Doctors have reported that the Australian sailor, who spent two months on a catamaran in the Pacific Ocean, drinking rainwater and eating raw fish, feels very well, writes the BBC.
Sydney resident Tim Shaddock and his dog Bella traveled from Mexico to the French Polynesian islands in April, but several weeks later his boat was badly damaged by a storm, rendering his communications equipment unusable.
Both were rescued by a tuna fishing vessel that went to help after Shaddock’s boat was spotted by a helicopter. A doctor on the fishing vessel told Australian news channel 9News that the man’s health indicators were normal.
Shaddock set off from the Mexican coastal city of La Paz on its more than 6,000-kilometer journey
but ended up in the ocean after its electronics stopped working during a storm. Two months later, when the two were found on the 17th of July, Shaddock had lost a lot of weight. He said he had had a very hard ordeal at sea and needed rest and good food.
Shaddock said that the fishing equipment he brought with him helped him and Bella survive. The man avoided sunburn by hiding under the canopy of the boat.
Soon after the rescue, the man was seen smiling happily and was also allowed to eat small meals. The fishing vessel brought the Shaddock back to Mexico, where the sailor’s health will be checked.