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WebWord Weblog Posting Posting Date: September 25, 2002 Calif. Man Rescued After Four Months at Sea -- "Pham said he survived on turtles, fish and sea birds and drank rainwater. He tore off the boat's wooden paneling to make an occasional cooking fire and learned to extract salt from sea water to preserve extra food for lean times. By the end of his ordeal, he'd lost about 40 pounds (18 kg) and a tooth." (Comments: Do you think you would have survived?)
Reader Comments...
No problem. I'd sit back and conserve energy while Pham caught us those tasty eats. Then, when the bait ran out and Pham could no longer catch sea life -- no longer serving a useful purpose for the good of the ship -- I'd eat him. He's 62. I'm considerably younger. His meat is aged to perfection.
Things like this always remind me of the Shackleton expedition. (See the IMAX, read the books, yada yada yada...) Posted by: Ryan on September 26, 2002 09:32 AM
Or that soccer team whose plane crashed in the Andes... Posted by: JB on September 26, 2002 11:50 AM
Wow, that is really amazing. I always find stories like that very inspirational. I don't think I would have survived, mostly because I probably would have gotten scared and would have given up. I don't know if I would have been able to kill birds and turtles, even! Hm. I certainly could have stood losing the weight, though (ha ha). Posted by: Lydia on September 26, 2002 12:39 PM
What, no one is going to mention the Donner Party? January 3, 1847: "Mr. Fosdick became very weak; had to wait for him." January 5, 1847: "Mr. Fosdick having given out, remained with his wife about a mile back from them." January 6, 1847: "One of the emigrants, believing that Mr. and Mrs. Fosdick had died during the previous night, sent a person back to the place, with instructions to get Mr. Fosdick's heart for breakfast; .... The person ... met Mrs. Fosdick on the way to Mr. Eddy's camp. ... Mrs. Fosdick had been with her husband during the previous night, which was bitterly cold; and after his death, she rolled his body in the only blanket they possessed, and laid herself down upon the ground, desiring to die, and hoping that she would freeze to death. ... But the return of the morning's light brought with it an instinctive love of life, and she now proposed to go back to the body of her husband, .... Two individuals accompanied her, and notwithstanding the remonstrances, entreaties, and tears of the affected widow, cut out the heart and liver, and severed the arms and legs of her departed husband." From January, 1847 diary entries.
I too have a sailboat and find it very strange that anyone would go to sea with out some type of backups. Looking at the news reports, he lost the Engine, sail, rudder and radio. Just one backup handheld radio, backup battery, flares (required on every vessel) or even a small $150.00 EPRIB could have ended these months ago.
Robert, good points. My perception of this guy has changed! At first I thought he was a tough guy; a real sailor. However, now I think he is an unprepared buffoon. Hmmm...how about this. I think he is a clever yet unprepared buffoon. Posted by: John S. Rhodes on September 26, 2002 02:26 PM
"What, no one is going to mention the Donner Party? Jack, that page generated not one, not two, but THREE pop ups. Argh!! Posted by: John S. Rhodes on September 26, 2002 02:31 PM
Well, does the fact that he was unprepared make him any less of a tough guy? Perhaps he isn't a Grade-A sailor, but you gotta admire the tenacity. Posted by: Lydia on September 26, 2002 03:21 PM
Sorry John, I have a pop-up stopper and Proxomitron running at all times. Unless my speakers are on, or a link doesn't work, I'm oblivious to the presence of pop-ups. Join me. It's bliss. Posted by: Jack on September 26, 2002 03:33 PM
He sounds like a seriously tough, 3rd-world mentality kind of guy. Probably didn't have backups because he doesn't absolutely need them to sail so why waste the money. It's the same mentality that drives people from less wealthy countries to handle dangerous chemicals without protection or to drive little cars without anti-lock brakes. Four months is a long time to watch TV without cable, though. I don't know how he made it. Posted by: Bernard on September 26, 2002 03:49 PM
Wow - I didn't know I had it so bad. 6 vehicles and not an anti-lock brake setup in the bunch. Funny how lacking technology that isn't yet foolproof can so quickly become a sign of a 3rd world mentality...
Could I survive? I'd like to think so but hope I never have to find out. Posted by: jan on September 30, 2002 12:53 PM
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