I was 317 00:17:09,440 --> 00:17:12,720 turning back around to face the steeringwheel, my foot slipped 318 00:17:12,720 --> 00:17:14,519 and I just rolled right over the side of the boat. 319 00:17:16,880 --> 00:17:18,720 Speaker 1: He first tried to grab the side of the boat 320 00:17:18,759 --> 00:17:21,920 without success. He had one last chance to grab the 321 00:17:21,960 --> 00:17:25,039 back platform of the boat, but it was impossible with 322 00:17:25,119 --> 00:17:26,519 the boat moving so quickly. 323 00:17:27,960 --> 00:17:31,079 Speaker 7: That boat was gone in a matter of a minute. 324 00:17:32,440 --> 00:17:35,000 I mean, when your whole body's in the water and 325 00:17:35,039 --> 00:17:37,559 on your head's sticking up and you're watching that boat go, 326 00:17:39,079 --> 00:17:41,759 it's a minute or two and you can't see it anymore. 327 00:17:41,759 --> 00:17:42,160 Speaker 6: It's gone. 328 00:17:43,359 --> 00:17:46,880 Speaker 1: Sasha watched in horror as his boat got further and 329 00:17:46,960 --> 00:17:50,759 further away. So much went through Sasha's mind in the 330 00:17:50,799 --> 00:17:54,119 moments that followed. At one point he saw a boat 331 00:17:54,160 --> 00:17:57,200 in the distance. He tried yelling and screaming as loud 332 00:17:57,200 --> 00:18:00,160 as he could, but his hopes were quickly dashed as 333 00:18:00,160 --> 00:18:03,160 the folk captain didn't see him and drove out of sight. 334 00:18:04,200 --> 00:18:07,200 He was left alone with only his thoughts in what 335 00:18:07,279 --> 00:18:09,160 felt like an endless see. 336 00:18:13,079 --> 00:18:19,920 Speaker 7: I was pretty angry, pretty upset with myself. When I 337 00:18:19,960 --> 00:18:23,440 started to talk about the details. Is when it kind 338 00:18:23,440 --> 00:18:34,000 of floods back. You have a bunch of different thoughts 339 00:18:34,039 --> 00:18:42,759 that go through your head. The first one was kids, Yeah, 340 00:18:42,880 --> 00:18:48,279 you got to leave your kids. You thinking about your 341 00:18:48,680 --> 00:18:51,000 children growing up without you. 342 00:18:51,079 --> 00:18:51,400 Speaker 6: Yeah. 343 00:18:53,519 --> 00:18:56,400 Speaker 7: Now that I'm older and mid forties, and I think 344 00:18:56,440 --> 00:18:58,880 you started thinking about man, I don't have enough life insurance, 345 00:19:00,119 --> 00:19:04,279 realizing what all this would do to them, And you 346 00:19:04,319 --> 00:19:07,039 start thinking about long term, what your actions did and 347 00:19:07,079 --> 00:19:08,640 what the consequences are. 348 00:19:09,720 --> 00:19:11,599 Speaker 6: So that's why the anger was there. 349 00:19:12,720 --> 00:19:17,160 Speaker 7: It was really anger at myself for the one simple 350 00:19:17,200 --> 00:19:19,880 decision I made that risked everything. 351 00:19:21,519 --> 00:19:25,400 Speaker 1: After several minutes of treading water, Sasha's fear and anger 352 00:19:25,599 --> 00:19:27,599 gave way to thoughts of survival. 353 00:19:29,920 --> 00:19:35,000 Speaker 7: I think your mind automatically turns itself onto preservation mode 354 00:19:35,480 --> 00:19:40,559 so pretty fast, I would say fifteen to twenty minutes, 355 00:19:41,200 --> 00:19:42,920 I was like, you know what, I know, I'm about 356 00:19:42,920 --> 00:19:45,559 three miles away from where those other five boats were, 357 00:19:46,440 --> 00:19:48,960 and that's where I remembered the swell direction. So I 358 00:19:48,960 --> 00:19:51,960 started swimming in the direction of where those five boats were. 359 00:19:52,640 --> 00:19:55,400 About every ten minutes or so, I ducked my head 360 00:19:55,480 --> 00:20:00,079 underwater and listen. It's found travels much better underwater, so 361 00:20:00,119 --> 00:20:02,960 i'd listened for boats. Yeah, every now and then. I 362 00:20:02,960 --> 00:20:05,160 think two times I heard a boat, but they were 363 00:20:05,279 --> 00:20:06,319 way off in the distance. 