Rotten Mango - #90: Trapped For 70 Days (Case of the Tininenkos & James Fisher)

Episode Date: August 22, 2021

3 people stranded on a boat in the middle of the ocean.  1 of them has lied to the others. The truth will have deadly consequences.  1 of them is hiding a big secret from the others. A secret she doesn’t want to get out.  And only 1 will survive the 70 day ordeal.  Book Rec: “Lost” - by Thomas Thompson (one of my fave authors) it’s so good you’ll read it all in one sitting especially if it’s a rainy day. Source Notes: rottenmangopodcast.com To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Rambles. Whether you're doing a dance to your favorite artist in the office parking lot, or being guided into Warrior I in the break room before your shift, whether you're running on your Peloton tread at your mom's house while she watches the baby, or counting your breaths on the subway. Peloton is for all of us, wherever we are, whenever we need it. Download the free Peloton is for all of us. Wherever we are, whenever we need it. Download the free Peloton app today. Peloton app available through free tier or pay to description starting at 12.99 per month. Welcome to this week's mini-sode. The waves were crashing down on the ship. Some of the swells were as tall as seven story buildings.

Do you know how tall that is? That's freaking massive. The wind is going at 40 miles an hour. The three of them, they're trapped. They were on a trip from Washington State to Costa Rica when their ship flipped upside down left them completely stranded in the middle of the ocean. And that's when it started. Linda starts screaming. You're trying to murder me. Get away from me. You're a murderer. Stop it. You're trying to kill me I know you are and she's screaming at her husband and her husband's brother-in-law They were standing on top of their overturned boat in the middle of the ocean and Linda is terrified for her life She feels like they're gonna kill her and just as soon as she starts screaming her eyes roll over and she passes out For over 70 days they would be stranded in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.

They were hiding their secrets from each other. It sounds like a movie. This is real. They're hiding their secrets from each other. Some of them have their own agendas between the three of them and only one person is going to make it out of life. We only have one survivor. Then the story is absolutely not accurate.

Exactly. Full source notes are available at rottenmangopodcast.com. Then the story is absolutely not accurate exactly Full source notes are available at rotten mango podcast dot com But there is such a good book on this case a true deep dive. It's called lost Like this show But not intended okay written by one of my favorite authors of all time Thomas Thompson May he rest in peace he interviewed the the lone survivor, did extensive research, and just the whole thing reads like a movie. I read it all in one sitting, I couldn't put it down, and it actually started raining while it was reading it. It was like this is, this is weird, there's too much water, there's too much liquid everywhere. I still keep thinking about this case,

I just can't get it out of my mind. If you're feeling some good summer reading, his other really good book that I've been obsessed with is called Serpentine about the International Zero Killer, they made a Netflix series on him recently. Oh yeah, if you guys want me to cover it, let me know. Now like you mentioned, I do have to put a little disclaimer, okay, because there's only one person involved. We only have this one person's account of things, but nothing disproves their story. It's just an insane story. So it's crazy. We're gonna get into it. And then second disclaimer, yes, there are talks about religion. There's a lot of, there's a lot going on in this one.

Listen, this is not a representation of that particular religion in general. Or any religion. I feel like honestly, religious people are gonna listen to this and they themselves are gonna get frustrated. Like, what is happening? So who are the three people on the boat? Let's start with Jim Fisher. Now, he was born James Fisher,

but everyone calls him Jim, and he is not an ordinary religious man. I mean, he's super, duper crazy religious. He was so strict with his faith that he refused to watch movies, read fiction novels, watch TV, drink coffee, drink tea, he didn't even eat candy! I don't know, I feel like maybe that's like Satan loves sugar, I don't know what the deal is, but he just didn't eat candy.

It wasn't his thing, and honestly I can kind of respect it. So you're thinking, well what does Jim do for fun? He would go to the Salish Sea, which is where the feet kept showing up. Remember I talked about that briefly? There was a... Yeah, I, I, I, I dismembered. Like, I guess you can't call it dismembered, but like severed feet that would wash ashore There's a long theory to it, right? And he would go and he would collect these seashells That's what he did for fun. He had one hobby only that was building boats. Yeah kind of like Noah and his arc like me No, no, you build cardboard boats for your backyard pool. You weirdo, okay? He was building full on boats. He saved up all of his money and he spent about 30,000 dollars to build a 31-foot trimmeran. I think that I'm saying that right. So the bookstates that a

trimmeran originates from Polynesia and it's very popular amongst the, you know, Philippines and Indonesia. But a lot of the times modern trimmers are usually used for sailing yachts. Back then, that's not what they were used for mainly for like fishing and warships, right? But they can be used for racing, for fun, for fishing. You see this type of design on high-speed ferries. The USS Independence is a trimmeran warship. Can I see a picture? Yeah, I know exactly what you're gonna say.

So for the audio listeners, well, there's only audio. Let me just try to describe it with my words, okay? So you have the main boat, and then you have two legs on the side. So it almost looks like, you know, like a, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, that's pretty much a trimmeran. So any stuff. Let's go see a picture.

Okay, you think you can describe it better or something? Do you wanna? So this is what he was building. The design structure makes it easy to control. Very quick, more living space. So he's like, OK, this is nice. It's like having training wheels on a bike. You've got three points touch in the water, really stable.

This is important. So he spends two years building this boat, spending $30,000 in materials. They weren't making a lot of money. So Jim Fisher has his wife, Wilma, and their two kids, they're not making a lot of money. They're incredibly frugal. So not including labor costs.

I mean, this is really all that Jim had, materially speaking, right? And he named it Triton. Wow. Okay, so this is where it gets crazy. Jim had no idea that the son of Poseidon, the God of the Sea, had a son named Triton. He had no idea. Oh, he didn't name it after.

No, because he doesn't read non-religious text or watch TV. So he just randomly came up with the name? He named it that because there's a seashell, a colorful seashell that he likes to collect on the coast of Washington called the Triton. And he was like, oh yeah, frickin seas yeah, I'm gonna name you Triton. I'm gonna name you after the C-shell. Yeah, not the God. He had no idea. It just went right over his head, okay?

So that was his really only non-religious pleasure. I mean, it got so bad that he would actually pray to God and tell him, listen, I promise, if the pleasure of me building and owning this boat ever interferes with my love for you, with my service for you, I will get rid of it. Immediately, no questions asked God. You just let me know. You just bring me up and tell me, okay? I got it.

So he just lived like this, right? Now, his main mission in life was to make sure everybody else around him lived like this so that they could all rejoice in heaven together. He felt like it was his moral obligation, his absolute duty in life to make sure that everyone thinks just like him so that they don't rot in hell for the rest of forever right. This is gonna trigger a ton of people with religious trauma myself included. Side note, I think religion is beautiful, it's people that make it dirty. And so Jim, yeah, he's an interesting person.

He hates small talk. He hates normal conversation. He didn't really like to converse with you. He's got this small quiet voice, very monotone, barely interested in anything you have to say, but when he starts praying out loud, when he starts talking to God He's got the voice of a professional motivational speaker just booming with confidence pay me to tell you how to make money While I make money off telling you pay me to tell you how to not go to hell You know like that's the type of vibe he had when he was praying Just like this confidence just booming

confidence just booming at going off the walls of the church. So everything about him is religion, his job. He taught at the Adventist high school in Washington, which is a religious school, right? He rented a house for his wife and his two sons for about $300 a month and he rented it from the church. The church school paid him about... When was this? In the 70s. The church school paid him about $2,500 a month You know 10% of which literally directly went back to the church and the family was super strict I mean they made their own clothes. They only shopped at Goodwill. They grew their own vegetables They never ate meat any furniture in the house the table the chair the bed Jim made it with his bare hands

Not even one piece of IKEA furniture up in their place. So he's very crafty. Yeah, and really environmentally friendly. Yeah, then one day, ding dong, they get a letter in the mail. So he's excited. What? Ding dong, you're like, what email?

No, in the mail. In the mail mail. Okay. The mail mail, pardon. The mail man say ding dong. No, it's a ding dong. So Jim and Wilma, they open it up together. Ta-da.

