emergencies
Castaway and dog survive in the Pacific for months
A catamaran on the Baltic Sea. In the Pacific, an Australian man and his dog were rescued from a disabled catamaran after three months. photo
© Daniel Reinhardt/dpa
He is extremely lucky to have been found: a shipwrecked Australian and his dog Bella survive at sea for three months.
A shipwrecked Australian has survived three months at sea in his disabled catamaran. According to media reports, a few days ago he was accidentally discovered by a helicopter. Together with his dog Bella, the 51-year-old Tim Shaddock subsisted on raw fish and rainwater after his catamaran’s electronics failed in a storm. Humans and animals are both in surprisingly good condition, the broadcaster 9News quoted the rescued’s doctor as saying.
As has only just become known, the duo was discovered at the end of last week by a trawler whose crew was on the lookout for schools of tuna with a small helicopter. The fishermen then took their boat course to the catamaran and brought the emaciated and bearded Shaddock and his Bella on board. The shipwrecked man set sail in April in La Paz, Mexico, and originally wanted to sail from there across the Pacific to French Polynesia – thousands of kilometers away.
Survival expert Mike Tipton said Shaddock was extremely lucky. Discovering such a small boat in the ocean is “like finding a needle in a haystack”. The fact that the dog was there probably “helped enormously” in the long time without human contact, said Tipton. “I think maybe that made the difference.”
Shaddock said the past few months have been “a terrible ordeal”. “I just need rest and good food because I’ve been alone at sea for so long,” he said. “Other than that, my health is very good.”
Report 9News with video