Lost at Sea for 66 days

Jamesuk said:
Great its a big old ocean.

I recall the family spending 118 days in a liferaft,

The Whaling ship the Essex lifeboats 96days and a Lot ot two later,

The solo oarsman i met in the Mad Mongoose in Antigua who spent 3 months rowing actoss the Atlantic.

Shackletons unlikely rescue mission

Crazy what people can survive at sea on
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Agreed, but they looked emaciated, not like this guy.
 
NormanS said:
He's apparently writing a book about his "adventure".:rolleyes:
Possibly a fairy story?
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My thoughts exactly.When it was reported on our news yesterday there was the replay of the first telephone call he made after his rescue to his dad apologising for the loss of the yacht.
Amazing foresight to think of recording it :rolleyes:
 
alant said:
Agreed, but they looked emaciated, not like this guy.
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How about the guy who sailed around the Atlantic for months and months while Robin Knox Johnson came in and one. Granted he topped himself but yge point is people do strange things the solo oarsman lost NINE STONE! He looked normal when i met him but he was fat when he left.
 
Jamesuk said:
How about the guy who sailed around the Atlantic for months and months while Robin Knox Johnson came in and one. Granted he topped himself but yge point is people do strange things the solo oarsman lost NINE STONE! He looked normal when i met him but he was fat when he left.
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Bet he couldn't walk normally, when he hit the beach though.
 
I think the reporting of the event is dodgy but that's normal in my experience.

As to wether he has genuinely survived for 2 months relatively unharmed I think it is very possible he has,

The boat was rolled and dismasted but was a heavy displacement traditional yacht that would have quickly righted itself.

Presuming he had food and water aboard and was able to replenish stocks of both by fishing and rain catching its not such a great feat of endurance.

Theres a huge difference being stranded in a yacht with a cabin to shelter in compared to a liferaft or an open boat.

That's my contribution from the comfort of my armchair.
 
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Jamesuk said:
How about the guy who sailed around the Atlantic for months and months while Robin Knox Johnson came in and one. Granted he topped himself but yge point is people do strange things the solo oarsman lost NINE STONE! He looked normal when i met him but he was fat when he left.
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You're thinking of Donald Crowhurst, a genuine sailor who let business and race pressures drive him beyond a breakdown; I suspect he was a lot closer to being the ' real deal ' than this latest budding author.

After winning the Golden Globe, RKJ gave the prize money to Crowhurst's widow.
 
Daydream believer said:
Personally if my boat was upside down in the atlantic with no mast, radio etc etc then something to wipe my a..se on would be the least of my worries
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The boat was not upside down. It was dismasted the report was incorrect. He has survived inside the hull for two months. If you watch him walk across the apron from the Helicopter either has an odd gate or is not quite as steady as he should be. I do not see anything odd here.
 
I see even the Mail on Sunday is reporting ' doubters world wide ' disputing the chap's claims; also they have a ' survival expert ' asking why isn't he dehydrated, and what happened to the broken shoulder he claimed...
 
To be fair, a lot of it could be Journalists looking for a sensational story and making up bits and pieces. But it does seem like he didn't have the necessary experience or knowledge to be out there.

Whatever happend, at least its a happy ending. Too many more experienced people are never found...
 
I owned an Alberg 37 quite a few years ago, it was a boat I loved, very seaworthy, very comfortable (and very pretty). The Alberg 35 is a very similar design and disregarding the initial incorrect reporting which has the guy sitting on the hull for 66 days, I don't think surviving on board for 66 days is particularly unbelievable. As mentioned there have been dozens of survival stories for similar periods of time but most if not all of those have involved losing the boat completely and surviving in rafts or dinghies. Surviving for 66 days on a well built and comfortable boat, albeit a dismasted boat, would be well within the capabilities of most sailors I'm sure. I believe his story.
 
Wandering Star - I think it was more the way it was reported, that it was an overturned boat and he was found on the hull. Living on Rain water and Fish that people found a bit unbelievable considering the condition he seemed to be in.

On a boat with enough provisions thats not overturned and not sinking, then its not too much of a hardship. Saying that, I'm sure it wasn't a pleasant experience for him
 
Seajet said:
I'm very sure the boat can take it, one glance tells me that; it's the chap and his story which I frankly don't believe.
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The link in Post 36 by tobermoryphil is more believable, if you have not read it you should, it makes the case probable but not as reported so far.
 
I have read it, while it explains a little, and gets around the nonsense about sitting on the upturned hull, it doesn't explain

Setting off fishing in a 35' sailing boat,

his healthy well fed appearance,

suddenly cured broken shoulder,

catching fish with his bare hands,

recording before he departed apologising for losing the boat,

plans already afoot to write a book

etc !

I would be very surprised if he spent 66 days at sea.
 
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