Cameras, satellite, the latest scientific instruments designed to capture each moment, each movement, what they didnt capture was the moment of disaster. There has been three beacons activated. But there are four people. Correct. Capsized at sea. My heart was racing. Right away, you have a moment of panic. Frantic on land. Who did i lose . No, this cant be happening. Youre there on their incredible journey as they fight the odds and the elements. We got hit by a pretty big wave, and it snapped an oar in two. Im lester holt, and this is dateline. Heres keith morrison. The ocean almost never gives back what it claims, but then there are these images. Its amazing that this video exists at all, having once been lost to the capricious will of the say, and yet, here it is to tell frame by frame its harrowing story of the four young men who imagined they could best the wind and waves and unpredictable elements to cross the atlantic, all the way, in a row boat. There was jordan, the captain, adam, the olympic gold medal winner, marcus the adventurer, and patrick, the rookie rower. Now this video can only tell their story because it was retrieved after what happened to them from the very ocean waters they had the audacity to explore. 7 30 saturday morning, nobody called, and i saw that i had 11 missed phone calls. And i knew. A mother sat and worried for weeks before she got the dreaded phone call. And the world stopped. Every fear i had had come to fruition. My son was gone. He was swallowed up by that ocean. Her agony, shared by three other families. Everything in me said that this isnt okay whats happening. We cant tell how many people are in the raft. None of them knew who lived or died. Whats that feeling like . These are friends of yours. If there are only three beacons going off, why isnt there a fourth in who did i lose . The story begins in the winter of 2013 when four young men from the u. S. And canada set out to become the first people ever to row across the atlantic from africa to north america. More than 3500 miles. This footage was shot while the crew was getting ready to leave africa. Everybody is just choosing to do this. So the only authority that im really granted is my experience from rowing across the ocean the first time. 30 year old jordan hansen had already rowed across the north atlantic. His craft was named for his father who died of asthma when jordan was 3, the james Robert Hansen. We will be fighting to stay north a little bit the whole time. The trip had taken jordan three years to plan, sponsored by the canadian wildlife federation, the crew would provide lessons for hundreds of students and investigate the climate change. Scientific education is the goal. 32yearold adam creek won the limb pick gold in rowing in beiji beijing. He was the father of a 2yearold boy jefferson and his wife was pregnant with their second child by the time the expedition set off. They werent doing this on a whim. They were planning very well. People would say in spite of that, its still a crazy thing to do. I know. And maybe irresponsible for a young father. For me, the difference was he wasnt doing this because he thought, you know, its going to be so fun. Im going to row across the ocean for kicks. This was a partnering with the canadian wildlife association. Raising awareness. Educating youth. Marcus was a surfer and paddleboarder. Hed already rowed around vancouver island. He was single, both parents dead, but his sister and brotherinlaw and two nieces were following very closely. Marcus helped plot the course. What would be wrong with cutting north. Then there was 29 year old Patrick Fleming, an expert skier and college rower. They called him a rookie because hed never rowed in the ocean, but his thrill seeking was matched by a kpul shon to be prepared for the worst. Theres not going to be this riveting edge of your seat excitement, but were still rowing and moving, but theres going to be sheer terror that pumps us up. Patricks parents hated the whole idea. He said to me very calmly, hes an adult. I cant tell him what to do. But dont worry, hell never go through with this. Put it in the back burner, take it out of your head. Famous last words. By january 23, 2013, the james Robert Hansen and its crew pushed off on their journey to miami. With good weather, they thought the trip would take about two months. The last thing i said to him when i saw him was come home to me. The crew members planned to work in shifts. Two would row while the other two tried to sleep below deck. I was up, september an email to all the parents saying theyre o call me any time. The expedition has begun. Lets go. Their friend rowed in 2006. This time, he became a oneman Mission Control in Washington State, keeping track of them best he could from his base on land. Right out of the gate, though, you could see something was just a bit off in terms of their progress. The crew was supposed to be able to contact him by phone or email. They also had three cameras on board to record video diaries. But they were plagued by power problems. So the Satellite Phone and Internet Service was very dicey. Greg didnt hear from them for several days. But according to their gps tracking device, they were moving far too slowly. Well, looking at the wind, its coming out of the north. Theyre going west. So theyre just getting hit from the beam. And its probably terrible. And sure enough, i got the first phone call from jordan about a couple days after they left, and he sounded miserable. Thats because all four crew members were seasick in the extreme. But adam, the olympic Gold Medalist sitting behind jordan didnt let it get him down. Seasickness. Its like a slimy lizard climbing from a bulging pit in your stomach up the back of your throat. It feels fantastic. Back home in british columbia, rebecca, six months pregnant was taking care