Well, the interpreter did screw up the name, so it's certainty certainly a possibility.
Survival---16 MONTHS adrift
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Well, the interpreter did screw up the name, so it's certainty certainly a possibility.
There is an AP story out the morning the confirms that he set out from Chiapas, Mexico in November 2012, he was reported missing and a search was undertaken. He is Savadorean and his parents had not spoken to him for 8 years. He apparently used another name in Mexico. Chiapas police or some official have ID'd him as the missing guy.
I can't link to the story but it should be easy to find.
I can't link to the story but it should be easy to find.
hfoster
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Cpseudonym
I'm not a Doctor but I have taken many classes on weigh lost because I am a Ex-Boxer and I have cut large amounts of weigh in a short time to make weigh.
Rapid Re-hydrations can kill you faster then De-hydration. Rapid Re-hydration can send someone into shock then the body drowns from too much water in it's system. Some marathon runners have died by rapid re-hydration after a run, one did not to long ago. I think in the NY or Boston marathon. The runner drank too much water then went into shock and fell out.
The Medic thought the runner was de-hydrated so the pumped even more water into the poor man. Sad story but a true one.
In this case, it is clear the 13 month guy did not taken in too much water. From the story and reports he is just having a hard time walking.
If this story is true, the man is one lucky fellow, but I still believe something is wrong here. But that is just me.
Happy cruising
H. Foster
hfoster
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Thanks for that post and the information.
I find there is something wrong here though. One story says he left Mexico with his friend on 24-Dec-2012 which is the date he said he left Mexico. Now this story says he left in Nov of 2012. which is it I wonder?
I am finding to many holes in this story, but hey it's winter time here and I can't be out on the water playing and enjoying a nice cruise...
so I am just killing time until I can.Happy cruising.
H. Foster
The man was reported missing back in 2012, I think it was December, and a search was done to find him and the teenager that was with him. The search ended after two days due to bad weather and was not restarted after the weather cleared. This was in Mexico. He had been IDed by family and Mexican authorities.
I don't think the different information that is out there is because this guy is telling lies but because of language differences and many people in the between the printed word and what was said.
The teenager with him died a month or so into the "trip." The boat was 22 or 24 feet long and the survivor said he only had a few days of bad weather/waves. There was a blue box of some kind on the boat that he could get into to get out of the sun. The props were missing from the engines which is odd and might be the cause his the boat going adrift.
His "fat" face stuck out to me when I first saw the photos of him but he was also wearing bulky clothes so it was hard to tell his true body size. I also saw some photos after he was shaved and had a haircut after which his face did not appear to be so large.
I don't think the different information that is out there is because this guy is telling lies but because of language differences and many people in the between the printed word and what was said.
The teenager with him died a month or so into the "trip." The boat was 22 or 24 feet long and the survivor said he only had a few days of bad weather/waves. There was a blue box of some kind on the boat that he could get into to get out of the sun. The props were missing from the engines which is odd and might be the cause his the boat going adrift.
His "fat" face stuck out to me when I first saw the photos of him but he was also wearing bulky clothes so it was hard to tell his true body size. I also saw some photos after he was shaved and had a haircut after which his face did not appear to be so large.
CPseudonym
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Thanks for that. The initial story has him being found so far from civilization as the nearest phone line was quite a distance away. Made me wonder if perhaps something done wrong medically, or perhaps an allergy could cause the swelling. Language barrier and distance explains the inconsistencies.
CPseudonym
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Could have also been used to attempt fabricating a knife or some such useful tool. A year is a long time to tinker while trying to survive.
Ski in NC
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Anyone got a link to photos of the boat? All the links I have hit have basically been regurgitation of the same text and photos.
His skin sure is fair for being out on the water that long. Even if boat had a cabin, enough UV is bouncing around a boat that you'd get a pretty good tan.
