Australian sailor rescued after months lost on ocean

It was a miracle. A sailor and his pet dog survived on rainwater and raw fish on an ocean for weeks before being spotted accidentally and rescued by a helicopter and fish trawler.

Tim Shaddock could not imagine it when he left La Paz in Mexico's Baja California peninsula for French Polynesia in April onboard his catamaran. But a few weeks after he left the coast, a storm hit his catamaran and damaged it badly. His entire system was destroyed, the electronics were swept away and he could not contact anyone back home.

He spent weeks under the canopy of the badly ruined vessel that kept on floating somehow. An ocean expert has said that Saddock’s survival is a mixture of luck and skills. The water was warm and so he did not face hypothermia. It rained in good quantity, the sailor collected rainwater to drink and caught fish to eat.


A helicopter in search of tuna fish spotted the vessel, it rescued the sailor and his pet dog Bella and brought them to a fishing trawler. The doctor on the trawler has said that Tim Shaddock is stable and his fundamentals are normal.

The sailor said that he needed good food which he hadn't eaten for a long time.

FAQs:

Q1:What was the Australian sailor’s destination?
Australian sailor Tim Saddock left La Paz in Mexico's Baja California peninsula for French Polynesia in April onboard his catamaran.

Q2:How was Tim Saddock rescued?
Tim Shaddock survived on rainwater and raw fish. A helicopter in search of tuna fish spotted his vessel, it rescued the sailor and his pet dog Bella and brought them to a fishing trawler.