Castaway claims he drifted 13 months in Pacific (Haley Hill, 4th)

Castaway claims he drifted 13 months in Pacific

BY: Brian Walker and Brad Lendon for CNN

On December 21st, 2012, Jose Salvador Alvarenga and a teenage companion left the Mexican town Costa Azul for a one day expedition to capture sharks. However, it turned into 13 month expedition for Alvarenga, and after four weeks, his teenage companion died because he refused to eat raw birds. Alvarenga claimed to live off rainwater, turtles, birds, fish, and occasionally his own urine to survive on the boat. Alvarenga was found on the island of Ebon Atoll, a mere 2.2 square miles of land, about 22 hours away from the Marshall islands. He claimed he had just killed a bird and then saw some trees when he saw land. He arrived on shore and automatically fell asleep, but when he awoke he saw a house and two native women yelling at him while he was laying on the shore. He is now recovering in a hospital from the ordeal and is in contact with his family.

I believe this is extraordinary and it reminds me of the novel "the Life of Pi" in a way. The only problem is, the authorities have no way of telling if his story is true or not. If it does hold true, Alvarenga would have traveled at least 6700 miles across the Pacific. Judson Jones, producer for CNN weather said it is believable because of the currents between Mexico and the Marshall Islands. The currents would have pulled the boat about 27 miles per day making the trip last about 208 days. However, he stated that being pushed and pulled out of the currents would be more likely, thus creating the 13 month long journey.

http://www.cnn.com/2014/02/03/world/asia/marshall-islands-castaway/index.html?hpt=hp_inthenews

-Haley Hill