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What this video covers

The 69-foot motor yacht Joyita disappeared in the South Pacific in October 1955 while carrying 25 passengers and crew from Apia, Samoa, to the Tokelau Islands.11:20 Five weeks later, the vessel was discovered drifting 600 miles off course, flooded and listing, yet structurally sound and incapable of sinking.1:56 Investigators determined that a corroded galvanized pipe in the engine’s cooling circuit had failed below the waterline, causing the vessel to flood while the engine continued to run.18:36 The electrical system failed at 10:25 PM when water reached the switchboard, freezing the ship's clocks.21:10 Despite the vessel's inherent buoyancy, the entire complement abandoned the ship into life rafts during the night in 40-knot winds.28:43 The official commission of inquiry declared the disappearance of the 25 people inexplicable, citing the captain's negligence regarding maintenance, including a disabled transmission and clogged bilge pumps, as the cause of the initial crisis but not the abandonment.29:15 Staying with a damaged vessel remains the primary survival strategy, as a boat provides shelter and a larger target for search aircraft than a life raft.1:20

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