Four best buds were out for a crazy sailing adventure to Polynesia, hoping to find themselves, and maybe some treasure. But who would’ve thought that their trip would turn into a whale of a tale?
Literally!
Yes, folks, a whale decided to give their boat a love tap, turning their journey into a full-on rescue mission. According to the ship’s owner, Rick Rodriguez, his first reaction was like, “Holy mackerel, what the f— was that?”
Rodriguez and his three friends were living their best life on his sailboat, munching on some savory pizza pies. Suddenly, out of nowhere, BAM! Something hit their vessel so hard that it made their propeller go kaput, and turned the boat into a Titanic remake.
The fiberglass shattered and before they knew it, they were sinking into the ocean.
“The boat began shaking,” Rodriguez recalled. “A loud noise shook the boat, and we quickly turned to see what was going on. To our surprise, a massive whale was floating next to us, with blood gushing out of its body..”
At that moment, the crew shifted into survival mode, and Rodriguez sent the authorities a distress call. At that point, they all climbed aboard an inflatable life raft.
“It was surreal,” said Alana Litz, still in disbelief. “As our boat began to sink, I couldn’t help but feel like I was in the middle of a Hollywood blockbuster. The whole experience was surreal and felt like it was straight out of a movie.” These guys are true sailors, ready for anything that comes their way.
After jumping ship onto their trusty life raft, Rodriguez shot some SOS texts to his buddies in the area. One of them, Tommy Joyce, was sailing nearby and got what he said was the craziest text message of his life.
In a state of panic, Rodriguez fired off a text to his friend Tommy, frantically explaining the dire situation: “Dude, we just collided with a freaking whale, and the boat is sinking. We’re stuck in a life raft and we need your help, like right now!”
Tommy couldn’t believe his eyes, and he was pretty sure Rodriguez was pulling his leg. But nope, turns out it was real!
These guys were stranded in the middle of the ocean, with only a flimsy life raft to keep them afloat. Luckily, they had cell service.
Meanwhile, Tommy Joyce sprang into action and began posting in all the boat watch Facebook groups he could find. Lo and behold, a guardian angel named Geoff Stone, captain of the Rolling Stones, was in the area and received the call to save the day.
With the heart of a true sailor, Stone plotted their coordinates and began making a beeline toward the stranded crew.
After a grueling nine-hour ordeal, the Rolling Stones finally rolled up to the rescue. The four friends were over the moon to be alive and safe, but they were a little bummed to be sans clothes and passports. At least they had their lives, right?
Rick Rodriguez was sentimental about the loss of his ship, the Raindancer. In an Instagram post, he waxed poetic about his lost vessel and all the memories they shared.