Or should I say, oh, what's up with the sound effects today? I'm sorry, I got a new podcast room in this house, so I'm like getting ready. I'm like too excited, okay? Their prayers have been answered. It went something like this. Dear Jim, I've opened up a bakery in Costa Rica. My plan is to employ all the underprivileged youth here,

pay them fair salaries, and convert them to our religion. If there are any profits made at the bakery, we're gonna open up more operations in Costa Rica. I would love your help handling the administration part of the bakery, and maybe, maybe you could launch the next operation. You're gonna have to live in Costa Rica for the next four years with your whole family. The pay is probably gonna be a lot less than what you make now. You're gonna be living a rough life, but Jim, you're gonna be a missionary and

they just start squealing with joy. This couple, they're like, oh my god, what do we do? What do we do? Right? So the wife is like, what do we do? Who wrote the mail? For someone from their church. Oh, yeah. Yeah. Like, what are the serial killers? Yeah. Someone from their church. So Wilma is like, what do we do, Jim? What do we do? He says, first, we have to pray and thank the Lord for answering our prayers. So they pray, thank them for the letter. and then afterwards he's like, what do you think, Wilma? Should we do it? Jim, you have to do what you believe as the Lord's will. You make the choice and I will always support you. And he's like, okay, well we gotta do God's calling. So where do we start? We have to sell everything. Oh my God! We can't take this to Costa Rica. We can't afford

movers. So they sell everything. They do a yard sale, all their furniture, their old car, everything. Wait, put what about your boat? So Jim immediately gets on his knees and he starts praying, God, should I sell the boat? Should I put the money that I make from the boat into just all the missionary stuff that I'll be doing in Costa Rica? Maybe I can help open up five more bakeries or or listen to me God, okay? Should I bring the boat with me to Costa Rica and take all these underprivileged children around to see the ocean that they probably would never have the chance to see Listen God if you can hear me. I'm listening send me a buyer for the boat as a sign that you want me to spend the money on Missionary work if there's no buyer in the next month, I will help the children see the world. Now, this is not a small purchase.

If sold, the boat can make around $200,000. Wow. So Jim puts the decision in God's hands, but it gets a little tricky. Because he didn't put it up for sale anywhere. Not in the local newspaper, not in the flyers, or on the dock where the Triton was docked. He didn't even tell any of his friends or his church members that he had thoughts of planning on selling

the vote. So after a month, nobody offered to buy the boat because they had no idea that it was up for sale. But he's like, you know what? I know it. God wanted me to take it to Costa Rica. I gotta take it with me. It's God's plan. But how? So Wilma's pregnant with their third kid. One of the sons was born premature so he's plan. But how? So Wilma's pregnant with their third kid. One of the sons was born premature, so he's incredibly weak, right? He has a lot of medical conditions. There was just a lot going on. He just, he can't imagine them being on the boat for like 50 days,

going from the coast of Washington, sailing all the way down the coast of the United States, past Mexico, to Costa Rica. I mean, this is gonna be at least two months, right? What do I do? What do I do? And Wilma says, wait, Jim! My brother! Asked my brother Bob! I mean, he's amazing at sailing.

That's where our family always talks about super skilled. He loves a good adventure. Always backpacking somewhere with his wife Linda, just skiing places. I mean, that guy is a beast. He's a beast in the wild. So let's talk about Bob. This would be Jim's brother-in-law, right? Wilma's brother.

Wilma and Bob, their parents are Russian. They immigrated to the United States, grew up on a super religious farm. Like from the get-go, they inherited religion. It wasn't something that they necessarily chose. It was just the only way of life. If you weren't working 12 hours a day on the farm, as a six-year-old, you'd better be on your knees praying to God. Okay, that was it. That was the only options that you get.

So Bob actually knew Jim from college too. But right after high school, Bob had kind of broken away from the church. Ever since he was young, he had this tendency to just like logical answers to things. So he would ask the church, how can a virgin give birth? You know, I grew up on a farm. I know how sex works. Like, we breed farm animals. Yeah, get it on my kid, but that doesn't make sense to me. Like, I get the, it's not, like, you can't just like throw this mythical thing at me. Like, you need to give me answers. I'm on a farm. How do you rise a man from the, wait, how did God or Jesus,

you know, turn water into wine? I need answers for this. And they just kept saying, don't ask me these questions. Just accept it. I think any good religious teacher or a religious leader would have given him much better answers, you know, which would have given him the opportunity to learn the answers. But they just said, just accept it. Do it as you're told. Why do you ask so many questions? What's wrong with you Bob? And it just got more and more frustrated. But he still kept up with it and he loved reading. He loved history. So he started reading the Bible just like as a study method. Then he started realizing that's a little confusing, okay?

Because he starts reading the different variations of the Bible, like the Greek texts, then the James King, I think I'm saying that wrong, okay, I grew up in a church. How do I not know this? But like, you know, all these different variations and there's just so many discrepancies between them which one is the right Bible and there's so many subsets of Christianity and people who study the Bible who's to say which person's right? Like, you just had all these questions and finally he told his parents. I don't think I can do it anymore and they just did not get it. So the whole family they stopped talking about for a while,

but anytime that they would try to reconnect, it's almost like they shamed him into believing again. It's almost like they pressured him. Like how dare you? What's going on? So they were on really, really bad terms. And that is when Bob meets Linda. He's doing these ski classes.

Okay, this guy's an adventurer. He's teaching ski lessons. And this little girl walks in. Okay, little girl's weird. She's like fully of age Okay, her name was Linda. She walks in with this very shy personality She's half American half Japanese right half white half Japanese and she decides you know what I'm gonna take a ski class She's not that adventurous, but she's thinking maybe I'm some fun Shows up with her skis on backwards and Bob's the teacher is like what he's just

laughing at her like how what what this this woman is in her head I mean she's gonna fall break a bone and I'm gonna be responsible Jesus Louise right but he helps her put it on correctly. So she was the last cause but he underestimated her within a month she was a determined. She was the best in his class, just writing down some of the most daring mountains. I mean, she was crazy. So Bob had caught the love bug. He's like, I love this woman. This is the woman I need to marry. So he proposes within six months, they're married. And this is the crazy part. So they planned this whole honeymoon to do a bunch of tours in Europe. They were going to go to the Swiss Alps. They were going to, you know, go to Russia, which

is part of Bob's heritage. And for whatever reason, after not getting along, Bob's dad wanted to join them. And I think Linda was really a personality that kind of defrosts both sides. Like these two men, Bob and his dad, they were both so cold, they didn't know how to talk to each other, they never showed each other love. And Linda, I mean, she's just kind of like this, jokes around with them and makes it easier for them to all get along, right?

And so for the first time in Bob's life, he said that he saw his dad have fun. He was loud, he's a full of personality, joking around, excited, and that's when Bob realized that his dad had been living without his people, without his culture to provide better lives for the whole family. And this is the real dad, you know, because his dad's Russian. And in America, I mean, he probably felt like an immigrant, like an outcast, like an outsider.

But once he was in Russia, I mean, he was just full of life. His language, his people, his culture, you know, and that's when Bob realized, okay, this man has been sacrificing for me. It's not that he was just born like this. It's just, he did this for us, right? So they all started to get closer again. When they get back, Bob starts teaching history at a local community college and Linda starts her new job

as a kindergarten reading teacher. She's so nervous. She's in fact so nervous that all the lesson plans were already prepared four months in advance, okay? This woman is a planner and that is when Jim calls up Linda and Bob and says, listen, it's summertime. You guys don't have classes until what? Like three months from now? Why don't you guys come on this little trip with me? At first they're like, oh that's weird. Bob is like, I'm not even that close with my family. Let alone my brother-in-law. I don't know. Linda, what do you think? And Bob is like, I'm not even that close with my family. Let alone my brother-in-law.

