Sailors survive 99 days lost at sea - KOBI-TV NBC5 / KOTI-TV NBC2

OKINAWA, Japan (KHNL) – Two women and their dogs have been rescued after spending months lost at sea in the Pacific Ocean.

Jennifer Appel and Tasha Fuiava, Hawaii residents, survived off of water purifiers and a year’s worth of dry food, like pasta and oatmeal.

They made distress calls every day — for 98 days — in hopes that someone would rescue them. They were rescued after making their 99th call.

“It was very depressing and it was very hopeless, but it’s the only thing you can do so you do what you can with what you have. You have no other choice,” Appel said, in a phone interview Thursday.

She added that the ordeal has been life-changing.

“There is a true humility to wondering if today is your last day. If tonight is your last night. If the storm that’s approaching is going to bring down the rig.”