364 00:20:06,680 --> 00:20:09,440 Speaker 6: So I just kept swimming, and after about an hour. 365 00:20:09,359 --> 00:20:11,599 Speaker 7: Or so, I started trying to spot some star gas 366 00:20:11,599 --> 00:20:13,920 of seaweed, And if you're not familiar, it's a seaweed 367 00:20:13,960 --> 00:20:16,279 that floats. It has a little airsacks in it. So 368 00:20:16,319 --> 00:20:18,759 I was going to take my shorts off and stuff 369 00:20:18,799 --> 00:20:21,079 them with as much stargas as seaweed as possible, so 370 00:20:21,119 --> 00:20:24,160 I had something to mentally hold on too if it 371 00:20:24,240 --> 00:20:25,000 went into the night. 372 00:20:27,920 --> 00:20:31,200 Speaker 1: Agonizing hours pasted before he saw another boat. 373 00:20:33,200 --> 00:20:36,599 Speaker 7: After two hours, I saw a boat coming towards me 374 00:20:37,000 --> 00:20:39,720 at a high rate of speed, and then it started 375 00:20:39,880 --> 00:20:43,119 leaving again, and I thought that was quite strange, But 376 00:20:43,200 --> 00:20:45,799 then about five minutes later it was doing it again. 377 00:20:46,000 --> 00:20:46,920 Speaker 6: It was coming towards me. 378 00:20:47,319 --> 00:20:49,759 Speaker 7: And then when it happened the third time, I just 379 00:20:49,839 --> 00:20:52,000 started kicking my legs as much as I could and 380 00:20:52,039 --> 00:20:54,519 waving my arms and splashing water, just trying to get 381 00:20:54,559 --> 00:20:57,200 anything to get attention. And then next thing you edded 382 00:20:57,200 --> 00:21:00,079 boat speeding straight towards me and not so it was 383 00:21:00,079 --> 00:21:02,200 probably five yards away from me. I realized it was 384 00:21:02,240 --> 00:21:04,680 my boat and it was Andrew driving my boat. 385 00:21:05,319 --> 00:21:08,200 Speaker 1: This is the point where Andrew called into the coastguard. 386 00:21:09,319 --> 00:21:12,279 Speaker 5: Coast Guard, does this parker over, I have found him. 387 00:21:12,400 --> 00:21:15,720 Coast Guard, does this Parker? I have found him. 388 00:21:16,359 --> 00:21:18,720 Speaker 3: And then at that point Jack heard all of that 389 00:21:18,880 --> 00:21:21,960 on the radio and he raced to where we were. 390 00:21:22,640 --> 00:21:26,200 I raced up to Sasha in the water, spun the 391 00:21:26,240 --> 00:21:28,839 back of his boat around him, chuck the motor off, 392 00:21:28,960 --> 00:21:33,240 ran to him. He was cramping up pretty badly, pulled 393 00:21:33,279 --> 00:21:36,200 him up onto the swim platform on the back of 394 00:21:36,240 --> 00:21:40,279 the boat. Initially just laid on a swim platform and 395 00:21:40,680 --> 00:21:43,960 recovered for about thirty seconds, and then he was able 396 00:21:44,000 --> 00:21:45,680 to get up and come into the back of the 397 00:21:45,680 --> 00:21:48,119 boat and sit on the back of transom up the boat. 398 00:21:48,960 --> 00:21:51,720 At that point Jack was there. He tied up to 399 00:21:51,839 --> 00:21:54,960 the boat again. I asked Sasha if he had anything 400 00:21:55,000 --> 00:21:57,440 on board, like gatorade, and he was like, yeah, I 401 00:21:57,480 --> 00:21:59,759 had a cooler and he got my gatorade. He just 402 00:21:59,799 --> 00:22:01,480 sat on the back of the boat for like ten 403 00:22:01,519 --> 00:22:04,720 minutes and drank a gayarade and kind of recovered, and 404 00:22:05,119 --> 00:22:07,400 you know, we were just like, I'm so happy to 405 00:22:07,400 --> 00:22:09,640 see you, and he was like, I'm so happy to 406 00:22:09,640 --> 00:22:13,960 see you, and it was Yeah, it was pretty special. 