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Mei Barry - Source: ONE News -
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A teenager is vowing to get back on a boat despite spending almost two days drifting in a liferaft.
Mei Barry has returned to Auckland and into the arms of her family, a week after being on board the SV Conchordia with 63 others when it sank off the Brazilian coast.
The 17-year-old says she will never forget the hours she spent floating on a liferaft unsure if she would be rescued.
"During that time, sometimes I would think of the worst: I'm not going to see my family again, I'm going to die in the water," she says.
The Auckland teenager was one of 64 people on board the SV Concordia when it sunk off the coast of Brazil, a week ago.
"Everyone's telling me to abandon ship and that was basically one of my scariest moments. I walk out, I see water in the corridor, and someone pulls me out of the boat, and I see the boat on its side," she says.
Barry had never sailed before she stepped onboard the Concordia and was only 10 days into what was supposed to be a 10-month educational trip.
When the ship went down, Barry and her classmates spent nearly two days on liferafts waiting to be plucked from the sea.
"I couldn't believe everything that's happening. It was basically a dream," she says.
The group was eventually picked up by a Brazilian navy ship whose captain was amazed none of the students were lost in the sinking.
"You could, I suppose, use the word 'miracle' for this," he says.
An investigation is now underway to determine if it is the weather or the crew to blame, but either way, Barry says she will be back on another classroom boat, come September.
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