His skin sure is fair for being out on the water that long. Even if boat had a cabin, enough UV is bouncing around a boat that you'd get a pretty good tan.
This link has some pretty good photos, Pictured: Boat castaway from Mexico lived on for 13 months while adrift on the Pacific Ocean | Mail Online
They say the boat is 23 or 24 feet long and there is a blue box on board that he used to keep out of the sun. No photos of the engines though.
The link says a doctor stated the survivor is suffering from edema which makes him look large.
Later,
Dan
hfoster
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Doubt raised Man's 13 months Lost at sea
Doubts raised over castaway's 13 months 'lost at sea' claim | Fox News
May be we all will find out what really happen in the end. God I have to much time on my hands!
Happy Cruising
H. Foster
Doubts raised over castaway's 13 months 'lost at sea' claim | Fox News
May be we all will find out what really happen in the end. God I have to much time on my hands!
Happy Cruising
H. Foster
Just posting what I found on the boat:
Pictured: Boat castaway from Mexico lived on for 13 months while adrift on the Pacific Ocean | Mail Online
OD
Pictured: Boat castaway from Mexico lived on for 13 months while adrift on the Pacific Ocean | Mail Online
OD
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Ski in NC
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All doubting aside, seems the guy and the boat did make it from Mexico to the Marshalls. So other than drifting, how else could they have gotten there?
That boat is smaller than I thought. That fish box is not much of a cabin!!
That boat is smaller than I thought. That fish box is not much of a cabin!!
Very true. As I said from the outset, I had my doubts, and with the language barriers and I'm sure a bit of confusion on his part, the timeline and other details may not be totally "accurate"; however, if the majority of it is credible, we can learn a lot from his misadventure.
Hell, at this point, I'd be doing good to remember my name, much less how long I'd been adrift:lol:
ronlord
Senior Member
wow I didn't think of that OD.Your right! Lucky number 13!!!
Happy Cruising
H. Foster
Latest I heard was that they suspect he may have made landfall on one the uninhibited islands near there. He may have hung out there for quite some time before setting sail again and ending up where he did.
Wxx3
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I bet you Richard Nixon is rolling in his grave right now, wishing that back in his day, the press was so gullible and having no science background of any sort.
In that stupid long articlei just edged my time reading, they say that he survived by drinking a litre of turtle blood a day and the proof they cite is because its called, "the elixir of life"
What's the salinity of turtle blood, if it's anything like ours, he may as well have been drinking sea water.
In that stupid long articlei just edged my time reading, they say that he survived by drinking a litre of turtle blood a day and the proof they cite is because its called, "the elixir of life"
What's the salinity of turtle blood, if it's anything like ours, he may as well have been drinking sea water.
funny you mention that.
When I first read the story, and always being interested in austere survival topics, I started researching the possibility of drinking turtle blood.
It seems that, unlike human or other "mammal" blood, it is a viable option to ward off dehydration, and maintain a protein intake.
While is certainly has it's inherent risks as noted in the link previously provided, additional reviews indicated that it may not contain nearly the blood borne pathogens one might risk in the consumption of other "animal" blood. I was actually surprised at the result of the research.
I guess in the end it's a crap shoot? If you don't have much choice, WTF over?
There was also a comment about him drinking his own urine.
While an option, I'm thinking that with the potential for kidney failure due to the dehydration, he might not be any better off.....
time will surely tell the story.
OD
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One suspects it will end up being, well, if not a hoax, as it might be unintentional, but the facts that emerge might downgrade the feat a bit. However, if not, then he needs to be grilled re his techniques, and they need to be publicised, as it would be the new encyclopaedia of survival at sea. How did he catch so much food, like fish and birds and turtles with no gear to do it with..? That I would like to know. I'm useless at catching fish with all the right gear. As to birds and turtles…and water for that matter...
hfoster
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Ron.
That has always been in the back of my mind, that this Fellow sat on some Island for some time before ending up at Atoll.
