The two women, sporting USS Ashland knit shirts, were standing with the commanding officer and others high on the bridgeway as the ship docked. They had left Honolulu on May 3 aboard Appel's 15-meter (50-foot) vessel, the Sea Nymph, for what was supposed to be an 18-day trip to Tahiti. On Wednesday, the USS Ashland picked up the women and the dogs, Zeus and Valentine, all four looking remarkably fit for having been lost at sea for nearly six months. Appel told reporters on Friday that they were beginning to believe they were completely out of luck when they saw the U.S. Navy ship chugging toward them. His ship, which transports and deploys amphibious landing craft, wasn't equipped to bring the sailboat back, so it was abandoned at sea.

Source: ABC News October 29, 2017 23:34 UTC