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. 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. "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." "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. 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. 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. 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. 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. Fuiava likened it to experiencing an earthquake in the middle of nowhere unable to get help "and you're shark bait." 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. 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. 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. A group of sharks attacked their boat one night, and a single shark returned a day later, she said. "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, if tonight is your last night," she said. "If tonight is your last night. "Thank God we were being rescued," Appel described her emotions when she saw American sailors coming toward the "Sea Nymph." 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. Joyce called the U.S. Coast Guard about a week and a half after her daughter left Honolulu, she said. 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. Still aboard the USS Ashland, Jennifer Appel and Natasha "Tasha" Fuiava shared their harrowing experiences with reporters late Thursday night via conference call. "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. "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 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. "They saved our lives," said Appel through the Navy release. The pride and smiles we had when we saw [the US Navy] on the horizon was pure relief."  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. "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. So she had several problems that caused her to end up drifting in the ocean," the elder Appel said.
– 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.