BOAT PEOPLE:

Sailor rescued after two months adrift (BBC, 5 October, 2002)

An American man lost at sea for more than two months has been rescued 40 miles (64 km) off the South Carolina coast.

Emaciated and delusional, 43-year-old Terry Watson is now in hospital being treated for dehydration and shock. [...]

Last month, another sailor was found drifting in the Pacific after nearly four months at sea.

Richard Van Pham, aged 62, left Long Beach, California, for an island 25 miles (40 km) offshore, but was found near Costa Rica 2,500 miles (4,000 km) away.

Samoan fishermen survive epic drift voyage (BBC, 12 November, 2001)

Two fishermen from Samoa in the South Pacific have survived a remarkable four months adrift at sea in a small metal boat.

The pair was rescued in Papua New Guinea - 4,000 km from their homes in Samoa. [...]

They managed to right the seven-metre aluminium dinghy by cutting away the fishing lines and two outboard motors - thus lightening the load - but were left powerless as currents pushed them out to the sea. [...]

According to the Guiness Book of Records, the record for drifting at sea is held by two Kiribati fishermen, from the atoll of Nikunau, who drifted for 177 days in 1992 before coming ashore on the eastern end of Samoa.

The book currently lists the longest solo survival as that of a Chinese man who survived aboard a raft for 133 days during the Second World War after his ship was torpedoed.

All of which is by way of recommending the terrific novel, Life of Pi. Posted by Orrin Judd at October 5, 2002 10:41 AM