I don't know. Linda, what do you think? And he's like, and you know, he's not even gonna let us drink wine. It's forbidden on the boat. You'd be lucky if we're allowed to drink tea on his boat. Can you go without tea or coffee for like two months? Linda's like, well, I think it could be kind of fun.

You know, this is my last summer really before I start this job. We should enjoy it. I'm done with my lessons plans. We love the ocean and really you'd be helping out a family member. And it's not like he's going to coast to recon vacation. He's trying to do good stuff. So they start planning the whole journey. The only thing Bob, the experienced sailor wanted, which is really the bare minimum is, Jim,

we need a high quality radio setup. It's gonna be a long trip all up and down US and Mexico. Did you get your license? Because did you know in order to operate a ham radio, you have to have a license. Okay, so these can be heard around the world. You can't just troll people on these radios. Yeah, they're international.

Police have a license and they only have a couple of different frequencies that they're allowed to use to transmit whatever they're talking about, right? They can't just like hop on to other frequencies and start, you know, blabbing off because they would get fined if not arrested. So if you're on a boat, you would need a ham license so that you can radio to someone in case of emergencies. So there's different like, I tried to learn about this. My brain is just, I can't do it, okay? So there's different, like, I tried to learn about this. My brain is just, I can't do it, okay? So there's like a different type of stations for it.

Let's say you get a walkie-talkie and you're just fooling around. Yeah. Right, and then ham is like really serious. It's for emergencies. It's for crazy stuff like this. If you use it, it can be considered a federal crime if you don't have a license.

You could be put in prison for like two years. That makes sense. Serious stuff, right? So, Jim's like, yeah, well, I'm almost done getting my license. I'm stoked. Like, it's going to be fine. I'm going to get the best gear ever. Top notch radios. Don't you worry about it. Bob is stoked. He's like, okay, let's start planning. Picture this. You're in the line at CVS. Nobody goes to CVS for just one thing. So imagine a lot of items in your hand. I always get my little sunscreen. Yes, it's summertime you need that SPF. I get my allergy pills because I'm really bad allergies. You know, concealer. I don't know why I can't leave CVS without a bag of candy and some

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10 days, they're gonna hang out in Los Angeles with Bob's other sister, Carol. So all of them, they're gonna have some family fun time. Then they're gonna leave, have another stop in Mexico. They haven't really decided where, but somewhere in Mexico. Then finally, on their last leg, they're gonna reach Costa Rica. And just in case, Bob and Linda had guesstimated

that it would take 50 days. So they gave themselves an extra 20 days, just in case, you know, when they get to Costa Rica, they can hang out, they can leisurely fly back. It's gonna be a good time. Bob and Jim, they would take turns handling the boat. Someone had to be there at all times, so they would do six hour shifts. Linda was in charge of the meals.

Two meals a day, breakfast and dinner. They would try to catch fish as their main source of protein. They would stop at a few different ports to get groceries, like the ones I just stated. And Linda had to make sure everything lasted. So the whole planning is on Linda. She had to coat all the eggs in Vaseline, because it helps them last longer. Wow.

In the cooler. Didn't not know that. I didn't either. She did plan to smuggle in some tea and candy, because Jim would not approve, but they could not go without it, okay? Coffee and alcohol were enough sacrifices that they made for Jim. They were like, mm-hmm.

We draw the line at tea and Sour Patch Kids. Some of the other important details would be that Jim would wake up every single morning 7 a.m. and call up his friend Wes using the ham radio, right? And he would tell his Wes, his friend Wes, the way they're located, how they're doing, the weather, and anything Wes could then relay to the rest of their families. And then every single Friday West would connect them on the phone to talk to their parents. So every single Friday they call and through the ham radio West has got, I don't know if it's like a frequency or a speaker phone, okay?

Not that advanced. They would be able to actually communicate with their families every single Friday. This is important because Linda's mom was a hysterical mess. The whole time, she did not want Linda going. She just kept saying, Bob's never had that much experience in the ocean. Just like, lakes and stuff, right? And who even is this gymfisher guy?

Do you even know anything about him? And anyway, Linda's like, I gotta go. Listen, I'm going. I don't care. Anytime Linda said that, her mom was just burst into tears. Just hysterical tears, and she would keep saying, no matter what, get off an LA.

Just get off an LA! I can come, I can bring you home. Why don't you guys stop in LA? I heard there's so much to do there. You could go to Disneyland! You could do all these things! Come on. Just stop in LA! Just get off an LA! That's enough. You don't have to go all the way to Costa Rica. Come on, just stop in LA, just get off in LA! That's enough, you don't have to go all the way to Costa Rica, but Linda ignored her mom because she's a full grown adult and her mom has always been adverse to adventure, so this is not like abnormal, this is not woe.

She's all of a sudden, got this like mom instinct, I don't know what's going on. Besides, Linda's a planner, she's already reading books about sailing, survival tips, even Costa Rica. Her friends laughed at her and said that you could practically give a local attour at this point, like you know too much about Costa Rica. So finally the day has come. They meet up and they're, you know, inspecting the boat. Everything looks good. They're, you know, bringing all their stuff on board. And the energy radiating before they even set sail was, uh, interesting. So they're all standing at the

marina which is filled with other boaters. Just like casual boaters, fishermen, yacht people I guess right. And Jim out of nowhere, this quiet marina morning, he starts belting. Dear Lord, we ask for your protection and guidance, we ask for your hand upon the wheel. We ask for a safe journey with a fair wind to fill our cells and hurry us to your work. And I'll just stand there. I mean, like I mentioned, Linda isn't really religious. Bob is no longer religious after a childhood of religious trauma. And they liked Jim. He said, have this gentle soul. Even if he did something to hurt someone, you just know that he didn't mean it. It doesn't excuse it, but doesn't it kind of soften the blow a bit.

So their first day on board was relatively smooth sailing. The only problem was Linda was experiencing some seasickness. She wanted the boys to know, might ruin their trip, or it might insinuate that they suck at sailing. So she's like, okay, let me just shut up and cook the little salmon that they caught and she's just throwing up. Like Like it's just very emotion sickness. Linda was never as adventurous as Bob Which is kind of important, but she went along with him tried to live life to the fullest There were a few small moments where she was terrified

She would go up to Bob who's sailing and he'd be staring off at the sea. He looked worried But it's calm waters. What's going on Bob is is a storm coming? No it's just the sea is massive and we're just this tiny spike in the water and you know it's gonna be a challenge. Is it a big boat or a tiny little boat? 31 feet. What's a tiny little boat? That's tiny, huh? I mean, I think for boats go, listen, I don't even want to step foot on a cruise. Okay, that's like how many feet is a cruise? I know. Right, so this is...

Oh my guess. Yeah, it is a small, small boat. Listen, I don't even like to be home alone with only three people. But alone on a boat in the middle of the ocean, you know? It's just weird. So the first two days, they make a lot of progress. They're headed straight to LA with enough time to spare, but by the third day, they're smacked with winds coming from the south.

So it's causing them to lose a ton of the progress that they just made. They're teeter-tottering. They're going actually back up north and they're getting stressed out. Friday rolls around and Linda seesick the whole time and she's excited to talk to her mom like finally. Some just normal see in my life right? To let her know everything's okay. Walks up to Jim who's tapping Moore's code into the radio.

Why are you flinching? I feel like he didn't get the license. Then he drops the radio and she says hey Jim, why'd you hang up? It's Friday. Can we call Wes and talk to my family? my parents are waiting. I told them I would call I've already talked to Wes It can't be done today and he just walks away He walks to you know the cockpit where Bob is

And so she's chasing after him like what do you mean? What's going on and Bob's like wait? What are you guys talking about Bob? He says that we can't call our parents. What's going on Jim? It's Friday It's all arranged my parents are waiting. They're gonna be worried like I need to talk to them and Jim's just quiet So Bob starts getting concerned something wrong with the radio silence And Jim looks at them and says I Don't have a license. Why? Like why?

Excuse me? You said you were studying. I passed the test but I didn't get the certificate in time. Oh. So what have you been doing? Just like pretending to talk to someone? Like I heard you yelling at codes in your license number like when you were talking to people. I made one up.

