No reports of anyone painting a face on a volleyball, but this story does seem like something cooked up by a Hollywood scriptwriter.

Linus and Sabina Jack are the lucky couple, stranded for a full week on a small Pacific Island before some sand scrawling saved the day.

Both in their 50s, the pair’s SOS in the sand was eventually spotted by an aircraft.

Here’s the Huffington Post:

They’d departed from Weno Island on board an 18-foot boat on Aug. 17, with “limited supplies and no emergency equipment,” according to a U.S. Coast Guard statement.

They were scheduled to arrive on nearby Tamtam Island the following day. But they never reached their destination…

But the U.S. Coast Guard’s command center in Guam revealed that it initiated a search operation for the pair on Aug. 19 after receiving notification their vessel was missing.

Aircraft crews and patrol boats combed a total area of 16,571 square miles before a passing ship noticed flashing lights coming from the island on Wednesday.

The U.S. Navy scrambled a P-8A Poseidon aircraft to investigate the sighting, and airmen located the pair after spotting their makeshift sign on the beach.

A Coast Guard boat picked them up Friday and transferred them to Nomwin Atoll, from where the U.S. Embassy of Kolonia says they are now “waiting for a ship to take them home.”

If you’re thinking ‘hey, I’ve heard this one before’ chances are you’re thinking of THIS rescue from back in April, where shipwrecked sailors spelled out ‘help’ using palm fronds.

Keen to set sail in a dinky boat some time this week? Let this be a reminder…

[source:huffpost]