I once knew a guy who was a recently retired executive living his life's dream. He had a big sloop built and sailed down the west coast of the US on the way to a circumnavigation. He had never sailed before in his life and didn't really know anything about navigation.
His wife got off in San Diego...she'd had enough...and he continued on southward picking up young adventurers along the way to help him sail the thing.
I met him in the Galapagos Islands where he had arrived with some Panamanian kid who'd never done any sailing before. They were headed for the Marquesas, something like a 2,000 mile crossing of open ocean. A guy I knew, a college student from Virginia, decided it looked like fun and joined them. He had never sailed, either.
No sextant; it would have been useless anyway since no one aboard knew anything about navigation. They had an electronic box...the old Transit SatNav system...and that was it.
I never heard from my buddy again. I've always wondered....
Of course, I'm making some assumptions about these two women in the news story, but that's an awfully damned long time to be drifting around without even being able to jury rig a mast stump and get someplace. Yikes.