Mike Ayres, 46, from Detroit and Steffon Moore, 19, a hired deckhand from Miami Gardens, were making a trip to Bimini from Islamorada in the Florida Keys to to pick up a dive tank compressor.
About five hours into the 85-mile trip their 41-foot yacht Lady Rosalee, capsized and sank in heavy seas 12 miles south of Gun Cay in the Bahamas.
The yacht apparently hit an unidentified object and sank, leaving the pair without a radio or any other means of communication or navigation.
The Coast Guard was never notified of the sinking, so no search was launched.
Rowing for three days, navigating at night by the stars, Ayres was able to overcome the winds and waves to safely navigate a dinghy westward and to shore.