407 00:22:17,119 --> 00:22:19,400 Marker from the coast Guard, Roger, good guy, that you 408 00:22:19,480 --> 00:22:21,200 found one of those persons in the water. 409 00:22:21,799 --> 00:22:25,039 Speaker 5: You have them on board and over you guys guard 410 00:22:25,079 --> 00:22:28,559 rightful beat you guys guard rightful bee. I confirmed this 411 00:22:28,599 --> 00:22:30,720 is Parker, we have him. He has safe on board. 412 00:22:31,960 --> 00:22:33,960 Speaker 3: Roger kap could you say to confirm he was the 413 00:22:33,960 --> 00:22:35,160 only person on board in the boat? 414 00:22:36,640 --> 00:22:38,480 Speaker 5: That's ten for only person on the beat. 415 00:22:42,680 --> 00:22:45,640 Speaker 1: We asked Sasha how he felt when he realized he 416 00:22:45,720 --> 00:22:48,400 was going to be rescued. This was his response. 417 00:22:55,720 --> 00:23:03,119 Speaker 7: So, it's a crazy good feeling. I don't know if 418 00:23:03,160 --> 00:23:05,119 I could put it in the words. I mean, it's 419 00:23:05,200 --> 00:23:09,880 just to be able to relax and not realizing how 420 00:23:10,039 --> 00:23:13,960 tense you actually were until I could grab a hold. 421 00:23:13,759 --> 00:23:14,240 Speaker 6: Of that boat. 422 00:23:15,920 --> 00:23:18,599 Speaker 7: I mean, you know, I'm in good shape, but as 423 00:23:18,640 --> 00:23:20,599 soon as I grabbed that boat, my legs cramped up. 424 00:23:21,240 --> 00:23:23,039 I mean, who knew how long I could have lasted, 425 00:23:23,559 --> 00:23:25,680 could have been in those five minutes in my legs cramped, 426 00:23:25,839 --> 00:23:26,480 who knows. 427 00:23:26,839 --> 00:23:27,519 Speaker 6: But yeah, it's. 428 00:23:27,400 --> 00:23:35,759 Speaker 7: Just such a mixed emotions of relief, ecstasy, and it's 429 00:23:35,839 --> 00:23:38,839 kind of hard to describe. As then as my legs 430 00:23:38,960 --> 00:23:42,519 became uncramped, now, just bear hug Andrew. 431 00:23:44,880 --> 00:23:47,480 Speaker 1: It was truly a miracle that Sasha had been found. 432 00:23:48,279 --> 00:23:51,359 Part of this miracle is that Sasha's boat had driven 433 00:23:51,400 --> 00:23:54,039 directly at two men who were willing to do all 434 00:23:54,079 --> 00:23:57,799 it took to find him. But even more miraculous is 435 00:23:57,880 --> 00:24:00,720 how the boat ended up turning with out a captain 436 00:24:00,799 --> 00:24:04,839 steering it from its original trajectory to drive straight at 437 00:24:04,880 --> 00:24:05,680 Andrew and Jack. 438 00:24:07,759 --> 00:24:09,400 Speaker 3: I think the coolest part of the story for me 439 00:24:09,559 --> 00:24:12,960 is what Sasha got back home. He called us and 440 00:24:13,000 --> 00:24:15,640 he said he just got back to my boat. Like, 441 00:24:15,640 --> 00:24:17,200 I don't care at all, because you guys just saved 442 00:24:17,240 --> 00:24:19,599 my life and everything. But did you guys take one 443 00:24:19,640 --> 00:24:21,359 of the rods off the boat? I was trolling six 444 00:24:21,440 --> 00:24:24,640 rods when I had Followen off and we were like, no, 445 00:24:24,759 --> 00:24:26,359 he didn't pick any rods, So he went back at 446 00:24:26,359 --> 00:24:28,880 his GPS and back to my dad was talking about 447 00:24:28,920 --> 00:24:31,599 the way the boat was moving, initially where it made 448 00:24:32,240 --> 00:24:34,480 big arc and then kind of shot on the straight 449 00:24:34,519 --> 00:24:37,359 line where it had gone straight towards us. The rod 450 00:24:37,440 --> 00:24:39,519 that he was missing was on his left out rigor, 451 00:24:39,680 --> 00:24:43,039 which is where the boat turned towards And the only 452 00:24:43,079 --> 00:24:45,759 possible explanation for why a rod would just raandly