Linda's like okay, that's okay, but you still know how to use it, so let's call my parents. We can't. It's a federal crime. It's a $10,000 fine, and at least a few years in prison. Now Bob is pissed. This is the only reason why we said yes. This was our deal breaker you lied to us. This is making him so mad.

He starts pulling out all the cards. Listen, Jim, you're so religious, but you have no morals. You're a religious hypocrite. You think Prang's gonna help? God doesn't listen to liars and you are a liar. I'm not religious, but I have more morals than you. Jim just starts sobbing.

Linda's freaking out, okay? It's a whole, just, it's a whole shit show. Jim just starts sobbing. Linda's freaking out, okay? It's a whole, just, it's a whole shit show. And he starts saying, what if we start sinking, huh? What if we start sinking, Jim? Answer me! What are we gonna do? You're gonna have a sit here and sink to the bottom of the ocean while we pray in a circle? Is that what we're gonna do, Jim? We keep saying, okay, okay, sorry.

It was my fault. You guys can leave in LA. I'll get a new crew, you, okay, sorry. It was my fault. You guys can leave in LA. I'll get a new crew. You guys just go home. I'm sorry. So Bob goes to his room with Linda and they start planning. No, we're not gonna even go to LA.

It's a bit far. Let's get off at San Francisco. So they sell all the way from... Yeah, watching the San Francisco, okay okay they're gonna get off the boat go find the most expensive steakhouse that they can find stuff their faces with meat that Jim hates so much and drink as much wine until they're drunk off their ass until someone condemns them to go to hell because fork Jim they're just pissed so the next day rolls around and all three of them,

they're super tense, you know, the weather isn't great. So much wind was coming from so many different directions that they only did about 20 miles that day. That's nothing. Linda the whole time she's seasick, I mean the two guys aren't talking, so for the next two days, the winds are just working against them.

They should have been in San Francisco by this time, but they couldn't make it. It was taking them three hours to do five miles. Boy, they should just return. What are they doing? Yeah. To make matters worse, 9 p.m. a storm hits. And it wasn't any storm. It was a freak storm. Winds from multiple different directions, 45-foot tall swells of water. The boat itself is only about like 18 feet tall. Think about a swell, and then it started getting worse.

Think about a swell that's as tall as a seven-story building. They would just come crushing down. I mean, it was scary. The cockpit would fill with water and then drain like a little water tornado where Bob was and the speed was insane It felt like you were on a roller coaster the whole time But not even for one second can Bob just not be a hundred and ten percent attentive to the waters in the compass because All it takes is point two seconds and you're screwed. The boat is capsizing. You're dead

Now Bob was more skilled than than Jim so he would write out the storm. Jim would get a bit more rest just in case Bob had to crash, and then Jim could take over, but he spent most of the night praying. He believed, truly, Jim believed that he was being punished for lying about the radio. The weather was the wrath of God. The storm was his punishment, and he had moments where he kept thinking to himself, should I even fight the storm? Because this is God's will. Then the storm gets worse. There's whirlpool, whirlpools forming, okay? If the triton were to get sucked into one, it would for sure

break in half, just snap in half. They would die in the middle of the ocean, they would drown to death, and this eternally swimming whirlpool of just water. This is like my biggest fear in life. And it's dark outside. The waters are just pitch black. Bob is stressing out in the cockpit. Meanwhile, Linda's freaking out. She's seasick.

And finally, he says, Jim, you gotta call the coast guard. Okay. Okay, you're right. So Jim goes to his radio and he messages Wes. There's been a storm, but we're okay now. That's it. What? So he didn't call for help. Because he thought about it and he thought, well, it's a federal crime. If I do jail time, I can't go to Costa Rica and do God's work. So what did he do? Did he call or not call? No call. So he had the radio. Did he call or not call? No call.

So he had the radio. He had the ability to call. Yes, it's a federal crime. I'm thinking, okay, I mean, listen, would I rather die or spend two years in prison? Would I rather die or spend two years in prison? Listen, I'm gonna go spend two years in prison. I'm gonna suck it up and try not to drop the soap.

Like, that's what I'm doing. But he decided, no, I can't do that. Does not call. Now, because Linda was nearby, he starts radioing in to like regular non-license required weak signal radios frequencies, just random things. He would say like T12, JF, inter-pursing with the triple break. So he's making stuff up? Yeah, and crazy enough, someone picked it up. From San Francisco, this man had been listening, I believe his last name is like Wolf, okay?

Like D something Wolf. So cool dude, Mr. Wolf, he picks it up. He's been listening to the ham radio stations and all these other ones for the past 50 years. It's just his thing, he drinks this morning coffee, he chats with friends, it's just always in the background. He's just like, yeah, he's just that's a vulgar, okay? So he hears it. He's like, wait a minute, that's weird. In all my 50 years of listening to radio frequencies, I've never actually heard an emergency distress call. So he runs over because apparently triple break means emergency.

So he runs over. So he is calling for help. Yeah. So he says, tell me more. Jim gives his name. I'm Jim. We're headed to Los Angeles, you know, on the Triton, it's a whatever boat, right?

We've got three people crew. We're about 75 miles from Cape Mendocino. And Mr. Wolf is like, what do you need help? Negative. Do not need assistance at this moment. We are becaomed. And the radio went dead. So Mr. Wolf keeps trying to reach out for contact.

Like, can you confirm? You don't need help, can you confirm again, can you confirm again, but nothing, nothing afterwards. So he's thinking that strange. They should have, you know, confirmed back that they're actually fine. Like thanks, false alarm. Well this guy, the chance of them running into someone who's so seasoned in doing this. So he tells all of his friends, he tells anyone he knows that listens to him frequencies.

If you hear anything, it's the Triton. They might be in distress sooner or later. I don't know if they cleared the storm. I don't know if we'll never hear from them, but just be on the lookout. Mm-hmm. We got all these people on the lookout. Now finally, Jim goes up to Bob,

and he's like, did you reach the Coast Guard? Uh, I called Wes and I told them about the storm, and that we're okay. And then I called Wes and I told them about the storm and that we're okay. And then I called the coast guard. So he's lying. What did you say to them? The same thing. Okay, so they're gonna have a play-out to save us, right? I told them that we didn't need any help. What did you say? Are you out of your mind? Are you insane? You have to call them back! You have to tell them that we need help! I've been at this all night! I can't last a second longer! I can't!

And James is like, well I can't the battery's low! The radio's not gonna work! Well freaking go recharge it then! He's like, okay I'll recharge it. In the meantime, let me take over. This is so frustrating. And immediately Bob goes down into his room and he falls onto the mattress and just starts sobbing. And he tells Linda, it was like physical torture. Any second, the whole boat can flip.

You'll just have to be on the lookout for everything. You have to be putting all your pressure on the wheel. It was absolute torture and he's sobbing. Five minutes after Jim took over, Bob and Linda are sobbing together. The Triton broaches. So essentially what that means is that it takes a sharp turn to a side, which means now it's going sideways, which could also mean that it could easily snap, letting everyone just slam around, like a wiggling, inflexible worm.

If you put too much pressure, it's gonna snap, okay? So Bob is stressed. So he's about to head up and tell Jim what the fork, do you need help or something, right? And then another one. It's two within like 10 minutes. So Bob's like, okay, I gotta go back up there. Jim just can't handle the boat.

I'm better at this boat. Linda's like, well, no, you haven't even had any sleep. How are you going to even do it properly? And then the whole boat flips over entirely. Oh my god, I can't with this. Bob and Linda are thrown down where the water start pouring in. They're standing on what is supposed to be the ceiling. Water just gushing in. So Bob rushes to Linda, throws a life jacket on her, starts dragging her towards the exit, take a deep breath, okay babe, and they start swimming out, right? They get out there and open sea.

