Two months on a capsized boat

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/other/man-...cid=mailsignout

Either he was exceptionally prepared and skilled, or it is a hoax.

There's a lot of that going around the internet. I think we'll have to wait a couple of days/weeks for the facts to come through. I don't think the media is reporting it accurately.

My gut check says that his boat got knocked down and either partially or entirely demasted. But, it's counterintuative to me that a 70 year old single hull keelboat would stay capsized and afloat for two months. I've sailed small keelboats that had enough flotation foam to do that, but unless he had retrofitted the boat with a couple hundred cubic feet of it, I wouldn't place money on it stayup afloat. I think the boat righted itself after the knockdown.

He had no emergency communications equipment (EPIRB or PLB), and his regular electronics didn't survive the knockdown.

If the boat remained upright and habitable (after bailing), it would go a long way to explaining his apparent good health. He would have shelter and stores of food and water in addition to what he caught and collected.

Yep, too much not being reported. I don't see how you stay alive for 2 months on a capsized 35 ft hull, that just doesn't work. Floating around on a demasted boat however makes sense. I just don't get people who go blue water with limited comm/signaling/survival gear. That said, I'll wait for more/better info.

Same old story = early, superficial reporting with no depth. 60 days is a long time on just water and fish (what, no chocolate?) but folks have survived at sea for far longer....

Yeah, that's what it sounds like.

A bit more info plus some informed speculation in this article. It sounds like he survived at least in part by eating food he had aboard the boat.

Surviving 66 days in a dismasted and badly damaged, but still upright 35 foot boat is much more plausible. Just being able to get inside the cabin and out of the sun would help a lot.

Good article. The comments are especially pertinent and interesting.

Good article. Now that the boat was identified as a (Pearson Yachts built) Alberg 35, and that it was upright (as we suspected), the survival story makes much more sense. Just about any boat can be knocked over if you hit it with a big enough wave. A good sailboat (a good design with a reputable builder) will right itself -- which is what happened in this case. If the boat had been well stocked with food he could have continued on much longer.

What we have here is a guy who had less experience than required, but he had a good boat so he got away with a bad plan -- a small bit of luck helped. Counting on luck is not a good strategy. What probably happened is he drifted into a shipping lane where one of the ships finally saw him.

So, poorly trained, but well prepared and very lucky.

I'm not sure I'd say well prepared; he had a good boat. If he'd had a handheld radio that could withstand a dunking and a PLB and maybe a back-up solar system to keep batteries charged, I'd say he was prepared. One knock-over though and he lost propulsion (sail and motor) as well as comms.

Apparently there was more comm, nav and signaling gear in my aviation survival vest than he had in his boat. My vest and everything in it was designed to get (IPX-8) wet. Things get wet in a small boat on the ocean, you need to plan for it.

60 Days Stranded at Sea = 2 Months Lost Wages ($8000)

1 PLB = $285 (at MEC) Rescue, Priceless