On long oceanic legs any pilot that had no alternate or is not fazed by the wx either,.. imho ...has steel balls and can land anything anywhere...or just a lead brain. PVT, CHTR, AWK...does it matter.
The guy that should get THE medal was the one who used his initiative and had a look from some high ground and spotted a faint light....as rough indicator as where to go with the boat.
Had that not occured..or the view been obscured by rain, it would be another AE type mystery...where DID they end up, apart from in the water. How about that for a 'miracle'?
Well I supose you could say he could land anything, anywhere....except it just was not the desired destination.
Scary.