WHY DID THIS NEVER WORK FOR GILLIGAN? Castaways Rescued After Spelling ‘Help.’ ” Three castaways might still be stuck on a remote, uninhabited Pacific island might still be there if they hadn’t made a sign. The sailors were saved after a US Navy plane spotted that they had spelled out “HELP” in palm fronds on Fanadik Island, which lies around 2,600 miles southwest of Honolulu, CNN reports. The men, who also waved orange life jackets to attract the plane’s attention, had been stranded for three days after their boat capsized, forcing them to swim all night to the island.”