meta_pixel
Tapesearch Logo
Log in
The CRUX: True Survival Stories

30 Seconds to Escape: The Sinking of the Cynthia Woods | E235

The CRUX: True Survival Stories

Bleav + Kaycee McIntosh + Julie Henningsen

Society & Culture, Halloween, Wilderness, True Crime, Nature, National, Crime, Documentary

4.0606 Ratings

🗓️ 18 May 2026

⏱️ 32 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

In June 2008, the racing sailboat Cynthia Woods lost its keel during the Regatta de Amigos in the Gulf of Mexico and capsized in under a minute, 11 miles offshore. Safety officer Roger Stone saved two crewmates before disappearing beneath the surface. The five survivors spent 26 hours adrift with almost nothing — no life raft, no EPIRB, one flashlight. The episode explores how they made it, what went wrong, and the complicated aftermath of Roger Stone's sacrifice.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

Hello, survivalists.

0:05.8

This is the Crux True Survival Story podcast.

0:09.2

I'm Casey McIntosh.

0:10.6

And I'm Julie Hennyson.

0:11.9

And we are medical professionals with a passion for wilderness survival.

0:15.7

Join us as we explore real life survival stories and the critical moments that determine their outcomes. Buckle up.

0:22.2

Adventure awaits. Let's dive into this week's story. You are below deck. The boat is rocking,

0:33.5

steadily, rhythmic, the kind of motion that pulls you under fast. You've been asleep for hours when the

0:39.7

sound hits you. It's not a crash, and it's not an alarm. It's a voice, and it says a few words.

0:47.2

Water. Water is coming in. You open your eyes and the floor is wrong. Something dark and cold

0:53.1

is spreading across it. Not a splash,

0:55.7

not a drip, but a rising black sheet that's moving toward you. You are half in a dream and half

1:01.8

in the worst moment of your life, and your brain cannot decide which one is real. Then the ceiling

1:08.2

gets closer. That's when you know.

1:12.2

The boat is rolling.

1:13.3

It's going over.

1:22.6

And you have, they will tell you later, somewhere between 30 and 60 seconds, to get out before the hatch is underwater and the choice is made for you.

1:27.1

One man on that boat knew exactly what those 30 seconds meant, and he used every one of them

1:29.6

not to save himself.

1:32.1

I'm Casey McIntosh, and this is the Crux True Survival Stories, the show where we go deep

1:37.1

into real survival situations, not to sensationalize them, but to understand what actually

1:43.0

happens when everything falls apart. With me,

...

Transcript will be available on the free plan in 8 days. Upgrade to see the full transcript now.

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Bleav + Kaycee McIntosh + Julie Henningsen, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Bleav + Kaycee McIntosh + Julie Henningsen and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.

Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.