They can see that the triton has slipped completely over. The three little humps, the legs that are supposed to be in the water, now they're just in the air. They're only about 18 inches in the air. So they're trying to climb on top, but because they've been, that's what was normally in the water, it's super slimy. So they're like trying to, you know, climb on top, lindas on Bob's back, they start climbing. Meanwhile, the storm is still coming at them. Jim starts swimming towards them. They toss them a piece of rope. He

starts, you know, get it on board. And they're just stuck up there, riding the waves. They have nothing really to hold on to. They said it's almost like holding on to the top of a roof with just your fingernails and just hanging. It's not gonna work. We have to do something. What can we do? So Bob's like, Jim, you're sure that they're sending help, right? And Jim ignores him.

Okay, well, maybe he's in shock. So during all of this, Bob realizes that Linda has passed out. So he's shaking her when she finally comes to her entire face is blue, her eyes are rolling around. And then suddenly, they're staring straight at Bob. And she's saying, stop it, you're killing me, you're killing me. Why are you trying to murder me, Jim? Why? And she's looking at them it, you're killing me, you're killing me! Why are you trying to murder me, Jim? Why? And she's looking at them as if they're evil strangers.

Why are you doing this to me? You want to kill me! And she starts punching them, just throwing her hands at them, screaming. They said it was almost like animal-type screams. She is hallucinating. It was like that bad. the shock of all of this, the exhaustion of holding on for even like a couple of minutes. I mean, she's been seeing sex for days, right?

And that is when she says, you want to kill us. I'm not going to let you kill us. And both the guys are confused. Because she's looking at both of them. And that's how they found out. She's pregnant. Linda was not seasick, she was pregnant, and she's just start screaming at them for about an hour until she passes out again.

Now Bob gets so worried, because if he even lets her go for a second, she's going to fall into the ocean and die, so he finds rope, ties her around to the surface somehow, right to a little railing, and they start planning. When Linda wakes up she had no idea that they knew that she was pregnant. She had no idea that she freaked out. She just said, I don't know what just happened. I think I blacked out. And they're like, okay, we're going to talk about it later. They cannot wait for a plane out here. That's what Bob says. Even if the plane is coming, we can't wait out here. But we also can't go into the freezing water. So they're like, what are we we what are we sitting on top of right now?

They're living quarters Maybe there's an air pocket. Sometimes there's an air pocket They don't have a knife Jim grabs little metal buckle of his life jacket and just starts slamming it down He and he starts bleeding all over it too Finally, it's big enough for him to fit. He looks down. There's at least two feet of air down there. We gotta go. So they all jump down the hole and briefly they're happy, but then they realize they're standing shoulder deep in water. What if the water rises

while they're in here? They're gonna die. I mean they just have this tiny little hole to get out of. What if they could just die from the cold water just standing there through the night? die from the cold water just standing there through the night. I just moved into a different time zone which has made a lot of things tricky in my life, okay? Just a lot of things, YouTube posting schedules, emails, all of these other things, but not talking to my therapist, okay? Because that is a top priority. This brain of mine, these feelings that I feel, I need to talk to

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So special offer for Rottenmangul listeners, get 10% off your first month at betterhelp.com slash rotten. So Bob gets to planning while Jim and Linda are still in shock. He finds a piece of cardboard, floats it, tries to stuff it in between like the edges of the wall and it's only big enough for Linda. Yes, very titanic vibes. She crawls up there, pretty much a small little slip. Couldn't even sit her head up.

She had to be in a fetal position and she was just one inch, like her face is one inch from the ceiling. So she's completely off the water now? Yeah. Then they find smaller pieces for Bob and Jim. Now most of their legs still stayed wet the whole time. They shared a can of root beer that they found, and they started singing hymns together. Bob and Linda don't know why, that they started singing,

but they just started singing with Jim, okay? They're singing these hymns. That's how they spent their very first night. And how many nights are there? 70. Through the whole night, Linda would wake up screaming and crying. Bob couldn't comfort her. He didn't even have the energy to swim to her. Jim, he slept and cried and talked to God. And the next morning, the two guys get to work. The waters are still rough. No help is coming.

They look for the radio completely wet. They can't do it, they find a toolbox, they find Linda's purse, Linda's holding up super well, I mean she is really the energy of the whole crew. She's joking around with Bob, she's confident, she says, listen, someone's gonna come sooner or later, if not the Coast Guard, if Jim just forgot to call the Coast Guard or the Coast Guard didn't care, why is this gonna realize that we haven't been in contact, he's gonna call the Coast Guard. Mm-hmm. Besides what? Well like 50 minutes off the coast, right?

50 miles off the coast. That means once the weather clears up, there's gonna be a ton of boat traffic. Someone's gonna see us. She's like lifting the spirits. Meanwhile, you know, Bob's trying to ask her questions. When did you know? Why didn't you tell me that you were pregnant?

She found out recently, and she's like, one barely pregnant. I was scared that you wouldn't let me come if you found out. And, you know, Linda was doing February, so they're both so excited in this really extreme condition. Bob wants to make her as comfortable as possible as they wait. He's like, no, you don't freaking move, okay? You stay here. He starts using the newly found tool kit, starts making them a hammock out of rope. So he nails the hammock

so that they're floating above the surface of the water inside this room. But then they realize that the ropes are digging into their skin. So he swims down, gets the mattresses, puts the wet mattresses on top. Now they have two mattresses. They all lay down and the hammock does not give in. So they're holding up. I mean it's making a lot of noise but it's good enough, right? So they lay down head to head where they can't see each other but they're essentially breathing right next to each other. This is perfect. Now it's time to find some food. They start swimming for food, peanut butter, vanilla extract, but I find the whole bucket of rice. It's gonna be useful. So it gives it to Jim. Within a few minutes the bucket of rice. It's gonna be useful. So it gives it to Jim. Within a few minutes, the bucket of rice floats away.

Oh my God. And Bob has this strange feeling that Jim almost wanted to lose the rice. Like he can't shake this feeling. So then Bob finds some Gouda cheese, some candy, and a water distillation kit. This is important, okay? You prop it up, you get fresh water.

So it separates the salt from the water using sunlight. This is perfect, they don't have water, they lost their water supply. That's crazy good. So it gives it to Jim. And it floats away? And at the end of the night, Jim tells them everything in their inventory. And Bob's like, wait, you forgot the good of cheese balls. And Linda's like, yeah, I also gave you that mac mac and cheese I found earlier remember no, I never got those things

So Bob and Linda are like wait what that's and they're like kind of at a loss for words It's just want to punch someone in the face so bad and Jim's like, oh, I did find some candy though the jelly beans Okay, okay, that's good. That's good. We need sugar for energy. That's good right through it out Okay, for sure. I'm gonna punch so much. What? Why did you do that? Well, they were soggy. They were filled with water and you probably wouldn't have wanted them anyway. Bob's like, what are you talking about? What are you saying? God knows how long we have to survive out here. Oh my God. Like this, if this wasn't movie, I think everybody wants that person.

Yeah. It's that person. It's that character. And then you're like, why did the writers come up with this person just to stress about? I hate this movie. So then Jim is like, listen, this is not some sort of endurance contest. This is not a second to see. We're not going to set any records. We will be rescued by God when it is ready for us to be rescued. There's nothing we can do to bring on that moment. I don't need. I don't see us to have to make these plans, ration the food, lie around saving energy.

God is going to rescue us when we're ready. Wasn't there a joke? Someone was drowning in the water and someone came, they're like, hey, you need help? They're like, no, God's gonna rescue me. And then another person with a boat came, hey, do you need help? He said, no, the God's gonna run in the helicopter. He said, no, God's gonna rescue you. Oh, and then he went to heaven and God was like, why didn't you? Yeah, I sent three people and why didn't you?

