Two women mariners adrift in the Pacific Ocean for five months endured two days of shark attacks on their sailboat and major storms before being rescued by a U.S. Navy warship nearly 5,000 miles from their intended destination of Tahiti. 
 
 Still aboard the USS Ashland, Jennifer Appel and Natasha "Tasha" Fuiava shared their harrowing experiences with reporters late Thursday night via conference call. 
 
 On May 3, Appel, an experienced sailor, and Fuiava, a sailing novice, set sail from Honolulu aboard the 50-foot "Sea Nymph" bound for Tahiti, 2,600 miles to the south. Also aboard were Appel's two dogs, Valentine and Zeus. 
 
 Early into their voyage they realized that a structural failure on their sailing mast would impact their voyage and limit their sailing speed to 4 to 5 knots. 
 
 Soon after that, they endured an intense storm with almost hurricane winds and 25-foot waves that buffeted their sailboat for two days. 
 
 The storm left their engine flooded, but they still attempted to sail to Tahiti before they drifted westward in the Pacific. 
 
 So began a five-month journey across the Pacific that was at times depressing, reflective and frightful. 
 
 Prepared for a difficult voyage the sailboat had been stocked with a year's worth of food supplies they had seen recommended in a book. The sailboat also came equipped with water purifiers that got them through their ordeal. 
 
 Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Jonathan Clay/Navy 
 
 But while well-fed and nourished, the experience was "very depressing and very helpless" said Appel who noted that "you do what you can and what you have, you have no other choice." 
 
 "You're alive, you're fed, you have water, the boys are happy and there's love, and there are different sunrises and sunsets every day," said Fuiava. 
 
 "And you're around for a reason, so you may as well use the time you have to do something beneficial," added Appel. 
 
 But both said there were "absolutely" days when they despaired they would never be found. 
 
 "There is a true humility to wondering if today is your last day? If tonight is your last night?" said Appel. 
 
 In addition to enduring two more storms, "we had survived two different shark attacks and with both of them we thought it was lights out, and they were horrific,” said Appel. 
 
 One night, a group of seven sharks, including five adults measuring 20 to 30 feet in length along with two young sharks, slapped their tails on the hull repeatedly, they said. 
 
 Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Jonathan Clay/Navy 
 
 Appel speculated that the adult sharks were teaching the young sharks how to attack. 
 
 The next morning, five dolphins appeared alongside the ship "to say hello" and to determine, they believe, to see if they were alive. The dolphins soon swam away 200 yards from the boat where they were joined by 60 to 70 dolphins that appeared to "party by the boat." 
 
 The next night one "sore loser" tiger shark came back and slapped the boat again. Fuiava likened it to experiencing an earthquake in the middle of nowhere unable to get help "and you're shark bait." 
 
 At times they would see commercial ships off in the distance, but they never responded to their distress signals or flares they fired into the sky. 
 
 Finally, on Tuesday, they were spotted by a Taiwanese fishing boat 900 miles from Japan -- 5,000 miles from where they'd intended to sail in Japan. 
 
 But despite the crew's best efforts to secure the sailboat, they actually damaged it further. 
 
 Appel told the Taiwanese boat to use their radio, which is how they were eventually able to get a U.S. Navy ship to pick them up. 
 
 "Thank God we were being rescued," Appel described her emotions when she saw American sailors coming toward the "Sea Nymph." "I have tears in my eye as I say this. It was incredibly emotional and it was so satisfying to know that the men and women who serve their country would come and assist us. It was actually quite mind-blowing and quite humbling." 
 
 Their sailboat is now adrift in the Pacific and they hope they can one day have it brought back to them. Aren’t they afraid of getting back into that sailboat again if found? 
 
 "Well, you got to die sometime, you might as well be doing something you enjoy when you're doing it, right?" said Appel. ||||| In this Wednesday, Oct. 25, 2017 photo, a sailor greets Zeus the dog with his owner Tasha Fuiaba, left, on the boat deck of the amphibious dock landing ship USS Ashland after she and one other Honolulu... (Associated Press) 
 
 In this Wednesday, Oct. 25, 2017 photo, a sailor greets Zeus the dog with his owner Tasha Fuiaba, left, on the boat deck of the amphibious dock landing ship USS Ashland after she and one other Honolulu woman and their dogs were rescued after being lost at sea for several months while trying to sail... (Associated Press) 
 
 HONOLULU (AP) — A planned voyage from Hawaii to Tahiti aboard a small sailboat didn't start off well for two Honolulu women. One of their cellphones washed overboard and sank into the deep blue water on their first day at sea. 
 
 From there, things got worse. Much worse. About a month into their trip, bad weather caused their engine to lose power. Their mast was damaged. And then, as they drifted across thousands of miles of open ocean, their water purifier stopped working. 
 
 But the two sailors, accompanied by their dogs, were resourceful and prepared with more than a year's worth of food, and after more than five months of being lost in the vast Pacific Ocean, sending out daily distress calls that no one heard, they were rescued by the U.S. Navy on Wednesday about 900 miles southeast of Japan. Their intended destination: Tahiti — thousands of miles off course. 
 