followed 453 00:24:45,799 --> 00:24:49,319 an out rigor is if like a huge fish beyond belief, 454 00:24:49,839 --> 00:24:53,079 grabbed the bait that he was trowling, pulled all the 455 00:24:53,160 --> 00:24:56,839 line off the rod, like three four hundred yards, tilted 456 00:24:56,920 --> 00:24:59,240 to the side to the rod. When someone bore his 457 00:24:59,279 --> 00:25:01,400 out of the water, it was it'll pop out of 458 00:25:01,440 --> 00:25:04,079 the outrigger, and the boat straightened out again directly on 459 00:25:04,119 --> 00:25:07,240 a course straight towards us. So I think that is 460 00:25:07,279 --> 00:25:10,519 like the craziest part of the story. I'm a math major, 461 00:25:10,599 --> 00:25:13,200 So like random numbers, on the chances that we would 462 00:25:13,200 --> 00:25:16,039 have seen his boat out there, the chance of his 463 00:25:16,119 --> 00:25:18,839 boat going close enough to ours much less on the 464 00:25:18,880 --> 00:25:21,119 direct trajector where we had to move our boat out 465 00:25:21,119 --> 00:25:24,359 of the way. It's like point zero zeros like nine 466 00:25:24,440 --> 00:25:27,720 or ten zeros like one percent. So it's just like 467 00:25:28,440 --> 00:25:30,799 completely unbelievable that that would have happened. 468 00:25:31,720 --> 00:25:34,640 Speaker 1: Sasha agrees that this is the only way his boat 469 00:25:34,640 --> 00:25:36,039 could have turned the way it did. 470 00:25:37,640 --> 00:25:40,680 Speaker 7: So the interesting part is, about three quarters of a 471 00:25:40,720 --> 00:25:42,839 mile or so after I fell out of the boat, 472 00:25:43,400 --> 00:25:46,720 my boat started turning to the left, and then all 473 00:25:46,720 --> 00:25:49,680 of a sudden it may in ninety degree turn. The 474 00:25:49,759 --> 00:25:53,160 interesting part about that is is that I was missing 475 00:25:53,200 --> 00:25:55,640 a fishing rod, one of the ones I was using 476 00:25:55,680 --> 00:25:58,680 control with, and it happened to be on the same 477 00:25:58,799 --> 00:26:02,200 side that that boat turned to on the left side. Yeah, 478 00:26:02,440 --> 00:26:04,279 it's not like a river or lake, and there's not 479 00:26:04,519 --> 00:26:06,519 a whole lot of debris out there, and a little 480 00:26:06,519 --> 00:26:08,160 bit of sea weed's not gonna be able to pull 481 00:26:08,200 --> 00:26:11,720 a boat. So the only real kind of explanation is 482 00:26:11,720 --> 00:26:16,839 that I actually call a fish and they started taking 483 00:26:16,920 --> 00:26:19,640 line out and drag, causing it to drift to the left, 484 00:26:20,480 --> 00:26:21,960 and then when it got to the end of the 485 00:26:21,960 --> 00:26:24,720 line where it's tied off on the reel, it was 486 00:26:24,839 --> 00:26:27,480 enough to pull the boat. That changed the direction of 487 00:26:27,559 --> 00:26:30,039 my boat to make it go towards Andrew and Jack, 488 00:26:30,279 --> 00:26:32,440 which is pretty pretty crazy. 489 00:26:33,720 --> 00:26:36,759 Speaker 1: Sasha didn't grow up a religious man. He feels more 490 00:26:36,799 --> 00:26:40,319 connected to nature than anything, and attributes his survival to 491 00:26:40,359 --> 00:26:43,599 both nature and the courageous men who saved his life. 492 00:26:44,440 --> 00:26:46,680 Andrew and Jack see things a little differently. 