Yeah. Yeah. And so, you know, he, like, Bob's Bob's like well then let's split up the food We'll start rationing you eat it all in one sitting for all I care But just don't be asking us for more food when Jesus decides not to come right away and he's taking a sweet time Yeah, that's a good point super tense when does like okay? Okay, let's talk about it tomorrow, right? They go to sleep in the middle of the night everyone wakes up to Jim screaming. We're here. We're here

Look guys look at all those beautiful lights. We're here. We're in San Francisco And they realize that he's hallucinating The next morning another tense situation Jim says okay. Well, let's eat breakfast. He grabs a can of sausages. There's nine in there Okay, well that's three each for breakfast That's a huge chunk of their food supply. Bob is pissed, you try six, wait, listen, we might, if we stretch it, if we do our absolute best,

every single one of us only eats one cup of food per day. Per day, we could maybe survive 30 days. So one sausage should be breakfast and dinner. You get one sausage for the day. And finally, jamma grays. I just I can. What's going on? I don't know. They go back to gathering. They find the medicine bag, three tubes of toothpaste, some white paint, brush, a can of kerosene, rags, motor oil, and some knives. They do find the cooler with the Vaseline that saved the X from breaking. Yeah, they find the grapefruit, they spend the whole day searching, creating a sign, painting the boat white. The bottom of

the boat was originally blue. So they they try to make it noticeable and then with blue paint they wrote help. I see. And then they hung up orange curtains from the rooms. On top of the boat trying to make it easier. And that they hung up orange curtains from the rooms. On top of the boat trying to make it easier. And that night, Jim asked to say a prayer for everyone. Runs like, okay, let's just keep the penis, right? Pray for us, and his prayer went something like this. Thank you for answering our prayers.

Also a side note, by the way, this is again, I feel like a lot of religious people are probably up in arms listening to this, not because, side note, by the way, this is again, I feel like a lot of religious people are probably up in arms listening to this, not because, you know, but because this is a really bad representation of religion. This is just one person. This is not all religion or a whole group of people. It's one person, right?

He says, thank you for answering our prayers. If it is your will, dear Jesus, that we be rescued, then we are ready to be rescued. We don't want to rush you, Jesus, for we know that your heavenly plan will be unfounded. Then the next prayer, the next day, his prayer changed a little bit, which kind of scared Bob. He said, help us prepare ourselves for the hour of rescue. Now it is clear.

Now we understand, dear Jesus, you will not rescue us until each of us is prepared. Speak to our hearts, Jesus. And thank you for hearing our prayers. Then the next day, the prayer went something like this. You know, and we know that one of us on board is not ready for your coming. One of us has not given his heart to you. And when that person does these things,

when he accepts your power, dear Jesus, when he gives you his heart, then you will rescue us. And now Bob is pissed. He's like, what the fork is that about? Okay? What the fork are you saying? What's wrong with you, dude? You can think whatever the fork you want. Don't say it out loud. Don't say it out loud. What is wrong with you? And he says, my belief is that God wanted us to be here, wanted the storm, wanted us to suffer, and he will rescue us when we are ready and not a moment before. And Bob's like, God didn't do that because I stopped going to church. Okay? You did that.

Five minutes after you took over, you're the reason that the boat capsized. Not me, not God. You. Okay? Why would God pick on Linda? This is the only good person here. She's never done any harm in life. What are you talking about?

And Jim just said, I said what I said. Just think about it. Finally, when the weather clears, Linda was able to come out of the air pocket. And she was in so much pain, right? She's thinking, maybe just cramps. But when she took off her jeans to let Bob double check, she had 50 plus blistering sores all of her body.

She didn't have the strength to leave her bed. The guys were gathering things. So while they were gathering, they just peed in the water. She was forced to pee in her already soaking wet saltwater-filled jeans. This caused an infection, really. Thankfully, they found medicine. They could put it on her.

But she had to stay on clothes for a while. Meanwhile, as Bob is putting on this medicine, salt water would just burn every time it sprayed her. So he's thinking, okay, I need a better idea. Oh, let's rinse your legs and some just fresh water that's gonna feel so good. Let me get the distillation kit, okay? So it's looking for it.

Hey, Jim, where'd you put the kit? What do you mean? I don't have it. No, I gave it to you. I gave it to you. You said you would keep it safe, remember? I don't remember, but I'll look. He looks and says, Yeah, I can't find it. Just so casually. Not freaking out. Doesn't seem sorry. I think it fell off or something. Just so casually, not freaking out doesn't seem sorry. I think it fell off for something. I can, like, just these, I, I just...

So Bob is pissed with the forker you're saying. And this is when Jim tells him, maybe it's God's will that we don't have the kit. We have to be totally dependent on God for him to save us. If we made water ourselves, then we would congratulate ourselves. And perhaps we'd live a long time and believe we were the reason that we survived. I believe it's God's will that the kid is gone. So now they had no water.

Finally on the 8th day, they heard planes. Jim and Bob run up to the both top. They start dancing, screaming, waving their arms around. But then suddenly, the planes take a sharp turn and they vanish. So either that means they're going to send help help later or they didn't see the Triton and they would either think that this area has been searched and they would never come back. So Bob's does some more digging. He finds Jim's school bio outfit for him to use. And in return he says, Jim, I found this for you. You go find our water. Find our gallons of water.

It takes convincing. Jim literally had to be, I don't even understand. Okay? Jim had to be find our gallons of water. It takes convincing Jim literally had to be, I don't even understand, okay? Jim had to be convinced to search for water. But sure enough he goes and he finds the water. He also finds an anchor and Bob is like, just bring it up, I'm sure I can find a use for it later. And he will find a use for it later. So before they're rescued, they need a routine.

Bob's really good at setting one. He knew that they needed to keep a few things stable. Food rations, water rations, they're mental state. They would all, if they all start hallucinating, who knows what could happen? It just takes one mistake, everybody's dead. So they wake up in the morning, 7 a.m. If you want to sleep in, you can,

but usually no one really wanted to, because I mean, this is the miserable place. It's not vacation. Wash your face, brush your teeth with toothpaste, okay? Then you have to study each other's faces. Is everybody's eyes clear? Are there lips too blue? Is everyone doing okay? Then they would put, you know, medicine on Linda's sores. Then it was time for breakfast. Linda could not hold down any solids. So she was given like chicken seasoning with salt water or milk powder and some fresh water after they found it

While the guys would eat some canned food You're not a lot of skit meals meals for let's say half a spoonful of peas. That's your whole meal for breakfast They would try to stretch it for an hour Just chewing and chewing and chewing Then an hour of mandatory talking Because otherwise they were silent. They needed to feed their brains. They needed to not hallucinate it.

They needed to bond. It can be whatever they want. There would be an hour of games after. So Bob made this game board with a piece of wood that he carved with a knife and dice. Bob is doing everything to hold me in and down. Then it was quiet time. Do whatever you want with this time. Sleep, rest, talk more, whatever.

During this time, Jim would go out and dive, which the couple thought was really a waste of energy. It was really dumb. But he would do it anyway. What is he doing? Just looking around. What? So Bob and Linda, they would go through a lot together. Bob would constantly say, I feel like it's my fault.

I'm always dragging you on these stupid adventures, like it's all my fault. But Linda never blamed him. Even when he had to cut off her hair and throw it into the ocean. Or when he would try to brush her hair because she had all these patches falling out now. She never blamed him. I mean, really, she was like the hope of the group. Always ease the tension between the guys, especially when they started bickering about God's plan. Now, the three of them did have the full belief that they would be rescued soon, regardless of God or religion.

They're thinking on land, Wes is gonna call the Coast Guard. This doesn't make sense. And Wes does call someone. Jim's wife, Wilma, and tells her, well, they haven't contacted me in a while over a week, but they should be fine. And what was like, okay.

What was like, that's, wait. They should be fine. Maybe they're already in LA. Meanwhile, Linda's family, they're full on freaking out. The first person to actually sound the alarm though, was Bob's other sister, who was gonna meet them in LA. She was living with her husband in LA, a radiologist, so they're pretty wealthy,

right? They call it the Coast Guard. We need help. My family's lost its seat. Now, I don't know why the Coast Guard was like, ah, it's just another rich guy in his boat. So a bunch of rich guys, they like to overcompensate for their small weewees by some big boats that they don't know how to, you know, really sail. And they'll go out sailing, get lost, but typically they're found by the next day. So he sends out a bow-low to all the ports up and down California's coast. So many of them, right? Then send out reports to local fishermen beyond the lookout. This whole process took another three days.

