An Australian sailor who had been adrift in the Pacific for three months accompanied only by his dog has been rescued by a Mexican tuna boat in international waters, a group of fishing companies announced Monday.
Timothy Lyndsay Shaddock, 54, was adrift on his disabled catamaran “Aloha Toa” in the eastern Pacific, about 1,200 miles (1,930 kilometers) from the coast, when he was sighted by the crew of one of the ships of the Grupomar fleet, the group said in a statement.
Shaddock and his dog Bella were in an "extremely precarious" situation after spending three months without adequate supplies or shelter, the letter states. The tuna crew provided them with medical care, food and hydration.
Grupomar did not provide specific details about what day Shaddock was rescued or when he began his journey.
The tuna boat, captained by Oscar Meza Oregon, is expected to arrive on Tuesday at the port of Manzanillo, on the Pacific coast, with Shaddock and Bella.
Antonio Suárez Gutiérrez, founder and president of Grupomar, said he was proud of his crew, praising them for their humanity in saving the life of someone in distress.
Shaddock told Australia's Nine News television that eating raw fish and rainwater helped him survive the weeks he was adrift after a storm damaged his boat and the electronic equipment on board.
“I have been through a very difficult trial at sea and I just need rest and good food because I have been alone at sea for a long time,” a thin, bearded Shaddock said in a video broadcast on television on Sunday. "Otherwise, I am in very good health," he added.
Shaddock left the Mexican city of La Paz for French Polynesia in April, but was forced to call off his trip a few weeks later, Sydney's The Daily Telegraph newspaper reported.
In some photographs of the rescue provided by Grupomar to The Associated Press, Shaddock is seen smiling as his blood pressure is taken and he is holding a box of painkillers inside the fishing boat's cabin. In other images, Bella appears lying on the deck. The catamaran floated nearby without a visible sail.
