Jennifer Appel waves at rescuers near her crippled sailboat. Appel and another woman said they had left Hawaii in May for Tahiti. (Us Navy/AP)

Two women from Hawaii who say they were lost at sea on a sailboat for months never activated their emergency beacon, the U.S. Coast Guard said, adding to a list of inconsistencies that cast doubt on their survival tale.

Jennifer Appel and Tasha Fuiava said they left Hawaii on May 3 for Tahiti but ran into storms that damaged the boat. The U.S. Navy rescued them last week 900 miles southeast of Japan, thousands of miles off course.

The women had told the Associated Press that they had radios, satellite phones, GPS and other emergency gear, but they didn't mention the Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon, or EPIRB.

A Coast Guard review of the incident and interviews with the women revealed that they had an EPIRB aboard the boat but never turned it on. The device communicates with satellites and would alert authorities in minutes.

Appel said Tuesday that she thought it should be used only if you are likely to die in the next 24 hours.

Officials have said key parts of the women's account are not consistent with weather reports or geography.