 The USS Ashland rescued the women after a Taiwanese fishing vessel spotted their crippled vessel Tuesday and alerted the U.S. Coast Guard, the Navy said in a statement released Thursday. 
 
 The women, identified by the Navy as Jennifer Appel and Tasha Fuiava, both of Honolulu, lost their engine in bad weather in late May but believed they could still reach Tahiti using their sails. 
 
 "They saved our lives," said Appel through the Navy release. "The pride and smiles we had when we saw (U.S. Navy) on the horizon was pure relief." 
 
 In a phone call with news media from the Ashland, Appel said they had sent a distress signal for 98 days with no response. 
 
 "It was very depressing and very hopeless, but it's the only thing you can do, so you do what you can do," she said, according to an audio recording of the call. 
 
 A group of sharks attacked their boat one night, and a single shark returned a day later, she said. 
 
 "Both of them, we actually thought it was lights out, and they were horrific," Appel said. "We were just incredibly lucky that our hull was strong enough to withstand the onslaught." 
 
 Asked if they ever thought they might not survive, she said they would not be human if they did not. She credited the two dogs, which she called their companion animals, with keeping their spirits up. 
 
 "There is a true humility to wondering if today is your last day, if tonight is your last night," she said. 
 
 Appel's mother told The Associated Press on Thursday that she never gave up hope that her daughter would be found. 
 
 Joyce Appel, 75, who lives in Houston, said she got a call from her daughter early Thursday morning more than five months after they had last spoke. 
 
 She answered the phone as she always does, wondering who wanted to sell her something, when she heard her daughter's voice on the other end of the line. 
 
 "She said, 'Mom?' and I said, 'Jennifer!?' because I hadn't heard from her in like five months," she said. "And she said 'yes mom,' and that was really exciting." 
 
 Jennifer Appel departed on May 3, her mother said, but her phone was lost overboard the first day she was at sea, and she hadn't heard from her daughter since. 
 
 "Various things on her boat broke, the mast broke and the engine wouldn't start when she needed power. So she had several problems that caused her to end up drifting in the ocean," the elder Appel said. 
 
 Joyce called the U.S. Coast Guard about a week and a half after her daughter left Honolulu, she said. "The Coast Guard, in Hawaii, did a search and rescue effort," she said. "I waited and waited and waited to see when I would hear from her." In that time, the elder Appel moved and got a new phone number and was worried her daughter wouldn't know where to call. "I knew she didn't even know the phone number here," she said. 
 
 "I had hope all along, she is very resourceful and she's curious and as things break she tries to repair them, she doesn't sit and wait for the repairman to get there, so I knew the same thing would be true of the boat." 
 
 The mother said the pair's water purifier had stopped working and they were down to their last gallon of water when Jennifer got it fixed. 
 
 Two months into their trip, well after they were scheduled to arrive in Tahiti, the women began making distress calls, but there were no vessels close and they were too far out to sea for the signals to be detected on land. 
 
 They told the Navy that they survived because they had packed a water purifier and enough food for a year, mostly dried goods like oatmeal and pasta. 
 
 A photo provided by the Navy shows Fuiava smiling as a Navy sailor greets her dog, Zeus aboard the USS Ashland. 
 
 The women received a medical assessment, food and beds aboard the Navy ship, where they will remain until the next port of call, the Navy said. 
 
 "The U.S. Navy is postured to assist any distressed mariner of any nationality during any type of situation," said Cmdr. Steven Wasson, the commanding officer of the USS Ashland. ||||| (CNN) Two women from Hawaii who were lost at sea for nearly five months have been rescued by the US Navy. 
 
 Jennifer Appel, Tasha Fuiava and their two dogs were found Wednesday, drifting about 900 miles southeast of Japan, a Navy statement said. 
 
 "It was incredibly emotional and it was so satisfying to know the men and women that serve our country would come and assist us," Appel said in a call with the media Thursday. "It was actually quite mind-blowing and incredibly humbling." 
 
 Appel described the situation prior to the rescue as "very depressing" and "very hopeless." 
 
 "When I saw the gray boat on the edge of the horizon, my heart leapt because I knew we were about to be saved," she told NBC News . "Because I honestly believed we were going to die within the next 24 hours." 
 
 USS Ashland Command Master Chief Gary Wise welcomes aboard Jennifer Appel. 
 
 The pair left Hawaii on May 3 on the Sea Nymph, bound for Tahiti, about 2,600 miles way. They ran into trouble on May 30 when bad weather flooded the engine with water, Appel said. The women decided to keep sailing, but strayed off course, according to the Navy. 
 
 The ship's mast was also damaged, compromising the structural integrity, and limiting the Sea Nymph's capabilities to maneuver, Appel said in the call, obtained through CNN affiliate KHNL/KGMB. 
 
 Then the ship lost its communications capabilities. 
 
 After two months -- past the time they estimated they would arrive in Tahiti -- the Honolulu residents began sending out daily distress calls, the Navy said. But they were too far away from other boats and shore stations to be heard. 
 
