In the marine safety world, what a vessel should have aboard, especially for a voyage like this, is an EPIRB - Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon - that sends one's coordinates to SAR resources upon being manually or automatically (hydrostatic release) activated, and is registered to the ship so they know exactly what they're looking for and where.

Satellite phone is a nice extra, as is a SPOT device that even most non-mariners are aware of.

That they missed acquiring such basic survival gear makes you wonder what kind of "veteran sailors" they consulted before casting off.

The headline for this story should read "Idiots lucky to be alive; lost at sea 5 months for no good reason"