Her Notebook Was Dry - She Survived Eight Days Adrift

Her Notebook Was Dry - She Survived Eight Days Adrift The pages of a notebook wrapped in silver tape were bone-dry after weeks of rain and morning humidity at an intertidal flat - impossible facts that pointed to one living person who had written a phone number and vanished. How did a marine biologist survive eight days adrift while her personal locator beacon and radio gave her no answer? In this episode, we follow the sequence of events recorded in the recovered notebook and the official timeline: a solo departure from Creston Beach Marina, a hidden turn north, a squall that hauled the mast down in eight minutes, and eight days spent trying to signal for rescue. What exactly failed, what worked, and why the search began in the wrong place? Person: Cynthia Boyd Date: August 7-16 (last notebook entry August 16) Location: Pelican Flats, four miles south of Creston Beach Marina Event: Mast loss in a line squall with 50-knot winds at 16:16 on August 9 Status: Survived eight days adrift; notebook recovered dry - Cynthia Boyd was 48 years old and co-owned the 32-foot sloop Meridian for seven years. - A county surveyor found the notebook in mud at Pelican Flats wrapped in silver electrical tape and inside two nested zip bags. - The last notebook entry was dated August 16; the notebook pages remained dry despite 11 inches of rain in the prior three weeks and 90% humidity at 7 AM. - A line squall hit at 16:16 on August 9 with 50-knot winds lasting eight minutes, during which the mast came down. - The personal locator beacon (PLB) was struck by the falling botalón, appeared intact with no visible damage, but failed to transmit when Cynthia activated it multiple times. To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com. © 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved. This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: [email protected].