This Real Life Castaway Survived Over A Year Drifting In The Ocean

don't you wish that you could just disappear some days escape the monotony of it all and find yourself peacefully drifting away into the sunset jose salvador alvarenga has done exactly that and he may warn you that it's not all it's cracked up to be in his lifetime Albert aranga has had the great displeasure of being lost on the deep blue while we've all marveled at stories of people vanishing at sea for days the Salvadorian fishermen took it up a notch when he disappeared from the coast of Costa Azul Mexico only to resurface 438 days later miraculously alive in the middle of the Pacific it's a harrowing tale that admittedly sounds like some Pacific Island legend but Alvarenga is a man of flesh and blood set adrift across the vast expanse of Kobol battling dehydration and deteriorating sanity alvarenga let his instincts and imagination take over to survive more than 14 months at sea how long the average adult can survive without water is a rough estimate at best but as Randall K Packer professor of biology at George Washington University claims it only takes a few hours for someone exerting themselves in a sweltering environment to die from dehydration Alvarenga may have been in the cooler November air but surviving 438 days without a constant supply of h2o and at times only his urine to drink while battling the elements and exhaustion it's borderline miraculous you may be wondering if in a survival situation you could polish off a bottle of urine but it's ill-advised the bodily waste is a blend of water sodium chloride and according to a study in the journal of clinical microbiology upwards of 85 different species of bacteria in fact it's akin to drinking seawater which left sporadic rainfall as the sailors only suitable source of hydration along with the threat of dehydration the lasso phobics can tell you that there are many out at sea the modern-day Robinson Crusoe risked hypothermia as the bitter cold of night and wet clothing created a deadly perfect storm he was on the brink of dehydration and as you'll find out later insanity and yet the 36 year old fisherman from El Salvador traveled 6700 miles with no lifeline and live to tell his incredible tale when he first set sail on November 17 2012 alvarenga wasn't leaving behind much estranged from his parents for eight years and having given up custody of his daughter to them he only seemed to have the sea as a four-year professional fisherman working for Villa Mino Rodriguez he knew the pitfalls of his job but none of that could have prepared him for the unexpected events that unfolded after his departure joined by 24 year-old Ezekiel Cordoba who only joined the expedition after Alvarenga friend Ray Perez backed out alpha Angus set out on a fishing trip expected to last 30 hours expecting no rain and little else to get in their way the duo packed light for their trip and failed to check their equipment properly their overconfidence left them with half-empty radio batteries and a GPS that wasn't waterproof the beginning of the trip was a stark contrast to what would come they carried along a haul of over a thousand pounds of fish which would have been a hefty payday for the small fishing charter not long into their trip clouds rolled in over the horizon bringing with them a destructive unanticipated storm that ravaged the boat the two struggled against the rough seas and the seawater threatened to flood the 25-foot vessel but the damage had already been done and they were off course though the seasoned fisherman kept his resolve his inexperienced shipmate a man he met only shortly before departing was shaken by the experience and reacted as many would he panicked at the thought of being devoured by sharks and frozen place at the fear of sinking his screams didn't face the cool-headed alvarenga who was able to navigate to a patch of clear sky where he spotted land in the distance hope returned and he took the moment of respite to radio his boss the exchange was brief and spawned a rescue party there was covenant it would bring the pair home instead it was the last time anyone would hear from alvarenga for more than 430 days the relief was brief as waves continued to crash against the boat tossing it every which way it nearly sunk but Alvarenga made the call to release their huge catch to lighten their load when that wasn't enough ice and spare gasoline went next with no anchor the captain macgyvered 50 buoys together to create a makeshift drag that helped give the ship some stability the harder they seemed to fight the more mother nature pushed back a failed engine a malfunctioning GPS a dead radio these only compounded the gravity of their situation sending the once calm skipper and to of frenzy in a rage he bashed at the dead engine with a club and threw the useless equipment overboard so the Seas would swallow them when the air grew cold and the rain refused to give them a moment to dry off the sailors flipped over the large ice box and used it as shelter huddled together they struggled to keep warm while taking turns to bail out the rain and seawater that formed a sizable puddle at their feet in the chaos of the storm they drifted further out to sea and with no means of measuring distance it was clear that the worst had happened they were lost at sea if not for Alvarenga expertise their outlook may have been even more bleak he knew how to try and catch fish barehanded by keeping his hands steady only inches apart so a fish could swim beneath them at the first touch of anything he gripped his hands tight digging fingernails into scales it wasn't an invaluable method but it worked and provided him and his mate sustenance for the time being along with the many fish that he caught and Cordoba cleaned and left to dry in the Sun they survived on the occasional curious turtle that swam too close or flying fish with unfortunate aim with no water aboard the ship it only took days before Alvarenga turned to drinking his own urine in a disturbing cycle to stave the pangs of hunger he ate his fingernails and muscled through the burning of swallowing jellyfish hole then after about two weeks at sea they hit their first stroke of luck when the skies darken and the pattering of rain caught his attention from inside the icebox