According to Yahoo.news.com, the crew of the 75-foot Affordable Fantasy are heroes. In the evening of Saturday, August 29, while out with the owner fishing for blue marlin in the Gulf of Mexico, they spotted three boaters sitting atop their capsized catamaran more than 180 miles from land.
The three men from Texas had been at sea for eight days after a fishing trip went awry. According to reports, the men went to sleep on Friday, August 21 and woke to water filling the vessel. The boat capsized. Coast Guard officials maintain that the men survived because they stayed with their boat. Reports say the men survived on crackers, chips, bubble gum, warm beer and by siphoning water from the wash-down tank.
The Coast Guard had halted their search for the men on Friday, August 28, only a week after their disappearance. The yacht crew came across the capsized vessel after spotting the stranded men’s signal flag made of strung-together t-shirts. They quickly scooped up the three men and treated them to a steak meal while the Coast Guard was notified. Kudos to the crew of Affordable Fantasy.