Four survivors scramble ashore…. four men who’ve come back from the dead.
The men say they’re the long-lost crew of the trimaran Rose Noelle which vanished on a trip from New Zealand to Tonga four months previously.
If their story is true, these men have set a new world record for survival at sea in a cold climate.
They are Rick Hellreigal, 31 years old – a former policeman and outward-bound instructor…38 year old American ex-patriot Jim Nalepka….42 year old Phil Hofman…and the owner and skipper of the Rose Noelle, 47 year old John Glennie.
The harrowing deprivation of their ordeal is one of the great stories of maritime survival.
Their story of 119 days adrift in an upturned trimaran has become the stuff of legend and is a saga of strength, courage and commitment in the face of constant stress and hardship. The men, who started out as strangers and whose backgrounds were so different, found bitter personality clashes a constant threat. The teamwork they depended on to survive was strained by self-doubt and depression, yet they battled on with courage, spirit and resourcefulness.
This is a story of international significance… a New Zealand story of survival against the odds told through dramatic re-enactment, interviews and News footage in the 90 minute Greenstone documentary – Back from the Dead – The Saga of the Rose Noelle.