A woman who spent £2,200 on a boat from Facebook marketplace was left stranded for five days after it sank, leaving her to survive on pistachios.
Claire Erin’s venture into sailing got off to a rocky start after she woke up to the sound of gushing water flooding her newly acquired boat – with just her and her dog onboard.
The 28-year-old, who fell in love with life on the water after her first ever sailing trip, bought her very own boat for just £2,200 – on Facebook.
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During one of her ventures out at the helm Claire decided to anchor in a two feet deep area just off the coast after exhaustion got the better of her.
“I jolted up and to my horror my boat was completely on its side and water was pouring in the windows filling up half my boat,” Claire, from Virginia, told What’s The Jam.
“My entire 10 gallon diesel tank had emptied as well and the horrible smell of diesel fumes filled the cabin.”
“Everything was soaked. The water went up to my engine, all my food was ruined, my bed, all my clothes, all my tools.”
“Low tide must have gone way lower than I could have ever anticipated and I had no idea my windows were leaky enough to flood my whole boat.”
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The boat, named Mysto, sank on Claire’s first long-haul solo sailing trip, where she spent four months at the helm.
She was travelling down the Intracoastal Waterway, a 3,000 mile long canal type route stretching from Norfolk, Virginia, to Florida.
On the trip, Claire was sailing from Beaufort, North Carolina, to Wilmington, North Carolina, through tough tidal conditions from as early as 6am.
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After almost 24 hours at the helm and little progress made, Claire decided to call it a day.
She said: “On the GPS app I use called Navionics, a user had put in that they anchored off the side of the channel successfully in this one spot so I decided to try it.
“I figured if the tide goes out and I do ground then I would just wait for the next high tide again and motor off then.
“I called it a night and I went to sleep.
“I woke up at 6am the next day to the sound of moving water.
“I was terrified and didn’t know what to do.”
Fortunately, Claire had paid for unlimited towing through Boat Tow US – who managed to get the boat to a safer location.
Despite her bilge pumps helping to clear the water, the engine had been exposed to salt water – stopping it from working.
The 28-year-old was faced with a $10,000 charge by the tow company to take her to Wilmington.
Being unable to afford it, Claire was left on the boat alone with one task – get the engine working or lose the boat forever.
She said: “I knew I’d have to get my engine going and get myself out of this situation or I was going to lose my boat.”
“For five days straight I worked morning, afternoon, and night on my engine.”
“My whole boat was a mess and wet.
“All my clothes were wet so I worked in the same outfit the whole time.
“I slept on a wet bed with wet blankets.
“I had no food because all my food was drenched in diesel and saltwater combo – luckily I did have a gallon bag of pistachios.
“It was a nightmare.”
After five grueling days of being stranded on the boat she finally got the engine started.
Claire claims she has never been prouder of herself than when she persevered against all the odds to save her boat.
She said: “I don’t think I’ve ever heard a more beautiful sound than my engine finally starting up after being stranded in the middle of nowhere with no food and no help for 5 days.
“I didn’t give up, I had no choice.
“I either fixed the problem or I lost my boat and I didn’t come this far to get this far.
“I got myself out of there.
“I went to a marina after that and washed all my clothes and cleaned up my boat.
“I got a hotel room for the night and I took a shower and ordered DoorDash.
“I really don’t think I’ve been prouder of myself than at that moment.”
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