A SAILOR who spent two days lost at sea in a dinghy survived by rationing a handful of boiled lollies.

Kushila Stein, 47, from New Zealand, went missing off the Greek island of Folegandros after going ashore to go shopping on Friday.

She had been making her way back to a yacht in the Aegean Sea when one of her oars went overboard and she lost control of the dinghy.

A British man, named only as Mike, thought to be Stein's husband, had been transporting the yacht from southern Turkey to Athens with her help.

After spending the afternoon on Folegrandros, Stein messaged Mike to say she would be back in a few hours.

When she did not arrive back at the boat, he assumed she had decided to stay ashore longer, but raised the alarm when he awoke at 5am on Saturday to find she had still not returned.

Greek authorities launched a search and rescue mission that included six coastguard vessels, a helicopter, and an underwater drone.

She was spotted by a coastguard 50 miles north of Crete yesterday after 40 hours at sea with no fresh water.

She was reportedly taken to hospital in the Crete city of Herakleion and to have been treated for dehydration.

Stein is an experienced sailor who has instructed others in how to survive at sea.

She had reportedly worn a red bag on her head and used a mirror to reflect the sun in the hope of catching the attention of passing boats.

She also took off her wet socks and dried them on the side of the boat so as to keep warm as temperatures dropped overnight.

A spokesman said: “We found her alive, but she was completely exhausted by her ordeal.”

Her mother, Wendy Stein, told New Zealand outlet Stuff that Kushila had written Wendy's name and number on the side of the dinghy so authorities would know who to contact if she was found dead.

Wendy first learned her daughter had gone missing late on Saturday night New Zealand time, when a friend of Kushila's phoned her from the UK to tell her what had happened.

Kushila had by that point been missing for 10 hours.

She was preparing to fly to Greece when a local police officer phoned to say Kushila had been found.

Wendy also commended the Greek authorities for the "professional" way in which they dealt with the situation.

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