But that’s exactly what Steve Callahan did. It takes a stout heart and some pretty serious faith in your boat-building abilities to set out on a transatlantic boat trip in a vessel you made yourself. Although he contemplated giving up a few times as his craft meandered across the Pacific, he says his faith kept him alive. His only companion, a 22-year-old known only as Ezequiel, died four months in, but Alvarenga managed to survive by eating fish, turtles, birds, sharks and drinking rainwater. His fishing boat had blown off course when its motor cut out during a storm off the coast of Mexico. Record breaker: José Salvador Alvarenga had been lost at sea for over a year Credit:
This was José Salvador Alvarenga, who had been lost at sea for more than a year – 438 days to be exact. On 30 January 2014, two Ebon Atoll locals found quite a sight on their local beach – a thin, bearded man, stark naked, clutching a knife and shouting in Spanish. He was so well fed on his return that people were reluctant to believe he had actually been lost at sea for two months – the authorities even checked his bank account to see if he had used it. When the food ran out, he used his laundry to attract fish that he then caught with a net. The perk of being shipwrecked on his particular boat was that he had a supply of tinned food and a lot of useful tools to hand, such as his laundry. Louis Jordan was rescued by a German tanker 66 days after the rudder, mast and radio on his boat were knocked out by a storm during a fishing trip. On his return to Britain, King George VI awarded him a British Empire Medal, and the Royal Navy added his story to its survival manuals.
When those meagre rations ran out, he caught fish, seagulls and sharks to eat before being rescued by three Brazilian fishermen at the mouth of the Amazon river. Survival instinct: Poon Lim had to tread water for two hours before finally spotting a raft Credit:Īfter throwing himself overboard, Poon Lim had to tread water for two hours before he finally spotted a life raft, where he found biscuits, a torch, some flares and a supply of fresh water.
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