They didn't actually start looking for the triton until after the three days. At that point, there had been 12 days since they had capsized. The search was extensive. They had helicopters in the air, about 34 at one point. Over 600 men got involved. Over 200,000 square miles were searched. From Oregon to Mexico, the whole search was going to cost over $1.2 million. Finally, they called off the search.

They told the families we can't do it anymore. Financially, manpower wise, we just don't have the resources. They told the families we can't do it anymore. Financially, manpower-wise, we just don't have the resources, but don't worry. We're gonna have a look out for anyone that goes up and down the coast to be on the lookout for the Triton, but the odds of them being alive are pretty much nonexistent. Meanwhile, the three on the boat are waiting to be rescued. They start bonding, Jim starts to open up about some of his hobbies. He loves beekeeping, tropical fish. Oh yeah, he loves his aquarium. Linda even took interest in Jim's religion, mainly because he was so sure that God had a plan for them. And she was almost jealous that he had this confidence in something bigger than them.

Then they reach the 22nd day. Linda's blue. She's pale. Could barely even keep water down. She weighed about 70 pounds now. Bob did everything he could to keep her awake, get her mind going. They start planning their dream home, where to put what? He would get a piece of wood, start decorating every room in her head,

and he would carve it out, the floor plan and everything, and a little model home for them to look for it too. They're going to buy a piece of land in Washington and just live their dreams there. But they didn't want to cut down that many trees. So where would we build the deck? Why would I look at the sunset?

And they would just sit there and plan for hours. Then Bob did another game that Linda loved, which was like a place that I'd up. So he would say, okay, well, someone got us a toaster for our wedding. Do you remember who? Then she would guess and she'd be like, what was it my cousin? Was it this person?

Where's the toaster in our house? And it was just like reliving these memories and she would place the item in the house and it was just, this is how we kept her right then they see swimming underneath them a 300 pound tuna what but all they could do was try to swim at it they had a sharp end antenna but they didn't have their fishing gear anymore food was just taunting them, right in their face. Just 300 pound tunas in salmon, fishing in swimming around. They don't have, they can't catch it.

No. And then Linda came up with a heartbreaking game. Let's play a game called People. OK, well, how do we do that? We talk about all the people that we've met that we love. And we can just tell each other why. Bob understood immediately what was going on.

Linda felt like she was going to die soon, so she wanted to say her respects and say her goodbyes to all the people that she loved. So they spent a long time talking about everyone that they love, and then Linda was so out of energy, she couldn't even chew veggie burgers. She had to chew it, put it in her mouth, and she would just spit it back up. She didn't even have the energy to swallow. She wasn't doing well. Her condition was deteriorating. She had to pass a bowel movement, but she didn't even have the strength. He literally had to fish it out of her. And he was just getting frustrated. Because think about it, she can't even swallow water without coughing

and technically they're less than an hour away from some of the world's best hospitals. Are you serious? In California. In an hour away they're like 50 miles off the coast and he's just sitting there watching his wife die. and he's just sitting there watching his wife die. If you're listening to this podcast, you might be an audio driven person. Just like I am, there's something about it. The sounds of someone talking into your ear. It's relaxing, it's exciting. It's different, it's intimate, right?

Have you heard of Dipsy stories? So everyone needs an escape. But those, they're hard to come by these days. It's really hard to just detach from the world and experience something. And turn into the scene, Dipsy. Yeah, I know, the name and today's topic is intense, okay? Let yourself get lost in a world where good things happen. And where your pleasure is the only priority, I'm doing my central voice for you guys right now. If you guys don't know, Dipsy is an audio app full of short, sexy stories designed to turn you on.

Each Dipsy audio story features characters that feel like real people and immersive scenarios so that you feel like you're right there. You get to listen to these stories about hooking up with your hometown crush that you never made a move on or that coworker that you always, you know, kind of a little thing for. Or maybe there's a story that puts you in bed with someone who's telling you exactly what they'd like to do to you. If that's not exciting, I don't know what it is, okay? They also release new content every single week so there's always more to explore. Or you can just pick your favorites if you're one of those right. No matter what you're into or what turns you on, they have it. And if you need to wind down, Dipsy also has these wellness sessions, central bedtime

stories and soundscapes to help you relax before you drift off. You just have to experience it in your ear. It's something different. It's exciting. So for listeners of Rotten Mango, Dipsy is offering an extended 30-day free trial when you go to DipsyStories.com slash run. That's 30 days of full access for free. When you go to DIPSEASTORIES.COM slash run, DipsyStories.COM slash rotted. So he tries to comfort her and he's like, let's play the wedding gift game.

She says, I can't breathe, I can barely talk. And she says, can you please tell my friend, let's say Janice, that it's my last wish, that her and her husband try to work on their problems and stay together because life is meaningless without someone to love. And she said, I'm so sorry it had to be like this. And he just kept screaming now and they told each other that they love each other and she starts talking about how she's worried about her dad because he's retired but he's bored, he's gonna lose his mind. And then finally she said, I can't breathe. And Bob started performing CPR on her, but he was so weak, he starts losing consciousness.

So he yells, Jim, Jim, please help me and Jim jumps down, starts doing CPR, then Bob takes over again. And Linda passes away in Bob's arms. And he tries to perform CPR again, but she was gone. And at this point, Bob just went numb and Jim is smacked with reality. Jim starts sobbing and he leaves. Now Bob, he said the only thing you could think about was that when the baby died, when was that?

Was it earlier? When Linda was sick? Was it, did the baby starve to death or did the baby just die now with Linda? And then realize, I gotta do something with Linda's body. I want to take her back for a proper burial with her family, but she's gonna decompose in here. If I put it on top of the boat, the sun is going to decompose her even faster. The only way to do it was to give her to the sea, but he kept thinking if her body doesn't sink. What if she starts floating during decomposition, then I would have to stare at my decomposing

wife for who knows how long long like how do I live? So he gets that anchor and he ties it around her and drops her into the ocean. She had survived 26 days in the middle of the ocean. And they sang Linda's favorite song. And Bob had a choice to make either he jumps in and joins her because first of all, how is he ever going to tell Linda's parents what happened? How would he even bear or survive survivor's guilt? And also, it's not guaranteed he's going to be rescued. Why is separate more? Just jump in, join her now. He touches the water and he said for the first time the water even felt almost inviting. It almost felt warm. So he's like, okay, I just gotta go.

But he kept thinking if I do this, Linda would be so pissed. Linda would be furious that I even thought about this. And so he's like, okay, I can't do this. And right at that moment they see two ships. And Bob was pissed at the irony. They went here yesterday, they came right when it's too late. But they start dancing, they start screaming. Nothing, the ship takes off.

So another night, the next day, Bob, he's just trying to keep busy trying to attach, you know, more things to make it the ship more noticeable on top. He said survival is a very funny thing. It's like the strongest instinct that you have. Like stronger than love stronger than anything Survival, it's just like this human instinct maybe Fascinating that is human nature right? Yeah, all the after thousands of years you're just trying to survive I guess not in the terms of like if he had to choose between dying and Linda, you know, I don't think that's what he's saying but in the sense of like

Yeah, yeah, I gotta keep going. Yeah. Yeah So the next day Bob is frantic. We ain't ration out the food the water We gotta do it. Let's take inventory That's when Jim decides to let Bob know that there's no need for that because Christ is coming Listen still listen Bob. I make you this promise. There's enough water in here to last us five days Do you listen Bob? I make you this promise there's enough water in here to last us five days five days But if we believe if we give our hearts to Christ if we commit these five days to nothing but Jesus Then he will send the rescue at the end of the fifth day when that last drop of water is gone We will be delivered Bob was beyond exhausted. He's like what do you want me to do?

