She Cut the Mast, Lost the Ditch Bag, Stayed Alive Nine Days

She Cut the Mast, Lost the Ditch Bag, Stayed Alive Nine Days Salt water, a hacksaw and a blue ballpoint notebook became the thin threads between rescue and disappearance when a thirty-four foot boat broached in forty-knot winds; the ditch bag with the VHF, EPIRB and life raft tore away and a forty-eight-year-old marine surveyor kept sailing for nine days with only a spiral composition book - how did she stay alive and remain mobile when every search model said she would be drifting helplessly? In this episode, we follow the recovered notes and official timeline to see what happened aboard the Maren Rose from the night the mast came down to the days after the scheduled arrival; we cover the preparations Michelle Sanders made, the material failures she faced, and the decisions she took that kept her moving - could a pen and a scrap of sail rewrite the Coast Guard’s search assumptions? Person: Michelle Sanders Age: 48 Vessel: Maren Rose, 34 feet, built 1979 Date of departure: December 3 Last known notebook entry: nine days before recovery - The ditch bag contained a handheld VHF radio, EPIRB, flares, signal mirror and emergency raft and was tied at the companionway. - The port chainplate failed the night of December 4, bringing the mast down in forty-knot winds. - Michelle cut the mast free with a hacksaw after working standing rigging for forty minutes in heavy seas. - A stainless steel carabiner parted and the ditch bag was lost during the initial broach and flooding. - She jury-rigged a storm jib and made approximately three knots under it while running a dead reckoning track. 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].