‘The Lord Was Looking After’ Teens Rescued After Week at Sea
Published: May 5, 2005
Two teenagers recently lost at sea for six days without food or fresh water credited God for saving them as they were spotted by fishermen clinging to their small sailboat more than 100 miles from where they started. Against all odds, Josh Long, 17, and Troy Driscoll, 15, were rescued last Saturday, outlasting many of their searchers, inspiring prayers and surviving an ordeal that’s being hailed as nothing short of a miracle, “The Charleston (S.C.) Post and Courier” reported.
“I can honestly say I never gave up hope. God had us in His hands the whole time,” Josh said from his Charleston hospital bed Monday. The best friends, both from North Charleston, were sunburned, dehydrated and exhausted but otherwise in pretty good shape. Josh has been released from the hospital, but Troy, who suffered second-degree burns on his face and feet, was expected to remain hospitalized until later this week, the Associated Press (AP) reported.
The boys had set out to fish for shark near a sandbar in their small sailboat April 24. The boat didn’t have a sail or mast; the friends simply paddled around in the hull to fish. Forecasters that day had warned boaters about rough conditions. After being caught in a rip tide, the teens later lost their bait and then threw their fishing rods overboard, feeling there was no use for them.
The boys huddled together at night and spent their days searching the horizon for help, praying and singing hymns. There was a wet suit in the boat and one wore the top while the other wore the bottom to try to keep warm.
Besides hanging onto their faith, they ate raw jellyfish and drank seawater. After fleeing sharks, nearly being hit by containerships and struggling to keep their boat upright, they were rescued off the North Carolina coast, 111 miles away from where they launched.
“It’s a miracle,” said Mike Willis, a spokesman with the Department of Natural Resources, the AP reported. ” … The Lord was looking after those boys.”
The pair’s families attributed their rescue to the power of prayer, the “Post and Courier” reported. “I was in the Navy for four years, I was out there and I couldn’t see them surviving,” said Troy’s father, Tony Driscoll. “This was definitely God doing His work.”
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