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Appel and Fuiava, both from Honolulu, had set sail for the Polynesian island of Tahiti at the beginning of May. The boat’s engine died at the end of the month, and the two had been lost at sea for the majority of the time since. In a lengthy interview aboard the Ashland, they appeared to be in good spirits as they recounted their perilous journey.

The two had set off on May 3, expecting an 18-day trip to French Polynesia, where they would spend the next six months traveling around thousands of small islands in the South Pacific. They planned to head back to Hawaii by October to avoid the hurricanes that would come in November.

The Hollywood producers must be lining up.

The two women from Hawaii who say they were lost at sea had an emergency beacon on the ship that was not activated during their roughly five months at sea, a Coast Guard spokeswoman tells CNN.

The mariners, Jennifer Appel and Tasha Fuiava, had one EPIRB (Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon) on board, which was properly registered," Coast Guard Petty Officer 2nd Class Tara Molle told CNN.