493 00:26:48,400 --> 00:26:50,119 Speaker 3: It's like, there's no way that would have happened without 494 00:26:50,519 --> 00:26:53,839 America or divine intervention. That's like it just wouldn't have happened, 495 00:26:53,880 --> 00:26:56,640 you know, no way would have happened. It's like, why 496 00:26:56,680 --> 00:27:00,279 do some miracles happened while like other super tragedy horrible 497 00:27:00,319 --> 00:27:03,119 things happen. I think you get to press like that 498 00:27:03,240 --> 00:27:06,640 I believe, but have like blind say, and just know 499 00:27:06,720 --> 00:27:09,359 there's a higher power and a higher plan that you 500 00:27:09,359 --> 00:27:13,640 don't fully understand. You may maybe using a higher power 501 00:27:13,640 --> 00:27:15,480 and higher plan, like we're used and put in the 502 00:27:15,559 --> 00:27:18,240 right place at the right time. I don't think any 503 00:27:18,279 --> 00:27:21,359 like moral mind comprehend why miracle happens. 504 00:27:23,079 --> 00:27:26,799 Speaker 1: Andrew, Jack, and Sasha have all shared this experience with 505 00:27:26,880 --> 00:27:30,640 the media and in various settings. Sasha has gone on 506 00:27:30,720 --> 00:27:34,160 to emphasize how important safety gear is. He knows that 507 00:27:34,200 --> 00:27:37,920 even the most experienced sports enthusiast can get into trouble 508 00:27:38,119 --> 00:27:41,559 if they let their guard down. When it comes to safety. 509 00:27:41,640 --> 00:27:44,799 His hope is that this experience may very well save 510 00:27:44,880 --> 00:27:49,640 others' lives. Both Andrew and Jack received commendation medals from 511 00:27:49,640 --> 00:27:53,920 the Coastguard, but these two heroic men are also incredibly humble. 512 00:27:54,599 --> 00:27:58,359 Both men said, far more than any medals, they're grateful 513 00:27:58,480 --> 00:28:01,319 for how this experience has changed the course of history 514 00:28:01,400 --> 00:28:03,960 for not only Sasha, but Sasha's family. 515 00:28:05,039 --> 00:28:08,119 Speaker 3: I will tell you the most profound thing that came 516 00:28:08,160 --> 00:28:11,720 out of this entire thing for me was it was 517 00:28:11,759 --> 00:28:14,680 about a week later that we had Sasha and his 518 00:28:14,799 --> 00:28:18,880 family and his parents to our house. And they came 519 00:28:19,160 --> 00:28:21,799 and it was really funny. Sasha brought some gifts with him, 520 00:28:21,839 --> 00:28:26,000 one of which was the castaway volleball, so that sits 521 00:28:26,000 --> 00:28:31,359 in my health now. But his wife, during that visit said, 522 00:28:32,000 --> 00:28:37,759 and I can never get through this easily. She said, 523 00:28:37,799 --> 00:28:43,079 you know that day, you didn't just save Sasha, you 524 00:28:43,200 --> 00:28:47,480 saved our family. I'm just thankful that we were put 525 00:28:47,480 --> 00:28:49,000 in the right place at the right time. You know, 526 00:28:49,119 --> 00:28:50,720 I've had the right skill set that we were able 527 00:28:50,759 --> 00:28:51,279 to do something. 528 00:28:55,920 --> 00:28:59,079 Speaker 1: Oh man, can you imagine being out in the ocean 529 00:28:59,279 --> 00:29:02,119 without a life, and you know, when you're almost forty 530 00:29:02,160 --> 00:29:05,440 miles away from shore and no one in sight. 531 00:29:06,079 --> 00:29:09,920 Speaker 2: Oh my gosh, I would be so scared, terrifying. I 532 00:29:10,039 --> 00:29:13,599 get scared in a lake thinking the fish is gonna 533 00:29:13,640 --> 00:29:18,799 bite my toes me too, seriously, Like Jaws messed me up. 534 00:29:18,880 --> 00:29:21,200 I still am traumatized. 535 00:29:20,440 --> 00:29:21,079 Speaker 3: By that movie. 536 00:29:21,160 --> 00:29:22,960 Speaker 1: And when you're in a lake there's no shark, thinking 537 00:29:23,000 --> 00:29:25,240 about in the ocean, You're like, what is beneath me? 538 00:29:26,200 --> 00:29:27,319 Speaker 2: It would be so scary. 539 00:29:28,039 --> 00:29:32,640 Speaker 1: Yeah, at that point you are completely helpless. 