Her full name was Margaret A. Wolfenberger, but she was always called Meg. Daughter of Eugene Thomas Wolfenberger and Peggy Anne Brady (who later was remarried to Jack Reynolds). Married Thomas Mooney, 15 Sep 1973, in Chatham Township, NJ; they were later divorced. Meg was a graduate of Chatham Township High School, where she was on the Homecoming Court her senior year. After graduation, she went to work for American Airlines as a flight attendant.
In late October 1982, Captain John Lippoth was hired by the owner of a yacht, the Trashman, to sail it from South Portland, Maine to Fort Lauderdale, Florida. He hired Mark Adams, 24-year-old Deborah Scaling and 22-year-old Brad Cavanagh as crew and brought his girlfriend Meg Mooney along as well. After refueling at Annapolis, MD, the yacht capsized in a fierce tropical storm with 30-foot waves and 70 mph winds. The crew jumped into the water, inflated an 11-foot Zodiac rubber dinghy, and climbed aboard. Mooney became caught on a coil of lines and wires while abandoning the yacht, leaving deep cuts on her arms and legs which soon became seriously infected.
The group drifted for five days without food or water. They were forced to take refuge under the lifeboat for the first 18 hours until the wind died down and they were able to flip it and get inside. Deborah and Brad later praised Meg for having stood watch in the storm and insulating Trashman's dinghy with seaweed, despite pain from her grievous injuries. These actions helped them to survive.
After a few days, both Lippoth and Adams became delusional after drinking saltwater to quench their thirst, jumped overboard and were killed by sharks. Soon after, Meg Mooney died of blood poisoning after her wounds became septic. Deborah and Brad said the Lord's Prayer and the 23rd Psalm over her body and buried her at sea.
On October 28, 1982, the fifth day after the yacht capsized, Deborah Scaling and Brad Cavanagh were seen and rescued some 200 miles off the coast of North Carolina by a Soviet freighter. The Soviets transferred them to a Coast Guard ship, and they were taken to Carteret General Hospital to be treated for exposure and dehydration. Both recovered from their ordeal.
A memorial service for Meg was held at St. Thomas More Church in New York City on November 2, 1982. Deborah died in Mexico in 2012, leaving Brad the only living survivor of the Trashman.
In a 2019 movie based on the ordeal, "Capsized: Blood in the Water", Meg Mooney was played by Rebekah Graf.
Her full name was Margaret A. Wolfenberger, but she was always called Meg. Daughter of Eugene Thomas Wolfenberger and Peggy Anne Brady (who later was remarried to Jack Reynolds). Married Thomas Mooney, 15 Sep 1973, in Chatham Township, NJ; they were later divorced. Meg was a graduate of Chatham Township High School, where she was on the Homecoming Court her senior year. After graduation, she went to work for American Airlines as a flight attendant.
In late October 1982, Captain John Lippoth was hired by the owner of a yacht, the Trashman, to sail it from South Portland, Maine to Fort Lauderdale, Florida. He hired Mark Adams, 24-year-old Deborah Scaling and 22-year-old Brad Cavanagh as crew and brought his girlfriend Meg Mooney along as well. After refueling at Annapolis, MD, the yacht capsized in a fierce tropical storm with 30-foot waves and 70 mph winds. The crew jumped into the water, inflated an 11-foot Zodiac rubber dinghy, and climbed aboard. Mooney became caught on a coil of lines and wires while abandoning the yacht, leaving deep cuts on her arms and legs which soon became seriously infected.
The group drifted for five days without food or water. They were forced to take refuge under the lifeboat for the first 18 hours until the wind died down and they were able to flip it and get inside. Deborah and Brad later praised Meg for having stood watch in the storm and insulating Trashman's dinghy with seaweed, despite pain from her grievous injuries. These actions helped them to survive.
After a few days, both Lippoth and Adams became delusional after drinking saltwater to quench their thirst, jumped overboard and were killed by sharks. Soon after, Meg Mooney died of blood poisoning after her wounds became septic. Deborah and Brad said the Lord's Prayer and the 23rd Psalm over her body and buried her at sea.
On October 28, 1982, the fifth day after the yacht capsized, Deborah Scaling and Brad Cavanagh were seen and rescued some 200 miles off the coast of North Carolina by a Soviet freighter. The Soviets transferred them to a Coast Guard ship, and they were taken to Carteret General Hospital to be treated for exposure and dehydration. Both recovered from their ordeal.
A memorial service for Meg was held at St. Thomas More Church in New York City on November 2, 1982. Deborah died in Mexico in 2012, leaving Brad the only living survivor of the Trashman.
In a 2019 movie based on the ordeal, "Capsized: Blood in the Water", Meg Mooney was played by Rebekah Graf.
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