 "You can't get any help at all because you're in the middle of nowhere," Fuiava said. 
 
 Appel and Fuiava survived on a year's worth of dry goods, including oatmeal, pasta and rice, the Navy said. They also had a water purifier. 
 
 The pair, along with their dogs -- or the "boys," as they call them -- survived two separate shark attacks, they said. 
 
 "And both of them -- we actually thought it was lights out," Appel said, "and they were horrific." 
 
 The first occurred one night when the Sea Nymph drifted into a pack of tiger sharks, Appel said. The next night, another came and slammed itself against the ship's hull. 
 
 "We were just incredibly lucky that our hull was strong enough to withstand the onslaught." 
 
 "There is a true humility to wondering if today is your last day," Appel added. "If tonight is your last night. If the storm that's approaching is going to bring down the rig." 
 
 'Thank God we've been rescued' 
 
 For 98 days, they sent distress signals, Appel and Fuiava said, hoping to be rescued. 
 
 After nearly five months lost at sea, they were finally spotted by a Taiwanese fishing vessel. The fishermen attempted to tow the sailboat, but when they failed, contacted the US Coast Guard. 
 
 The Navy discovered the boat Tuesday, about 900 miles southeast of Japan -- which is thousands of miles away from Tahiti. 
 
 Tasha Fuiava climbs to board the Ashland. 
 
 The USS Ashland, a ship based in Sasebo, Japan, was near the area on routine deployment and reached the damaged sailboat Wednesday morning. 
 
 "The US Navy is postured to assist any distressed mariner of any nationality during any type of situation," said Cmdr. Steven Wasson, Ashland commanding officer. 
 
 The Navy released video footage of the rescuers reaching the stricken sailboat. An ecstatic woman greeted them and blew kisses, while the two dogs, Zeus and Valentine, wearing bright, yellow life jackets, barked excitedly. 
 
 'Lucky to be alive' 
 
 It was a good thing the fishermen located the sailboat when and where they did, said Curtis Ebbesmeyer, a flotsam expert who co-wrote a book on the subject 
 
 The circular currents that carried the boat toward Japan could easily have sent it away from land, he said. 
 
 "If they hadn't been found there (off Japan) there's a good chance they'd have gone back out to the Pacific," Ebbesmeyer said. "The North Pacific is a really rough ocean in the winter. ... They're lucky to be alive." 
 
 He said flotsam and boats usually drift an average of 20 miles daily in the ocean. The distance and direction the women's sailboat covered was "a normal drift pattern," assuming it started drifting north of the equator, he said. 
 
 The women were smart to pack the water purifier, he said. 
 
 'You're around for a reason' 
 
 The sailboat was deemed unseaworthy and is currently drifting out at sea, a Navy spokesman said during the call from the Ashland. 
 
 The women were given medical assessments and will remain aboard the USS Ashland until its next port of call, the Navy said. 
 
 "I'm grateful for their service to our country," Appel said in a Navy statement. "They saved our lives. The pride and smiles we had when we saw [the US Navy] on the horizon was pure relief." 
 
 Sailors help Zeus, one of two dogs who were on the sailboat, aboard the Ashland. 
 
 Appel and Fuiava said they had no option but to carry on, so they tried to make the most of their time lost at sea. 
 
 "There's different sunrises and sunsets every day," Fuiava said. "And you're around for a reason, but you may as well use the time to do something beneficial." 
 
 Appel, Fuiava, Zeus and Valentine are safe with the US Navy. But The Sea Nymph is still out there, drifting.
– Jennifer Appel and Tasha Fuiava's five months lost at sea included three major storms, two shark attacks, and a broken water purifier. The women, who were rescued by a US Navy ship on Tuesday, say there were "absolutely" times they thought they would die on their 50-foot sailboat, ABC News reports. Fuiava and Appel gave an account of their ordeal while aboard the USS Ashland, where they will remain until its next port of call, according to the AP. They set sail from Honolulu for Tahiti—a trip of 2,600 miles—in May, but problems started immediately. A structural issue with the mast limited them to sailing under 5 knots and then a storm with nearly hurricane-force winds and 25-foot waves battered them for two days, leaving them without a functional engine just a month into their trip. Appel and Fuiava endured two more storms and "two different shark attacks," which Appel calls "horrific." Groups of sharks would repeatedly slap their tails against the boat. "We were just incredibly lucky that our hull was strong enough to withstand the onslaught," CNN quotes Appel as saying. Appel describes their time adrift at sea as "very depressing" and "very hopeless." "There is a true humility to wondering if today is your last day, if tonight is your last night," she says. Fortunately, the pair had brought along a year's worth of food, a water purifier (which broke and needed to be repaired), and Appel's two dogs, who they say kept them from giving in to depression. Fuiva tried to find the positive: "There's love, and there are different sunrises and sunsets every day." The sailboat was spotted Tuesday by a Taiwanese fishing vessel 900 miles off Japan—5,000 miles from Tahiti.