540 00:29:32,440 --> 00:29:36,599 Speaker 2: Right, And he was in really good physical health, but still, 541 00:29:37,000 --> 00:29:39,720 I mean, you can't just swim forty miles into. 542 00:29:39,480 --> 00:29:42,599 Speaker 1: Shore against the current. Yeah, And in those two hours 543 00:29:42,640 --> 00:29:45,279 he only had gone a mile and if he would 544 00:29:45,279 --> 00:29:47,599 have kept swimming, everyone would have been gone for the day. 545 00:29:47,640 --> 00:29:48,599 There was no hope. 546 00:29:48,799 --> 00:29:51,680 Speaker 2: Really yeah, he knew that too. He knew that the 547 00:29:51,680 --> 00:29:53,880 boats were probably all going to be heading in soon 548 00:29:54,000 --> 00:29:56,279 and that the chances of getting to them before they 549 00:29:56,359 --> 00:29:58,039 left were pretty slim. 550 00:29:58,200 --> 00:30:00,920 Speaker 1: And if they had left, I mean, yeah, he. 551 00:30:01,039 --> 00:30:03,480 Speaker 2: Was really smart. I do have to say, like when 552 00:30:03,480 --> 00:30:06,039 he was talking about getting those seaweeds that he could 553 00:30:06,119 --> 00:30:08,319 use to kind of help him feel like you had 554 00:30:08,359 --> 00:30:10,599 something to hold on too, I thought, what a smart 555 00:30:10,599 --> 00:30:12,440 thing to do. I don't know that my brain would 556 00:30:12,440 --> 00:30:13,240 have ever gone there. 557 00:30:13,400 --> 00:30:13,599 Speaker 3: Yeah. 558 00:30:13,799 --> 00:30:15,920 Speaker 1: Kind of reminded me of that show Alone. If you've 559 00:30:15,960 --> 00:30:19,279 seen Alone, and it's the survival show, how creative people 560 00:30:19,279 --> 00:30:22,279 get when they're in a survival situation. Yeah, I thought 561 00:30:22,640 --> 00:30:24,559 I would never have thought of that, but who knows 562 00:30:24,559 --> 00:30:26,559 what you would think of when you're actually put out there. 563 00:30:26,720 --> 00:30:30,799 Speaker 2: True. One thing that was really important to him was 564 00:30:30,880 --> 00:30:34,920 to give a message about safety and to make sure 565 00:30:34,960 --> 00:30:36,200 you use your safety equipment. 566 00:30:36,559 --> 00:30:38,480 Speaker 1: Yeah, and we have a SoundBite that we want to 567 00:30:38,519 --> 00:30:41,440 play to honor his wishes of the message he wanted 568 00:30:41,440 --> 00:30:42,319 to get across. 569 00:30:43,079 --> 00:30:43,279 Speaker 6: Yeah. 570 00:30:43,319 --> 00:30:45,279 Speaker 7: The reason why I like to talk about it is 571 00:30:45,359 --> 00:30:49,240 to make people aware. I've got every creditation behind me. 572 00:30:49,599 --> 00:30:52,240 I was a surfer of a lifeguard and went coast guard. 573 00:30:53,079 --> 00:30:56,640 You know, I knew all the safety protocols and had 574 00:30:56,799 --> 00:30:58,799 every kind of safety equipment you can imagine. 575 00:30:58,920 --> 00:31:01,559 Speaker 6: It was just one really stupid decision. 576 00:31:02,119 --> 00:31:03,599 Speaker 7: If I would have had that life jacket on that 577 00:31:03,680 --> 00:31:05,200 I took off, there's a whistle. 578 00:31:05,440 --> 00:31:07,559 Speaker 6: That boat would have heard me. With a whistle. I 579 00:31:07,599 --> 00:31:08,799 had a VHF radio. 580 00:31:09,200 --> 00:31:12,160 Speaker 7: All the boats within five miles would have heard me 581 00:31:12,200 --> 00:31:14,440 on the VHF radio. Yeah, I mean, it would have 582 00:31:14,480 --> 00:31:18,119 been a fifteen minute ordeal. So it's the big thing 583 00:31:18,160 --> 00:31:20,480 I really want people to understand when I shared it 584 00:31:20,519 --> 00:31:22,880 is regardless of what you're doing, if. 585 00:31:22,799 --> 00:31:26,519 Speaker 6: It's snowboarding, if it's fishing in the ocean. 586 00:31:26,200 --> 00:31:30,640 Speaker 7: If it's hiking in the mountains, safety equipment is relatively 587 00:31:30,720 --> 00:31:33,599 expensive to the actual toys that you're using out there. 