My wife and my unborn baby are dead at the bottom of the ocean. We're stuck out here. What do you want me to do? My wife and my unborn baby are dead at the bottom of the ocean. We're stuck out here. What do you want me to do? Join me. Dedicate the next five days of worship, believing in the power of Christ. Sing with me. Praise the Lord with me. At the end of the fifth day, we will be rescued. Pops like I am so Gintired. What do I have to lose? They say I am literally delusional. Let's just do it. So they sing they talk about sculpture scripture sculptures. They start chanting. They pray. They start getting close for the first time ever and suddenly they saw these signs. They saw smog pollution. Maybe we drifted to LA. They see a fly. A bird. A butterfly. All signs are pointing to make their drifting towards land. Oh, maybe they're both hallucinating. Yeah. And then on the fourth day, Bob tries to light a

fire to help people find them. Jim gets super pissed. You're interfering with God's plan. This is not God's plan. If you were able to get rescuers trust by lighting a fire, then we would think to ourselves that we saved ourselves. Not God. Not God's plan. You're interfering with His plan. So Baba apologizes and they wait. The fifth day comes the rescue day. They wait all morning, all afternoon. Then the sun goes down. Pitch black, no plane, no boat.

They keep praying. The next morning they wake up and Jim was a shell of a man really. He was just lifeless. Just depressed, wouldn't eat, wouldn't drink water, wouldn't get up, just laid there. Bob is now trying to help him. lifeless, just depressed, wouldn't eat, wouldn't drink water, wouldn't get up, just laid there. Bob is now trying to help him. Bob was like, listen, I think we are just pushing God too much, you know, and it's not that Bob suddenly became religious. It's the fact that he's going to lose Jim.

Jim's going to die. Really? Yes, Jim is so frustrating, he's so annoying, but really he was a man of faith and that's all he had. That was his whole being. He said, we're just testing God. God's testing us, you know. We just have to stay put for a couple more days.

God's gonna come. You know that, right? And you just kept saying, no, we're gonna die. Jim's saying, now it's Jim. We're gonna die. We're gonna die. No, Jim. God is putting you to the test. And he starts, you

know, there was a person in the Bible called Job. And he tells the story of job. I don't know, God tested job. So for the next couple of days, Jim tries to commit suicide. He wouldn't eat, wouldn't drink. He tried to hang himself at one point. And Bob tries his best to save him. But Jim wanted to go and he writes a letter to his family. We prayed and hoped for a rescue, but twelve ships and several airplanes failed to see us. It's hard for me to say this, Wilma, but please find the boys another daddy soon. They need one at the sage. I know the Lord will bless you and anything you do for him. Just remain as true to him as you were to me, and all of us will meet in the Earth made new.

And he ended it with, I'll be looking for you on Resurrection Day, love, Habian Daddy. I thought if you care yourself, you don't go to heaven. Yeah, so there's speculation that he was hallucinating at that point. I see. Then on the 73rd day, lost at sea. 70 days already? Yes. A boat approaches. And the boat to

captain had called and said, well, he's seen something weird, right? Called into the Coast Guard. Now, this Coast Guard had had heard about these reports of the Triton about 77 days ago. See, no, no, go investigate. The captain was like, yeah, doesn't look like anyone's alive. Just looks like some debris. No, no, go investigate, right? I mean, this guy, the Coast Guard guy was like, yeah, it doesn't look like anyone's alive. Just looks like some debris. No, no, go investigate, right? I mean, this guy, the coast guard guy is like, this has been a mystery, this has been plaguing my mind, right? You gotta go.

They go. Bob looks up, pokes his head out, and he sees the ship from far away, and he's like, ah, it's another passing ship, right? But he's gotta at least try. So he gets up every last bit of energy he has. He starts waving. Then he sees them lower down a bright yellow lifeboat. And it starts coming closer and closer to them. And he's like, I cannot spend one more moment on this boat. So he just plunges into the water and just starts swimming towards them and he feels these hands pull him up onto the lifeboat and he has been saved and he starts pointing

Jim's still in there he's still in there so they rescue Jim he's alive what they survived but they were really weak okay like they were surviving off like tablespoons of water they did also make a little rain water thing, right? I should have mentioned that again, you're like 73 days. And both of them soon pass out. And it's crazy because while I'll tell you later, right? Now, when they wake up, Bob is in good condition. He's drinking water, he's drinking orange juice, like gallons.

The crew were so crazed out by this, they were kind of nervous. Bob is in good condition. He's drinking water, he's drinking orange juice, like gallons. The crew were so crazed out by this, they were kind of nervous. They radio doctors. You see a lot to drink this much liquid? The doctors are like, well, I guess. We don't really know until we see him. So they're taken to a hospital.

And strangely, this part's really honest, but there was a competition between the two guys. Of who would come out faster? Who would come out stronger? Who would heal faster? Because it almost seemed like who is right. Is the man of God going to be stronger? Or is the man of just, you know, just casual dude?

Is he going to come out stronger? It was almost like because they had been fighting for so long about their beliefs. This would be the answer. Who's right? Because there's no other way to say who's right. So it almost became this strange competition between them to prove that they were right. At the hospital, their family came. Wilma's wreck.

She was so happy to see her husband alive. The doctor said that he had some serious conditions. His kidney was failing, but he was too weak for a transplant. But at least he's here. He's at a hospital. He's getting top-notch medical care. Jim kept saying, I'm sorry for running away. And when I was like, you're crazy, you didn't run away.

I knew where you were. You didn't run away. And when Wilma went to take a brief nap after spending most of her time at the hospital, Jim passed away. Kidney failure. And he was so weak. Two weeks later, Bob was discharged from the hospital. He had lost his wife, his unborn child, and his brother-in-law. And he said, with strangers like you would think after all of this, that he would be firm in his belief that he doesn't believe in a God. But he's actually more confused and he struggles with it more.

Why is that? I think it has to do with like what? How Linda was feeling of maybe after experiencing, because I know a lot of people find religion after experiencing these life threatening situations, because you want these answers of why am I alive? Why did I survive? Yeah. Yeah. Why did this happen to me? You, it's hard alive, why did I survive? Yeah, yeah.

Why did this happen to me? It's hard after, I mean, I can't even imagine. It's, I imagine it's hard after experiencing something like this to just be like, well, you know, the world just works in funny ways. I feel like that's something you can only say to very casual things. Yeah.

But to something this traumatic, this big, you almost, there has to be something big at play. How can you just say that's just the vibes? I think those 70 days on the water every day is a journey of God. Yes. You know, why? And this and that. So he's been in this crazy experience

of just going through the motion of, is God, because I'm sure they're a moment that they tried to believe in God because they want to put hope in anything right now. So it's like, and I'm sure maybe after, it's like this feeling of, well, maybe God put me on that ship

because he wanted me to, you know, I imagine I would think something like that. As someone who's not religious, I just imagine. Maybe things would be different if he was stuck on this boat with someone who was not a man of faith. Exactly. He would continue to struggle with a relationship with God after that. You would think that I would just put him off entirely, but no, made it more complex.

He, I believe he is teaching history at a college. I tried to look up if he's retired or if he's passed. It's a crazy story. Like I said, this is all coming from Bob's perspective. But the author did say he's got just, he is eloquent, he's got this amazing memory, he's amazing with expressing his emotions and being very transparent, like even the aspects of the competition afterwards, these are things that you don't necessarily wanna admit to. These are things that are a little bit strange, right? But that makes so much sense. Yeah, I don't know how to feel about this one.

As someone who has suffered from religious trauma, I can totally relate to Bob in certain aspects, but also as someone who is really open to the beauty of religion, it's hard to say where to be. I, yes, Jim is so annoying, but I almost feel so bad for him. And I almost admire him in a certain way. Yeah, I agree. You're like, yeah, I don't want to punch him anymore.

Exactly. The guy really never meant any harm. So I hope you guys enjoyed this week's mini-suit. What are your thoughts on this case? I'd love to know. And like I said, disclaimer, it's not about one big religion. It's just three people on a boat. I hope you guys enjoyed it.

And I'll see you guys on Wednesday. Bye. disclaimer. So not about one big religion. It's just three people on a boat. I hope you guys enjoyed it and I'll see you guys on Wednesday. Bye!