of their two year old son jefferson who liked to pretend he was rowing too. Row, row, row your boat, gently down the stream, merrily, merrily you never had any worries that catastrophe would befall them. I did initially. This is a dinghy in the middle of the atlantic. It could flip. I was always told by all the guys that was a very unfounded concern. Thats what the rowers thought. But the ocean never makes guarantees. The crew and their families were about to learn that almost nothing on this journey would go as planned. When we come back tensions grow on board. You wont get it in your head. And trouble grows at sea. Its a lot more difficult tor me than i thought it was going to be. We got hit by a pretty big wave today. And it snapped an oar in two. We are in a very serious situation. The comforting scent of snuggle fresh linen you love, again, hes sitting in my chair. Uhhuh anytime you want it. Part of the air wick familiar favorites collection. Also available in cinnabon classic cinnamon roll and baby magic clean baby. Is it a bus . A bicycle . Two chinchillas . A skateboard . Fuzzy coconuts . Its a flower. Air wick. The craft of fragrance. People shave you. Pour hot wax on you. [ woman ] they dont treat you like skin. [ female announcer ] new dove advanced care, the first antiperspirant with nutrium moisture. [ woman ] you deserve our best care ever. And dont you ever forget that. In the winter of 2013, two americans and two canadians were attempting to be the first adventurers ever to row from africa to north america, but the weather was worse, much worse, than they expected. Crew member adam creek, an olympic Gold Medalist filed this report early on. The last days have been really awful. Weve h we weve had snotty water. Seasickness. Sometimes daylight turned to pitchblack. The Living Conditions beyond uncomfortable. Adam gave a tour below decks. Im in our main sleeping cabin thats 8 feet by 5 feet. Normally two of us had sleep here at any given time. Also within the cabin we have our electrical panel. And below the deck weve got a bunch of scientific instrumentation where we measure a lot of parameters of the ocean. Then four days out, they were shaken by their first real crisis. We got hit by a pretty big wave today, and it snapped an oar in two. It [ bleep ]ed us. If any more broke, this could be a big problem. On top of the weather, the power supply was malfunctioning. So their ability to communicate back to land was also threatened. I think my, my primary concern is safety. Its really important that we Stay Grounded and we recognize that we are in a very serious situation. But if there was a lifethreatening situation, they had a back up plan. They were each equipped with emergency locater beacons. Patrick had showed them off back on land. Its basically an emergency device. You turn it on, and you can track us wherever we are. Family and friends were monitoring their progress on maps and websites and could see it was slow going. Did you have a way of expressing your worries . Yes, yes. Greg and i would talk most days. And id see his number pop up on my phone. Id panic. How okay were the families about what was or wasnt happening . Did you get a lot of stress and distress from them . I did. At sea, by day 25, Patrick Fleming, the novice on the crew was having second thoughts about the whole expedition. Its a lot more difficult for me than i thought it would be. A lot different than any other adventures that ive chosen to partake in. Its very draining, and, you know, mover often than not, i find myself wishing i was back on dry land. But the spotty email and phone service, communication was difficult. But back on land, patricks mother diana was having a textbook episode of mothers intuition. And i think that he was having second thoughts about it. In a very big way. And then, on day 29, another oar broke. We just got nailed by another big wave and broke another oar. They now had no backups. If any more oars broke theyd have to give up on making miami and aim for the nearest land, and that would be very difficult with just three oars in any direction. The constant anxiety might have been getting to the crew. I also had a dream this is a tough one. Another big wave came and completely flipped the boat over. A groggy marcus woke up after a bad dream about being on some other row boat. And it might have foretold disaster. But against all odds, as the days went by, the crew continued to plug away, one stroke at a time. And each day, if the communications were working, theyd file a lesson for the students following their voyage at schools across the United States and canada. The best part of this rowing trip so far is all the wildlife weve been able to see. Its been absolutely drink credible. Theyd see dolphin, marlin, sea turtles. What kids werent hearing about was the tension on board. But the video shows it. The disagreements about the food supply, the day to day annoyances about life in cramped quarters. Were going to be eating a little bit less. Oh, we are . You think . Ive been telling you for the past 40 days, jordan. You wont get it in your head. On a whole, though, it appeared the four rowers were getting through it. Sometimes in the black of night theyd break into song. Row, row your boat on day 47, their skipper jordan was able to take some pride in how it was all working out. If anybodys going to be anybodys best friend, well all be a good team. Everybodys very compassionate and very much cares about everybody else, and that makes me very, very happy. Yet, the danger ahead was never far from their minds. Thunderstorms that came out of nowhere, the eerie feeling that theyd be rammed by a big ship in the middle of the night. There was always reason to be wary, but now, though, it was time to sleep. Coming up. I feel like theyre going to be in dangerous waters. An ominous message