Main Arm resident Stephanie Weisse and her boyfriend Elliot Foote were part of the group rescued off the coast of Aceh in Indonesia after being lost at sea for several days. Their friends Will Teagle and Jordan Short were also rescued along with two Indonesian crew members of the wooden speedboat boat they had been on. One member of the crew is still missing.
The group of 17, including 12 Australians and five Indonesians, had been travelling from Nias Island to Pinang Island in two boats when they hit bad weather. The boat of ten decided to shelter on Sarang Alu island while the other wooden speedboat went ahead.
According to the report in The Guardian Peter Foote, Elliot’s father, said ‘the boat was hit by a large wave during a “really bad storm” and everyone was thrown into the water. They all grabbed floatation devices and surfboards and they were huddling together.’
Elliot then decided to strike out on his own to get help as he believed there was an island in a particular direction.
‘He was on the board for 37 hours,’ said Peter Foote.
‘The others were picked up by the catamaran skippered by an Australian living in the region but Elliot was not located for some hours after that,’ reported The Guardian.
The search continues for the missing crew member.
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