In 1989 the trimaran Rose Noelle set sail from Picton, New Zealand, bound for Tonga with four crew. After a freak wave capsized the yacht, they drifted for 119 days before landing on Great Barrier Island.

Four men set sail bound for Tonga on the yacht Rose Noelle. However the yacht capsizes in a storm and fills with water, trapping the crew in a space the size of a double bed. Personality conflicts threaten their survival but after 119 days adrift in the wintery pacific the Rose Noelle washes ashore on New Zealand's Great Barrier island. Their story makes headlines around the world but their survival is so miraculous that many commentators cast doubt on their story and they face open hostility from the media and authorities.—Jh