588 00:31:34,440 --> 00:31:36,759 So get it and use it. Don't just have this 589 00:31:36,880 --> 00:31:38,799 so you can say you have it, but actually use it. 590 00:31:40,079 --> 00:31:43,319 Speaker 1: I know he's gone around to several trainings and meetings 591 00:31:43,359 --> 00:31:46,319 and has presented about his experience. 592 00:31:45,799 --> 00:31:48,319 Speaker 2: Well, and he very well could be saving lives by 593 00:31:48,359 --> 00:31:51,279 sharing that message, So we definitely want to help him 594 00:31:51,319 --> 00:31:52,440 spread that message. 595 00:31:52,920 --> 00:31:55,480 Speaker 1: Yeah. You know, without that life jacket, the only way 596 00:31:55,519 --> 00:31:59,400 he could have survived in the vast ocean is through 597 00:31:59,400 --> 00:31:59,960 a miracle. 598 00:32:00,640 --> 00:32:04,759 Speaker 2: Yeah, I agree, And I just want to say, don't 599 00:32:04,799 --> 00:32:08,119 you think it's incredible how this father and son went 600 00:32:08,279 --> 00:32:09,519 so above and beyond? 601 00:32:09,720 --> 00:32:09,880 Speaker 3: Oh? 602 00:32:09,960 --> 00:32:11,880 Speaker 1: Yeah, I think that there are lots of people who 603 00:32:11,880 --> 00:32:15,279 would just call in the coastguard report it and feel like, Okay, 604 00:32:15,279 --> 00:32:16,480 I've done my duty. 605 00:32:16,880 --> 00:32:19,079 Speaker 2: Well, and who knows that the coastguard would have found him. 606 00:32:19,519 --> 00:32:23,359 Speaker 1: Yeah, in that instance, minutes were so crucial. 607 00:32:23,519 --> 00:32:25,279 Speaker 2: And I thought it was so cool that when the 608 00:32:25,319 --> 00:32:28,880 coastguard said Roger that thank you and just hung up, 609 00:32:29,160 --> 00:32:31,200 that they were like, we're gonna go out and find 610 00:32:31,240 --> 00:32:31,680 this guy. 611 00:32:32,079 --> 00:32:34,920 Speaker 1: Yeah, I wasn't so cool to have the coastguard call. 612 00:32:35,440 --> 00:32:37,920 Speaker 2: Yeah, I feel like I'm eavesdropping listening. 613 00:32:37,720 --> 00:32:40,680 Speaker 1: To this call. You can hear the elation in Andrew's voice. 614 00:32:41,920 --> 00:32:44,960 Speaker 2: They were really smart too, the way they went about things. 615 00:32:45,279 --> 00:32:48,160 But I'm also sure that they were given divine guidance 616 00:32:48,279 --> 00:32:51,400 to find Sasha as well well. 617 00:32:51,519 --> 00:32:53,839 Speaker 1: Whether you attribute it to luck or you attribute it 618 00:32:53,880 --> 00:32:56,880 to divine intervention. I'm grateful Sasha is alive. 619 00:32:57,640 --> 00:33:01,480 Speaker 2: I am too, and I'm sure his family is so grateful. 620 00:33:01,640 --> 00:33:05,599 I'm sure Andrew and Jack, Yeah, they're heroes, they really are. 621 00:33:08,640 --> 00:33:11,039 Thank you for joining us. If you have a miracle 622 00:33:11,079 --> 00:33:14,480 to share, contact us at the miraclefiles dot com or 623 00:33:14,519 --> 00:33:15,720 find us on Facebook. 624 00:33:16,039 --> 00:33:19,279 Speaker 1: We'll post new episodes on the first day of each month, 625 00:33:19,680 --> 00:33:22,319 and if you enjoyed this podcast, please share it and 626 00:33:22,400 --> 00:33:23,200 leave us a review. 627 00:33:23,720 --> 00:33:27,480 Speaker 2: Join us next time as we discover more of God's miracles, 628 00:33:28,119 --> 00:33:30,640 and don't forget to look for his light in your 629 00:33:30,680 --> 00:33:31,960 own lives. 630 00:33:35,799 --> 00:33:38,359 Speaker 1: If you'd like to support us on Patreon so we 631 00:33:38,400 --> 00:33:41,839 can produce more episodes like this, go to patreon dot 632 00:33:41,880 --> 00:33:46,119 com forward slash the Miracle Files. 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