'We just banded together': How Aussie surfers survived two days lost at sea

Steph Weisse, Will Teagle and Jordan Short were celebrating Elliot Foote’s 30th birthday with a surf trip to Indonesia with eight others when their boat struck bad weather and they disappeared on Sunday night.

But after 36 hours at sea, it was the good news Australia was hoping for – they were found bobbing on surfboards in the ocean.

“We are really happy to be back on land dry, hydrated, fed back with our friends,” Foote said in a newly released video.

“There were some moments out there when we were quite nervous and didn’t know what the outcome was going to be. 

“We just banded together I couldn’t be happier to have these three with me they’re all so strong.”

Weisse, Teagle and Short were found on Tuesday morning on their surfboards in the ocean off Tengku Island, part of the Bankyaks.

Meanwhile, Foote had struck out paddling to an island for help and was found 90 minutes after his friends were rescued.

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The group are still dumbfounded by their survival at sea for so long.

“The experience was so intense but we are so proud of ourselves that we didn’t give up to the last moment being out there so long, wouldn’t want to do it with anyone else,” Weisse said.

Weisse called home and her parents received an immense wave of relief knowing their daughter was okay after nearly two days of agonising.

“I heard him laughing saying ‘Hey Steph’, it was the most unbelievable feeling,” Weisse’s mum Jill said. 

A trip that was meant to be the birthday celebration of a lifetime turned into a survivor story, one the group will never forget.

“It’s been such a crazy experience we’ve bonded so much more,” Short said.

“Our thoughts are with the Indonesian family and friends of the missing guy, he’s still out there and it is hard to think about and we hope the best for him,” Foote said.