After spending three months adrift on the Pacific Ocean, Australian sailor Timothy Shaddock was rescued by a group of Mexican tuna fisherman on July 12, the Associated Press<\/em><\/a> reports. Stepping on dry land for the first time since April, Shaddock recounted on July 18 how he and his \u201camazing\u201d dog Bella survived the ordeal by eating raw fish and drinking rainwater.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m feeling all right. I\u2019m feeling a lot better than I was,\u201d Shaddock told reporters during a welcome ceremony in Manzanillo on Tuesday. \u201cTo the captain and fishing company that saved my life, I\u2019m just so grateful.\u201d<\/p>\n The 54-year-old sailor added that there were times when he didn\u2019t think he\u2019d survive. But thanks to his perseverance and ingenuity, he\u2019ll be returning to Australia soon to reunite with his family.<\/p>\n \u201cThere were many, many, many bad days and many good days,\u201d Shaddock said of his time adrift at sea.<\/p>\n Shaddock set sail in April from the Mexican city of La Paz, which is located in Baja on the Sea of Cortez. He was joined on his small catamaran, named the Aloha Toa<\/em>, by Bella, a stray dog that he\u2019d picked up during his travels in Mexico.<\/p>\n \u201cShe\u2019s the spirit of the middle of the country and she wouldn\u2019t let me go,\u201d he said of his newfound companion. \u201cI tried to find a home for her three times, and she just kept following me onto the water. She\u2019s a lot braver than I am, that\u2019s for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n Shaddock originally planned to sail across the Pacific to French Polynesia, but that plan fell apart just weeks into the journey. He ran into bad weather in early May after sailing out of the Sea of Cortez and into the Pacific, and his catamaran was badly damaged in a storm. Without any electronics or the ability to cook, he and Bella found themselves adrift in a crippled vessel.<\/p>\n Fortunately, Shaddock had some fishing gear onboard. He spent the following weeks, which soon turned into months, catching fish, eating them raw, and sharing the meat with his dog.<\/p>\n While it\u2019s unknown what kind of fish he was catching, the Sea of Cortez and South Pacific are known as some of the most fertile fishing grounds on the planet. They\u2019re home to large numbers of billfish, dolphin, bonito, tuna, and other saltwater species that can be eaten raw<\/a>. (Some of these species carry parasites and there is always a risk<\/a> when eating uncooked fish straight from the ocean.)<\/p>\n As for how they stayed hydrated, Shaddock said he collected rainwater the whole time. He didn\u2019t explain how, but there are a few different ways<\/a> he could have done this\u2014like using a tarp or one of his sails to catch and funnel the water into a receptacle.<\/p>\nThe First Bad Day<\/h2>\n
Survival at Sea<\/h2>\n
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