it was a moment Alvarenga had prepared for with a rainwater collection system he had been constructing it would have been too easy to drink it all in one sitting and though they did splurge at first the two ultimately agreed to imposed a strict ration on the fresh water supply days turned to weeks and weeks turned to months and the men continued to survive they collected and stored plastic containers and bottles that floated by them and found what seemed to be a small treasure of supplies in a drifting garbage bag in it a wad of chewed gum half rancid milk half a head of cabbage and carrots all the goldmine for men that had been surviving on scraps of fish raw turtle sea birds and urine would their new supplies they had a reserve of food that would last them for several days and in that time there was a moment of comfort between the two as Alvarenga recalled after his rescue at that time they spoke of their mothers and their regrets had Alvarenga died at sea he would have done so having not spoken to his parents for nearly a decade unfortunately the brief lapse of peace they had was short-lived as after eating raw seabird meat cordova grew ill in the wake of his illness he refused all food and his mental state deteriorated further while Alvarenga stayed resilient his shipmates physical and mental health steadily declined hopelessness soured the two seafarers and they made a pact in the event of their death the other would visit their parents to tell their story and say goodbye it wasn't long before one would find themselves having to follow through on a morning like any other córdoba's body finally gave up as Alvarenga recalled the young man could feel himself slipping away when the captain tried to help with water Cordova's body went rigid and convulsed don't leave me alone alvarenga cried what am I going to do here alone it was a reality he would have to face moments later when his friend went limp though they were strangers when this Trek began Alan Turing have valued the friend he had made through adversity as much as ever and knew his ship was dead he wasn't willing to let him go for six days the lone survivor spoke with the lifeless Cordoba asking how he slept and if he had to eat it wasn't until a quiet night beneath the moon that Alvarenga really realized what he was doing and so rather than use his body for food as some believe it gave his friend a proper burial at sea as much as the Sailor blamed himself for córdoba's death he pressed on suicide was a lingering thought but Alvarenga believed that it would bar him from heaven so he pressed forward alone keeping up hope that there would be an end to his long misfortune during sunrise and sunset he scoured the rice at the spot the silhouettes of ships in the distance on several occasions he spotted container ships and found the energy to jump up and down on all of those occasions the ships continued to steam ahead unaware of the lost traveller with no one to talk to alvarenga got lost within his imagination like a self defense mechanism to pass the time and keep some semblance of sanity his mind created a reality that he says was so believable he could taste and feel every aspect of it in the mornings he paced the ship but in his mind he was on a leisurely walk across the world these alternate realities distracted him until one day while riding a steady current his eyes saw the greatest hallucination of all from a thin mist that coated the Pacific the profile of an island formed he was used to seeing things by now but knew that his hallucinations were temporary the longer he stared at this image the more he realized if it were real he had to ensure his boat continued drifting towards it rushing across the ship he cut away the buoys dragging behind him to pick up speed it took only an hour for his boat to reach the shore without hesitation he dove off the boat and swam to the coast of what he would later find to be the tile islet of the ebb and adil naked and overjoyed to be on solid ground during a crowd along the soft sand before being spotted by locals Emmy and Russell debauch motto from across a small canal according to some reports Alvarenga was jumping up and down holding a knife he had taken from the boat still a me and Russell invited the emaciated man into their home alvarenga didn't know where he was and at the time it didn't really matter his 438 day nightmare was finally over unfortunately the hardships didn't stop entirely after his return to land Alvarenga faced accusations of cannibalism by Ezekiel cordobas family and was sued for 1 million for eating their relative the lawsuit came shortly after he received a book deal for Jonathan Franklin's 438 days an extraordinary true story of survival at sea there was one family member of Cordova's happy to invite the fisherman into her home just as he had promised in their pact once recovered Alvarenga made the trip to Mexico to visit the young man's mother though the 1 million lawsuit which never really panned out may leave you thinking Alvarenga story made him a millionaire that's far from the reality according to Alva drangus lawyer in 2015 Ricardo kook alone Franklin's book only sold 1500 copies in the United States originally and Hollywood has yet to option a full-length movie just as quickly as he became a sensation and an inspiration the world slowly forgot about Jose Alvarez but not everybody and 2017 he was on the guest list of prep work on a convention dedicated to disaster preparedness and survival Alvarenga sore deal isn't one so easily forgotten but he wasn't willing to let it cripple him whispers in 2015 were that he was still optimistic about returning to his life as a fisherman do you think you could survive stranded at sea for more than a year what would you do differently to mister alvarenga let me know in the comment section down below thanks for watching [Music]

Channel: BE AMAZED

Views: 456,172

Rating: 4.8496323 out of 5

Keywords: beamazed, be amazed, top 10, el salvador, mexico fisherman, lost in the ocean, unbelievable story, man lost at sea, survival at sea, lost at sea, pacific ocean, unbelievable stories in history, unbelievable story in the world, unbelievable stories of survival, survival stories real life

Id: VuqEP_tFAg8

Length: 12min 47sec (767 seconds)

Published: Fri Jun 28 2019