WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.280 --> 00:00:04.480 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 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 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 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 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 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 We won't give away any more details. 21 00:01:09.359 --> 00:01:13.079 Right So here it is the Mystery Boat. 22 00:01:15.840 --> 00:01:18.319 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 Andrew turned the ignition to his relief, the engine fired up. 66 00:03:38.319 --> 00:03:41.639 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 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 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 And we're like, what the heck? 81 00:04:26.240 --> 00:04:27.839 And I just like super bizarre. 82 00:04:28.480 --> 00:04:30.680 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 Coastguard station, will right still beach. Coastguard station, right still beach. 148 00:07:51.040 --> 00:07:54.360 Come in. That's hailing this coast guard. 149 00:07:54.399 --> 00:07:58.560 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 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 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 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 Roger Cabam. We copied seller is the last name? 159 00:08:36.960 --> 00:08:37.519 Can you say again? 160 00:08:37.559 --> 00:08:38.000 First name? 161 00:08:39.679 --> 00:08:47.919 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 Was a boat moving when you came upon it? 164 00:08:53.399 --> 00:08:58.480 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 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 Roger that gab Other than the idea on board? 172 00:09:22.320 --> 00:09:23.919 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 We went over the entire boat. 175 00:09:27.799 --> 00:09:31.480 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 Rod. That gab. 179 00:09:41.440 --> 00:09:44.480 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 I was out fishing and I set up on my rigs. 307 00:16:37.679 --> 00:16:40.320 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 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 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 It's gone. 328 00:17:43.359 --> 00:17:46.880 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 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 Yeah. 343 00:18:53.519 --> 00:18:56.400 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 So that's why the anger was there. 349 00:19:12.720 --> 00:19:17.160 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 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 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 So I just kept swimming, and after about an hour. 365 00:20:09.359 --> 00:20:11.599 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 Agonizing hours pasted before he saw another boat. 373 00:20:33.200 --> 00:20:36.599 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 It was coming towards me. 378 00:20:47.319 --> 00:20:49.759 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 This is the point where Andrew called into the coastguard. 386 00:21:09.319 --> 00:21:12.279 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 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