Captain Chris Carney considers himself one with the sea. He and two other men began their journey in November and their mission was to deliver a boat from Japan to Hawaii.
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Suddenly, three weeks into their voyage, things took a twisted turn. ABC13 spoke with Carney via Facetime about the accident.
"We were trying to keep our spirits up, but it was hard," said Carney. "[It was] literally a sinking feeling. We are not exactly sure, but we think due to metal fatigue, we lost a mast and we had to cut it free."
Then, about 8 hours after, Carney and his crew hit rough waters. A rogue wave flipped their boat over and another wave flipped it again. It began taking in water in the middle of the night.
"The flipping-back-over-to-the-side was just as violent as the original flip, which was pretty bad," recalled Carney. "Two guys had concussions. We had bumps and bruises. The boat was a wreck. All our equipment was flooded with water or smashed from the crash."
The men had no means of communication and began rationing for food and supplies. After more than a week adrift in the ocean, the crew finally saw a ship in the horizon on a bright sunny day.
They used the reflection of the sun on broken mirrors to flash a signal and catch their attention.
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"We were shining, [just] flashing and flashing and they saw," he said.
The men were rescued just in time by Good Samaritans and the U.S. Coast Guard. It was a frightening ordeal, but Carney says it won't keep him from doing what he loves.
"I don't intend to stop sailing," he said.
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