I have no doubt this guy was out in the sea, but I do not believe he was adrift for the full 13 months.
They have been showing a photo of this Fellow with out his beard and with his hair cut as well. Well come to find out that is a old photo of him that they used to ID him.
The photos of him with his beard, wild hair and fat face is what he looks like now. He had to be eating more than Birds, turtles and fish. I'm thinking a wild bore or 2!
From all accounts when he seen land at Atoll he swam to shore. Ok let me think here. I've been drifting in the ocean for 13 months, eating fish turtles birds, drinking rain water and turtle blood then I see land so I swim to shore.
Now where did I get the strength from to swim to shore? Where did I get the strength to walk around the Island until someone found me? I know, my name is Superman!
Oh God I have way to much time on my hands.
I hate winter! I know I poke fun at this guy, but really I do have some respect for this Fellow. He did stay alive when faced with some hard times. So I do give him a
for that. I think in the end, the true story will come out, well I hope it does anyways!
Happy cruising
H. Foster
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hollywood8118
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wow you guys are brutal...
to say his tactics should be reviewed is ludicrous.. he is a Mexican fisherman.. they go to sea in open boats with spare water in a soda bottle and if lucky have a small flashlight for a emergency.
my feeling is he may of washed ashore somewhere first but more than likely not. getting a engineless panga back through the surf would most likely be impossible.. they weigh a ton. He probably did float around and across the Pacific as stated.. a floating object becomes it's own ecosystem over time and he well may of been able to fish by hand. Others have stayed alive drinking turtle blood... look at the Robertson Family. Keep in mind that there are a lot of squalls that dump rain across the Pacific and rain catchment has also saved other castaways.
Also his "puffy" appearance can be a side effect of a form of adema from rehydration. If he spent 13 months alone in that little boat I would think his recollection would be fuzzy to say the least... most of us that would be so lucky to have lasted would likely be babbling idiots.
Armchair sailors lighten up...
HOLLYWOOD
to say his tactics should be reviewed is ludicrous.. he is a Mexican fisherman.. they go to sea in open boats with spare water in a soda bottle and if lucky have a small flashlight for a emergency.
my feeling is he may of washed ashore somewhere first but more than likely not. getting a engineless panga back through the surf would most likely be impossible.. they weigh a ton. He probably did float around and across the Pacific as stated.. a floating object becomes it's own ecosystem over time and he well may of been able to fish by hand. Others have stayed alive drinking turtle blood... look at the Robertson Family. Keep in mind that there are a lot of squalls that dump rain across the Pacific and rain catchment has also saved other castaways.
Also his "puffy" appearance can be a side effect of a form of adema from rehydration. If he spent 13 months alone in that little boat I would think his recollection would be fuzzy to say the least... most of us that would be so lucky to have lasted would likely be babbling idiots.
Armchair sailors lighten up...
HOLLYWOOD
RT Firefly
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SO I'm to believe that a drifting boat in the middle of the Pacific is a turtle magnet? Hell, if it's that easy why haven't I found any? I know I'm not in tropical waters but with all my fishing gear I'm lucky to catch a mackerel.
psneeld
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Absolutely...adrift objects including liferafts DO become their own ecosystem which attract all kinds of marine life...dolphin fish often are found under even relatively fresh open ocean debris...and are usually pretty easy to catch. Turtles are often curious....so why wouldn't they come see??? Flying fish will sometimes land in the boat/raft....
Not saying survival at sea is either easy or fun...but it can and has been done. Like all records...they seem to keep being broken as time goes on.
While this story might have holes in it...well...most reported events do because of the relaying media as much as anything else.
Someone will certainly document the crap out of this for any one of many reasons....science, military use, write a book, make a movie...etc..etc...
So when a lot more pieces and confirmation come together....I'll take a more in depth look as I do teach Safety/Survival at Sea classes and the truth might add quite a few interesting tidbits to survival publications...
