Tue 18 July 2023:
After surviving just on rainwater and uncooked fish for two months while adrift at sea, an Australian sailor and his dog were found and saved off the coast of Mexico.
Tim Shaddock departed for French Polynesia from Mexico in April, but a month into the trip, a hurricane severely destroyed his catamaran.
Image: Tim Shaddock pictured shortly after his rescue. Pic: 9News.
Shaddock and his dog Bella were in a “precarious” state when found, lacking provisions and shelter. The tuna boat’s crew gave them medical attention, food and hydration, it said.
The crew of the boat from the Grupomar fleet located Timothy Lyndsay Shaddock, 54, and his disabled catamaran Aloha Toa in the Pacific around 1,900 kilometers (1,200 miles) from land, according to a statement released by the company on Monday.
The electronics on his vessel were wiped out by the storm leaving him unable to call for help.
The 51-year-old and his dog Bella survived under a small canopy on board the battered vessel for weeks before they were spotted on Thursday by a helicopter that was on the lookout for tuna for a fishing vessel.
A doctor who is monitoring Mr Shaddock’s health from the shore and working with the trawler’s captain told Australia’s 9News the sailor has “normal vital signs” and is “stable and very well”.
Australian sailor Tim Shaddock has been rescued after being adrift for two months, surviving by eating raw fish and drinking rainwater. pic.twitter.com/99fBy2Tk82
— The Project (@theprojecttv) July 16, 2023
The tuna boat, captained by Oscar Meza Oregón, was expected to arrive in the Mexican Pacific coast port of Manzanillo on Tuesday with Shaddock and Bella.
Antonio Suarez Gutierrez, Grupomar’s founder and president, said he was proud of his crew, praising them for their humanity in saving the life of someone in trouble.
Esta no ha sido la primera vez que alguno de los buques de la flota de Grupomar/Tuny rescata a un náufrago. Don Antonio Suárez Gutierrez y la familia de Grupomar ® queremos felicitar a nuestra tripulación por su valentía y humanismo en el exitoso rescate del Sr. Shaddock. pic.twitter.com/T5feSz5fcK
— Grupomar® (@Grupomar) July 18, 2023
[Translation: This has not been the first time that one of the vessels in the Grupomar/Tuny fleet has rescued a castaway. Mr. Antonio Suarez Gutierrez and the Grupomar family would like to congratulate our crew for their courage and humanity in the successful rescue of Mr. Shaddock.]
In a video, Shaddock says: “I’ve been through a very difficult ordeal at sea and I’m just needing rest and good food because I’ve been alone at sea a long time. I’ve not had enough food for a long time.”
Mr Shaddock, who is from Sydney, was left drifting in the north Pacific Ocean after being hit by bad weather weeks after he set sail from La Paz in Mexico’s Baja California peninsula.
Image: Tim Shaddock was rescued by a tuna trawler. Pic: 9News.
The electronics on his vessel were wiped out by the storm leaving him unable to call for help.
The Sydney resident and his dog had sailed from the Mexican city of La Paz for French Polynesia in April, but the voyage ended within weeks, Sydney’s Daily Telegraph newspaper reported.
He survived by collecting rainwater and eating raw fish.
Ocean survival expert Professor Mike Tipton, from the University of Portsmouth, told Sky News Mr Shaddock’s survival was a combination of luck and skill.
SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES
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