Sandwich-Bag SOS: Seven Names, One Secret Drifting Four Miles North

Sandwich-Bag SOS: Seven Names, One Secret Drifting Four Miles North A sealed notebook page washed up after four days in the Atlantic with blue ink that hadn’t run and a terse list: CAN SWIM - seven names, four yes, three no. How did a page written in nine seconds by flashlight survive a burning ship and drift to the one man who would report it while rescuers were searching four miles away? In this episode, we tell the sequence of events aboard the tanker Aldgate Meridian from collision to lifeboat launch, following the sealed sandwich-bag message, the EPIRB signal routed to Jacksonville, and the software error that sent searchers off course - could a simple offset and a single page decide who lived? Person: Melissa Sheridan Date: November 10 (collision at 23:47) Location: East-southeast of Cumberland Island, roughly 31 miles out Event: Harwich Star struck Aldgate Meridian at 23:47 Status: Seven people launched in starboard lifeboat at 23:59 - The sandwich-bag page had blue ink that had not run after four days in the Atlantic. - Melissa Sheridan tore a notebook page and wrote seven names in nine seconds by flashlight. - The EPIRB signal was received and routed to Coast Guard Sector Jacksonville within minutes. - A software update installed in Cartagena caused the Harwich Star’s GPS to be offset four miles to the south. - The starboard lifeboat cleared the burning hull with seven people aboard at 11:59 p.m. 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].