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“It was immediately apparent how much of a good position we were in, considering. From a psychological perspective, you want to look for reasons why you’re going to survive, versus the other option,” Mr. Kreek said. “We had a number of rules on our boat, and the number one rule is don’t die. Above all else that is what we wanted to do, live and survive to tell our tale.”

The men were so well-prepared for survival at sea, in fact, that they almost spoiled their own rescue. In effect, they were too prepared, because when a U.S. Coast Guard C130 plane dropped a barrel for them, they read the list of its contents — food, water, sunscreen, blankets — and realized they did not need any of it.

So the four men just waited in the life-raft, saving the Coast Guard barrel for an emergency, unaware that the list was incomplete, and did not mention there was also a radio.

The Coast Guard was baffled by their silence. A second plane was sent, a second barrel dropped, this time labeled “Open Me!!!!” They did, found a radio, and the first words the men heard from their rescuers were “Why didn’t you guys open the first barrel?”

“We’re like, because it didn’t say it had a radio in it,” said Mr. Fleming.

For all their preparation and training, though, it was a simple wave that capsized them. As mission control director Greg Spooner put it, it was not even a big wave, just bad luck and bad timing.

Mr. Kreek had just finished a four-hour rowing shift with Mr. Fleming, and was tucked into their little aft cabin, getting ready to sleep.