I missed the episode. Also, I haven't read Ms. Kiley's book. However, this incident was one of those featured in Lawrence Gonzales's book "Deep Survival". According to that account, the first mate (who was allegedly an alcoholic) panicked and inflated the life raft in a hurricane force wind without bothering to secure it to the boat, the result being that the wind picked it up and blew it away (along with all the survival gear that came with it).

According to Kiley's account, both she and the other eventual survivor had gone several days prior to the sinking with almost no sleep, as the captain and first mate responded to the crisis by getting drunk and staying that way. Whether this was corroborated by anyone else, I don't know, although Gonzales seemed to indicate that the first mate's drinking problem was a matter of record.