is received on land. There have been three beacons activated. Heres a little secret, Voice Control is the future. Beer. Dog. Music. Yikes. Skip track, please. Im hungry. Impossible . Maybe, but honeywells latest innovation gives me hope. Hello, thermostat . Hello. Please say a command. Im feeling hot. Changing set point to 68 degrees the wifi thermostat that listens, learns, saves. From honeywell. The crew of the tiny 29foot row boat, the james Robert Hansen had been fighting the elements for weeks on end. There were storms, broken oars, power problems. All seem to be conspiring against the four rowers. This is adam calling from the ocean. And in these recovered videos, its clear that on the way from africa to north america, the journey was proving tougher than any of them had imagined. Remember adam creek was missing his pregnant wife and young son. I yearn for land more than i thought i would out here. And im going to be excited to get to land. Im more excited to see becca and jefferson and get on with my life. I find myself thinking a whole lot about whats going to happen after this. And then one day back home in british columbia, his wife received a happy surprise on her computer. Its this awesome video that adam was able to spend near the end speaking to jefferson. Hi, jefferson, its daddy. And jefferson would watch it over and over again and say i went to day care. Have you been to the park lately . Have you been spending lots of time outside . The father and son separated by thousands of miles. Im looking forward to hearing back from you. Hope youre doing really well. Im going to give you a big squeeze when i see you in miami. Then were going to see the elephants at the miami zoo. Love you a ton. Back on the ocean, the rowers continued to battle the high winds and high seas. Were now to four oars. Thats serious. Thats nothing to shake a stickal. And it wasnt just the oars that put the expedition at risk. Hey, gregory, hope youre doing well. We had a little bit of a power crisis on board today. The power problems got worse when their wind driven turbine malfunctioned. If they completely lost power they had allose the ability to run the desalination system. And theyd totally lose the ability to communicate. Thought we destroyed all the electronics. An expert back on land gave the crew crucial advice to help solve the problems. Coordinator greg still thought the crew was safe. For him, no news was good news. Every night id sleep with the phone by my bed. The phone is always at my side. Im the Emergency Contact for the u. S. Coast guard. So if anything were to happen and the beacons were activated i got the phone call. Were always going to be struggling request the power. I hope we wont be struggling that much with the food as tough as it was for the men on the sea, it was in some ways worse for the families at home. Greg tried to soothe rattled nerves, but it seemed to be taking so long. Even marcus niece is getting and the antsy. 57 days . By march, things began looking up. Go team yay the crew was finally making good time. Adam and patrick were obviously happy. We just finished probably our fastest four days on the water maybe. Its amazing how fast water and fast conditions really raise your spirits out here. Jordans family was encouraged by the progress too. It looked like theyd make miami by the end of april. Weve been plotting their position day by day as they come across. And as of last night, they were right there headed for here. And then strange omen. The boat was about 900 miles off miami. Patricks mother diana was overwhelmed with dark thoughts. It was an ominous feeling. When i should be thinking theyre home free, i feel like theyre going to be in dangerous waters so to speak. And then on the night of april 3, day 71, marcus posted what now seems an eerie blog entry. He wrote he had, quote, a complete lack of fear for death. This probably stems from the death of my mom when i was 5. And how i eventually came to accept it. All just coincidence, perhaps. But jordan, the captain noticed the weather wasnt quite what he expected. The forecast estimated that we would have 1. 5 to 2 meter waves, and these waves were not all of them, but there were definitely a few that were up to 4 meters. A few weeks later, the crew came upon the thick seaweed of the sargasso sea, and these would be the last moments recorded above the james Robert Hansen. A few hours later back on land, it was the Early Morning of saturday, april 6, day 73. And my heart was racing, and i was trying to talk to him. And my voice was fluttering. I could feel my whole body shaking. Greg spooner, more than 4,000 miles away in Washington State was awakened by a phone call by the u. S. Coast card in san juan port rico. And he says there have been three beacons activated aboard the james Robert Hansen. But there are four people on the james Robert Hansen. Correct. The news only got worse. Coming up. Who did i lose . That was exactly the explosive, emotional question for everyone. You know, right away you have a panic. Every fear i had, had come to fruition. It just couldnt be my son. I always wanted to design a bike that honored those who serve our country. And geico gave me that opportunity. Now naturally, we wanted it to be powerful, innovative and we built this bike as a tribute to those who are serving, those who have served and their families. 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Fearlessness. Apply daily. These video images retrieved from the ocean were among the last the four rowers took on board the james Robert Hansen. In the Early Morning hours of april 6, 2013, day 73 of the expedition, land based coordinator, greg spooner, got a call from the coast guard station. Officials had received signals from three emergency beacons off the port reuerto reeken coast. He knew the beacons had to be operated ma