I’ve had a very difficult ordeal, says Tim Shaddock, a 51-year-old sailor from Sydney, who lived on nothing but fish and rainwater for two months while drifting in the waters of the Pacific Ocean with his dog. The story of the Australian was reported by 9News Australia. The expert quoted by him estimated that the man and the dog managed to survive thanks to “a combination of luck and skill”.
Tim Shaddock and his dog Bella sailed from La Paz in Mexico towards French Polynesia in April. After a few weeks, the boat of a 51-year-old sailor from Sydney was damaged in a storm. The man and his pet spent the next two months in the Pacific until they were spotted by a helicopter crew near the Mexican coast. Shaddock “appeared to be healthy and in good spirits”, as did his dog, 9News reported on Sunday Australia.
“I’ve been through a very difficult test,” Shaddock told 9News Australia. As he noted, now “he just needs rest and good food.” He survived in the ocean by drinking rainwater and eating raw fish. According to an expert in occupational physiology and hygiene, prof. Mike Tipton of the University of Portsmouth, the Australian managed to survive thanks to “a combination of luck and skill”.
He survived in the open sea for several months
In an interview with 9News Australia, he stressed that ensuring a supply of fresh water was crucial to survival. Speaking of happiness, he said that the search for missing persons in the Pacific resembles a “needle in a haystack” situation. “The chances of anyone being found are slim,” he said. As he added, Bella’s presence could also have been important. “You live day by day and you have to have a very positive mental attitude to go through these kinds of trials and not give up.”
French Polynesia is an overseas community of France, lying on five archipelagos and over 150 islands in the Pacific Ocean. It is more than 6,000 km from the coast of Mexico. km.
French PolynesiaShutterstock
9News Australia, tvn24.pl
Main photo source: Shutterstock