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Two Teens Lost at Sea for 7 Days Were ‘So Hungry’ They Ate 100 Jellyfish, Were ‘Clinging to Each Other’ for Warmth
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In 2005, two high school teenagers set out for a day of fishing — and got lost at sea
Troy Driscoll, then 15 years old, and his 17-year-old best friend, Josh Long, were lost for seven days, surviving on jellyfish and rainwater before being rescued
PEOPLE spoke to the boys that same year, when they broke down the harrowing experience
It was a fairly typical Sunday morning for 15-year-old Troy Driscoll and his 17-year-old best friend, Josh Long, when the two high school students from North Charleston, S.C., took a 15-foot boat out on the ocean for a day of fishing.
But the weather on April 24, 2005, was anything but typical, and within minutes, the two had been pulled so far by a riptide that it would be days before anyone heard from them.
Speaking to PEOPLE in May 2005, Josh recalled, “We wanted to put the boat between the beach and a sand bar, but we weren’t out 20 minutes when the riptide pulled us out.”
“We tried to put the anchor down, but it wouldn’t catch. We just drifted farther and farther away,” he said. “Hours went by. We tried to wave people down, but nobody saw us. The last thing I saw was the towers on shore that lead cargo ships in. By dark we couldn’t see a thing. The next morning, there was no land in sight. All we could do was pray.”
Josh had left his cell phone in his truck, which was parked at the dock, and they had no radio or emergency equipment. With no way to call home or for help, by 10 p.m., their worried parents called the Coast Guard.
The Coast Guard launched an ocean search using boats, helicopters, airplanes and assistance from recreational boaters.
Less than three days after the boys had set out, there was still no sign of them, and the rescue mission became a recovery operation, with their parents expecting the worst.
Meanwhile, on the boat, the boys were still very much alive — but in dire need of food, water and emergency attention.
Josh said that they “were soaking wet, clinging to each other, trying to keep warm,” which made it impossible to sleep.
Paul Drinkwater/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty
Teens lost at sea Troy Driscoll (left) and Josh Long (right) during an interview with Jay Leno on May 17, 2005.
“During the day, it got so hot, we took a couple of dips to cool off. But then the sharks came around, and we didn’t go in the water anymore,” Troy told PEOPLE.
Josh said that the two got so far from shore that the water became crystal clear, looking like thirst-quenching “blue Gatorade.”
“Troy begged me, ‘Please, let me drink just a little.’ I said, ‘If you drink it, you’ll die,'” he recalled.
“Then one day it began to drizzle. I had my mouth wide open to catch drops, but it didn’t rain hard enough. I started licking the water from the deck,” Josh added.
At one point, the two began suffering delirium, with Troy explaining that Josh “woke up screaming that we were at the store and had to buy some Mountain Dew. I was like, ‘Bro, we’re out in the middle of the water, and there’s no Mountain Dew.’ “
“I was so hungry I ate a jellyfish and waited overnight to see if it would kill me. It didn’t,” Troy added. “They’re slimy, gushy things, but I ate about 100 of them.”
“Troy was so hungry he wanted to cut off a finger and eat it,” Josh recalled. “At one point, he said, ‘Please, help me get out of here or kill me.’ I said, ‘I can’t do that.’ “
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Their nightmare would end seven days after they set out when — on Saturday, April 30, 2005 — two fishermen spotted the boys drifting 111 miles from where they had launched, seven miles off Cape Fear.
Seventy-year-old fisherman Ben Degutis told PEOPLE at the time: “At first, I didn’t know what it was. As we got closer, I could see people waving, and holy mackerel, it was two young guys in this tiny boat. One was yelling, ‘Thank God!’ “
After being rescued, the teens were taken to the hospital, where it was determined that Josh had lost 30 pounds. Troy, meanwhile, would be hospitalized for three days for second-degree burns on his face and feet.
Troy’s father told PEOPLE that being reunited with his son “was like him being born all over again.”
“The joy in my heart was that huge,” he said.
While the two were stranded at sea, Josh said they made plans to meet for a celebratory ice cream once their recovery was complete.
“While we were out there, we dreamed about the biggest sundae you could imagine — the ultimate sundae. Troy and I are going to meet at an ice cream place and have that sundae.”
Read the original article on People