Their 30-foot Catalina sailboat, the Atrevida II, was found without fuel or power, which made their radios and navigation equipment inoperable.
The two New Jersey sailors who went missing more than 10 days ago have been found safe, officials said.
Kevin Hyde, 64, and Joe DiTommasso, 76, and their pet dog will now be reunited with their family, thanks to the Silver Muna, a tanker vessel who came across their ship, the Atrevida II.
Their 30-foot Catalina sailboat, which was eventually located 214 miles east of Delaware, was found without fuel and power, which made their radios and navigation equipment inoperable.
"Their generator was not working, their radio was not working," Natalie, DiTomasso’s daughter, told CBS News. "No cellphone charges. The last time we know they picked up food, I believe was around Dec. 3. So low on provisions, so I cannot even imagine what they been through."
When she and her sister Nina received the call that their father was found safe, they thought they were dreaming, CBS News reported.
“This is an excellent example of the maritime community’s combined efforts to ensure safety of life at sea,” Commander Daniel Schrader, a spokesman with the Coast Guard Atlantic Area, said in a statement announcing their return. “We are overjoyed with the outcome of the case and look forward to reuniting Mr. Hyde and Mr. Ditomasso with their family and friends.”
Their story was shared far and wide earlier this week when the U.S Coast Guard Mid-Atlantic reported that the pair and their boat had been “overdue.” They had been travelling from Cape May, New Jersey, to Marathon, Florida, and last departed the Oregon Inlet in North Carolina when they lost contact on Dec. 3.
"My dad is notorious for losing his cellphone or his charger," Nina DiTomasso said. "So in the beginning, we weren't super stressed. We just thought, 'typical dad,' and then as it got closer to this past weekend is when we really became concerned."
The Coast Guard then broadcast the missing ship’s information to all vessels in the area in an attempt to locate them, ultimately searching a combined 21,164-square miles of water between northern Florida and New Jersey when the tanker vessel finally discovered them.
Both men appeared in good health, and will remain onboard the Silver Muna until its next port in New York, where they will then travel home to their friends and family.
