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LOS ANGELES, Sept 26 (Reuters) - A California man inspired by a Vietnamese-born sailor's harrowing four-month journey adrift at sea said he would like to give his sloop to Richard Van Pham, who survived by eating turtles and fish that swam near his tiny sailboat until his rescue by a Navy warship.
The hair-raising tale of Pham's accidental 2,500-mile (4,000 km) voyage on the Pacific Ocean, carried around the world by media outlets, has prompted several offers of financial help and new boats.
Pham, 62, lost his home and nearly all of his belongings when Navy engineers scuttled his 26-foot (8-metre) sailboat, the Sea Breeze, after rescuing him near Costa Rica on Sept. 17.
The Long Beach resident wanted help fixing the Sea Breeze's broken mast and radio so he could sail on, but his rescuers deemed the barnacle-encrusted craft unsafe.
In an interview with "Good Morning America" on Wednesday, Pham said he prayed to God during his ordeal, asking: "Let me go right away. Don't let me stay like this."
The rainwater he drank and sea creatures that sustained him, as well as his rescue by the Navy frigate McClusky were God's answers to those prayers, he said.
Erwin Freund, a 49-year-old scientist and recreational sailor from Long Beach, California, said he wanted to donate his boat to the diminutive Pham, who has been forced to rely on charity for food and shelter since he returned to Los Angeles on Tuesday.
"He has an inner strength that is not based on education or money, but on personal strength," Freund told the Los Angeles Times.
Freund, who said he would have "panicked" if confronted with Pham's ordeal, said his boat is equipped with all the safety equipment Pham did not have aboard the Sea Breeze.
The sloop has five sails, a radio, flare kit, first aid kit, man overboard pole and float and spare rope, Freud said.
Other sailors, captivated by Pham's unlikely tale of survival on the high seas, have offered another boat, the Times said.
Pham's adventure started in his home port of Long Beach in early June, when he cast off for a short trip to Santa Catalina Island, about 22 miles (35 km) off the California coast.
The trip should have taken a day, but somewhere between the California coast and the island a storm blew up and broke the Sea Breeze's mast and rudder, sending the vessel off course.
((Gina Keating, Los Angeles bureau +1 213 955 6776))
Thursday, 26 September 2002 20:37:21
ENDS [nN26264153]
The hair-raising tale of Pham's accidental 2,500-mile (4,000 km) voyage on the Pacific Ocean, carried around the world by media outlets, has prompted several offers of financial help and new boats.
Pham, 62, lost his home and nearly all of his belongings when Navy engineers scuttled his 26-foot (8-metre) sailboat, the Sea Breeze, after rescuing him near Costa Rica on Sept. 17.
The Long Beach resident wanted help fixing the Sea Breeze's broken mast and radio so he could sail on, but his rescuers deemed the barnacle-encrusted craft unsafe.
In an interview with "Good Morning America" on Wednesday, Pham said he prayed to God during his ordeal, asking: "Let me go right away. Don't let me stay like this."
The rainwater he drank and sea creatures that sustained him, as well as his rescue by the Navy frigate McClusky were God's answers to those prayers, he said.
Erwin Freund, a 49-year-old scientist and recreational sailor from Long Beach, California, said he wanted to donate his boat to the diminutive Pham, who has been forced to rely on charity for food and shelter since he returned to Los Angeles on Tuesday.
"He has an inner strength that is not based on education or money, but on personal strength," Freund told the Los Angeles Times.
Freund, who said he would have "panicked" if confronted with Pham's ordeal, said his boat is equipped with all the safety equipment Pham did not have aboard the Sea Breeze.
The sloop has five sails, a radio, flare kit, first aid kit, man overboard pole and float and spare rope, Freud said.
Other sailors, captivated by Pham's unlikely tale of survival on the high seas, have offered another boat, the Times said.
Pham's adventure started in his home port of Long Beach in early June, when he cast off for a short trip to Santa Catalina Island, about 22 miles (35 km) off the California coast.
The trip should have taken a day, but somewhere between the California coast and the island a storm blew up and broke the Sea Breeze's mast and rudder, sending the vessel off course.
((Gina Keating, Los Angeles bureau +1 213 955 6776))
Thursday, 26 September 2002 20:37:21
ENDS [nN26264153]
