Missing sailors found- 'We didn't know what we were getting into..'

by Amber Lee, KSBY/Sail-World Cruising on 10 Jun 2009 Two novice Californian sailors who set off from Avalon Beach in a 27ft Coronado sailing boat on Thursday 4th June and triggered a search at sea covering over 22,000 miles and involving one aeroplane and two helicopters say they don't plan to stop sailing.

They will set off again as soon as the citations against them by coast guard are satisfied.

The two, who had no sailing experience and carried no life jackets, flares or communications equipment and no way of recharging their mobile phones, soon lost contact.

On Sunday, when the worried parents had not heard from them since Friday, they called out the Coast Guard to search for them. They told the coastguard they were somewhere 'between Santa Catalina Island and the Monterey Bay'.

For about a year, 22-year-old Zebulon 'Zeb' Tryon and his friend 18-year-old Chris Reuter had been talking and dreaming about sailing. So after a little bit of research the men saved $2,000 and bought a boat in Southern California.

'We just went and hopped on a train. We didn't really know what we were getting ourselves into,' said Tryon.

With just the shirts on their back and a few belongings, the two started their journey.

Since Thursday, the men said they had been eating, sleeping and drinking on their 27-foot boat, while the coastguard searched for them.

The Coast Guard says after they sighted them off Pismo Beach, they terminated their voyage, escorted them into Port San Luis and gave them three citations. The two will be staying in Port San Luis until they get those citations corrected.

'They just didn't have the right radios or equipment on board. Their cell phones had died and couldn't be charged so they they just didn't have contact with anyone. But as far as we know, they didn't run into any problems. There is nothing wrong with the boat or anything along those lines,' said Petty Officer Cory Mendall of the Coast Guard.

The two sailors were cited for not having a personal flotation device, not having a sound producing device, and not having a visual distress signal.

'We had dolphins coming up to our boat and jumping out in front of the bow,' said Tryon.

'We were really surprised. We didn't know what was going on,' said Tryon about the coastguard search, 'When we came around the point we just headed in this direction and then that's when the C130 came flying over our heads.'

A spokesperson for the Coast Guard said search and rescue missions are a top priority. The sailors will not be required to pay for the search and rescue.

In a statement released to Action News, the Coast Guard said: 'This is not only a free service provided to those in distress, but considered an honor and duty for the men and women of the Coast Guard.'

'The fact that everyone is telling us that we can't do it makes us want to do it even more,' said Tryon.

The two intend to set sail for Santa Cruz on Wednesday.

The Coast Guard wants to remind folks to have proper safety equipment on board before embarking on any sailing trip.

In spite of the whole-heartedly generous attitude of the coastguard, Sail-World Cruising suggests that it may also be a good idea for the pair to take some sailing lessons, navigation instruction, weather seminars and safety courses before setting sail again and putting others lives in jeopardy trying to save them when the weather turns foul.