Fisherman Stranded on the Pacific Ocean Spent 438 Days Floating in 25-Foot Fishing Boat Without a Sail, Pens About Remarkable Survival
A Mexican man had no idea the trials fate had in store for him when he ventured out on a fishing trip from Costa Azul, Mexico, with his friend in November 2012. José Salvador Alvarenga's entire world was turned upside down when he found himself stranded on an ocean with his inexperienced crewmate Ezequiel Córdoba, LADBible reported.
Córdoba died after two months into the ordeal, but Alvarenga remained resilient. He managed to 'cheat death' for over 400 days in the Pacific Ocean, before coming in contact with land.
The disaster commenced when the duo's fishing boat got struck by a storm, LADBible reported. Alvarenga tried to guide the boat into safe waters, but without any oars or sails, the task proved to be difficult. Soon, the duo found themselves stranded in the world's largest ocean.
The storm went on for seven days and thrashed every part of the boat, CNN reported. At one point things got so rough that Córdoba got tossed into the water and Alvarenga had to pull him back into the boat with his hair. The engine gave up, and the duo lost their radio and fishing gear amidst the storm.
The boat began getting weighed down, and in order to stabilize it, Alvarenga and Córdoba decided to throw 500kg of their catch into the water, LADBible reported. This wasn't enough to keep the boat balanced, and the fishermen had to get rid of more equipment.
After the storm all the duo had was an icebox, a large trunk used by the fishermen to store their catch until they got to shore, and a bucket, CNN reported. Alvarenga soon realized that they had drifted far off from Mexico. They could see airplanes flying over their heads, but without any mast or flare, had no means to attract attention.
As time went on, bodily needs made things harder for the duo in the waters of the Pacific Ocean. "We didn’t think about hunger at first," Alvarenga said. "It was the thirst. We had to drink our own urine after the storm. It wasn’t until a month later that we finally got some rainwater."
Alvarenga and Córdoba spent their days huddled together inside an icebox. Alvarenga put to use his fishing skills to collect food from the ocean. He was able to catch fish with his bare hands, by trapping them when they were skimming past close to the water's surface. To quench their thirst, the duo feasted on the blood of sea birds.
After two months in the Pacific Ocean, Córdoba gave up and passed away quietly. The 22-year-old was struggling from the beginning. "He would cry a lot, talking about his mama, eating tortillas, and drinking something cold. I helped him as much as I could. I would hug him. I told him, 'We’ll be rescued soon. We’ll hit an island soon.' But he would sometimes get violent, screaming that we were going to die," Alvarenga reminisced. In Córdoba's final hours, this suffering had lifted and there was an uncanny peace within him, according to the now sole survivor.
For days, Alvarenga talked with Córdoba's dead body, even contemplating suicide to put an end to all of the misery. But, he pulled himself together and decided to persevere. He placed Córdoba's body in water and took each day as it came.
During his moments of despair Alvarenga turned to god, CNN reported. "I’d heard about Mexicans who’d done this before," Alvarenga said. "How did they do it? How come they were spared? 'I shouldn’t be a coward,' I told myself. I prayed a lot. And I asked God for patience." His faith paid dividends, and after 438 days a piece of land came into sight. The man used all his energy to swim towards, what he later came to know was one in the string of the Marshall Islands.
Alvarenga got in touch with many people but because of the language barrier, nobody understood him. They took him to a hospital, seeing his tattered condition. The whole experience was overwhelming for Alvarenga. "I was so scared. I was afraid of people. I couldn’t find the right words after being alone for so long," he said. The man managed to share his story with the authorities, and they made arrangements to send him back to Mexico.
Alvarenga currently lives in El Salvador and is focused on repairing his relationship with his daughter, CNN reported. The man's attachment to the ocean has waned, after his near-death experience. "I’m afraid," he explained. "There are still nights when I can’t sleep. The ocean keeps haunting me." He later wrote about his remarkable survival in a book called 438 Days.