When the world is covered by more than 70 percent water, you can imagine how hard it must be to find something you’re looking for in the seas. But, it’s even harder if you don’t even know you’re supposed to be searching for something.

So when a tiny damaged boat was spotted by a crew member on a gigantic cargo ship from Amsterdam, they had no idea what they would find on it. But for the two men and a dog on the boat – the fact they were found at all seemed miraculous.

New Jersey residents Kevin Hyde, 65, and his 76-year-old friend, Joe DiTommasso had set sail from North Carolina on a trip to Florida. Joining them was Joe’s dog Minnie. Kevin, a life-long sailor, made a stop at the Outer Banks of North Carolina, and then began what he thought would be an uneventful trip the rest of the way to Florida.

Joe DiTommasso’s dog, Minnie. Image from WHYY video

That’s when the storm appeared, practically out of nowhere. The wind and waves tore down the boat’s 50-foot mast, rendering the boat useless. The radios no longer worked, and help wasn’t going to come for them.

I’ve never heard winds so bad my whole life! Sounded like the devil was out there,” Joe said.

“We were sailing along great for like three days. We were moving. Then that first storm hit. When that hit, that’s when the problems start. The sail broke first, then the steering broke. Then after that, we just battled the sea,” Joe said.

Once the storm passed, they were off course with no navigation system to guide them home. They men said they believed they were going to die. “I said, ‘Lord, all I want to see is my new granddaughter. She’s only 18 months old’…”, Joe said.

“We were just being pushed out to sea farther and farther,” Kevin added. “It’s like finding a needle in a haystack in this situation, the waves were bigger than my boat.” But apparently, God had other ideas. “God sent me to save them. God sent our Silver Muna to save them,” said Capt. Neeraj Chaudhary of the Silver Muna cargo ship.

Kevin Hyde hugs his granddaughter. Photo from NBC video

A crew member alerted the captain after spotting a badly-damaged sailboat in the waters. They were 200 miles off the coast of Delaware. “We didn’t receive any distress signal, nothing, my second officer just noticed something,” the captain said. “(It was )probably the last ship that would have been able to find (us),” Kevin said.

What was less lucky was the fight to rescue the two men and dog – getting them onboard the cargo ship wasn’t an easy task. After more than 3 hours and one cargo net later – all three were safely onboard after more than 10 days stranded in the ocean. “I was literally crying. I was thanking God – thank God they are safe. Mr. Joe has cried 10 times on ship,” Capt. Chaudhary said.

It is our duty, it is our duty what we have done,” he said.

For Kevin, Joe and Minnie, just being able to reunite with their families was enough for them. While both men were seen by doctors and were given the all clear, neither have plans to go on another trip anytime soon. What a miracle for the boat to have found these two men! Watch them discuss their time lost at sea, below.

Sources: NBC New York | WHYY | NYPost