Missing Boaters Found Floating 200 Miles Out In The Atlantic Ocean Without Fuel For The Last 10 Days

A boat trip to Florida turned into 10 days floating in the Atlantic Ocean without fuel or power to use radios to call for help for two men and a dog.

The United States Coast Guard reported Tuesday that Kevin Hyde, 65, and his co-captain, Joe Ditomasso, 76, and a dog, Minnie, had been found 214 miles off the coast of Delaware by a tanker vessel traveling in the area.

Hyde and Ditomasso originally departed Oregon Inlet, North Carolina on December 3 with a destination of Marathon, Florida, but soon those plans changed. 10 days later the two men and the dog were found and hauled onto the Silver Muna tanker and transported to New York.

What happened?

The boaters say a storm off Hatteras blew them off course and the sailboat lost part of its mast.

"Once we cut that mast off, 40-foot seas. There were mountains, I was watching them," Ditomasso told ABC-7. "I never heard a wind so bad. It sounded like the devil was out there."

Eventually, the fuel was gone, they'd lost power, the navigation system on the boat was rendered useless and there wasn't much food. Drinking water became scarce and poor Minnie went two days without water. The two men spent part of their days sucking the remaining water out of the boat's water lines.

Now for the million-dollar question after spending 10 horrific days at sea figuring they would die.

Will they go for a long boat ride again?

"Sure, why not. I'm not dead yet," Hyde told reporters, while Ditomasso had a different tune.

"No. I'm staying closer to shore," he said.

Kevin Hyde, 65, and his co-captain, Joe Ditomasso, 76, were found floating in the Atlantic Ocean 214 miles off the coast of Delaware. The two ran into issues during a storm off the coast of North Carolina. / USCG

Good call, captain.

You know what sounds much better than spending 10 days at sea figuring you were about to die? Riding on the ocean via a massive cruise ship with 10 bars, a casino, restaurants that have a huge water supply and a nice bed to sleep in.

How'd Ditomasso get by in such a terrible situation?

"My granddaughter and the cross of Jesus. Every morning I'd wake up and kiss it and say the Our Father. And if nobody does not believe there's a Lord, they have a problem," Ditomasso concluded.