Franklin, Jonathan. 438 Days: An Extraordinary True Story of Survival at Sea. New York: Atria. 2015. Print.
His name was Salvador and he arrived with bloody feet, said he was looking for work -- anything to start -- but to those who saw the newcomer arrive, he looked like a man on the run.
Description:
On November, 2012, two men set off in their open fishing boat - really a row boat with a small outboard engine - to a rich fishing spot over 100 miles off the coast from their homes in Guatemala. But a five-day hurricane arises that destroys their engine, tosses their fishing equipment, fresh water, and food overboard, and water-logs their radio and GPS into uselessness.
Salvador Alvarenga survived 14 months drifting 6,000 miles in his small open fishing boat. Author Jonathan Franklin spent one year interviewing Alvarenga, his friends, and family and talking with survival experts to fully understand this incredibly true story. The result is the brilliant 438 Days: An Extraordinary True Story of Survival at Sea.
After the storm, all they have left in their boat is a wood plank, a bucket, a fishing knife, a machete, an empty icebox, some empty bleach bottles, some nylon rope, a broken motor and one red onion. They can only drift with the currents and wait ... and try to stay alive. Working with an inexperienced partner, Alvarenga has to figure out how to get food, protect both of them from unrelenting sun, rain, and salt, and keep their spirits up (or at least away from despair and suicide).
But they learn to catch fish with their hands, grab birds and keep them alive on board until ready to be eaten (feet, bones, feathers, and all), mark the days by observing the moon and stars, and fashioning "clothes" from turtle shells and shark skins. Their own fingernails and urine provide subsistence in the early days before they learn food-gathering skills.
Franklin cleverly intersperses interesting facts from survival experts and fellow castaways to comment on exactly what Alvarenga is going through at each step, how his actions help or harm his survival chances, and what his mental state is like before, during and after his ordeal.
It's an incredible tale, clearly and methodically told, but full of passion and the will to continue on whatever it takes. Days and events are carefully recalled by Alvarenga and shared with the author so clearly that one seemingly joins the two men in their boat along and feel their fears, successes, and dwindling hope. A fantastic, stranger-than-fiction epic of skill, chance, ingenuity, luck, and human will. Highly recommended, especially when you are feeling overburdened with the setbacks life tosses your way.
Salvador Alvarenga survived 14 months drifting 6,000 miles in his small open fishing boat. Author Jonathan Franklin spent one year interviewing Alvarenga, his friends, and family and talking with survival experts to fully understand this incredibly true story. The result is the brilliant 438 Days: An Extraordinary True Story of Survival at Sea.
After the storm, all they have left in their boat is a wood plank, a bucket, a fishing knife, a machete, an empty icebox, some empty bleach bottles, some nylon rope, a broken motor and one red onion. They can only drift with the currents and wait ... and try to stay alive. Working with an inexperienced partner, Alvarenga has to figure out how to get food, protect both of them from unrelenting sun, rain, and salt, and keep their spirits up (or at least away from despair and suicide).
But they learn to catch fish with their hands, grab birds and keep them alive on board until ready to be eaten (feet, bones, feathers, and all), mark the days by observing the moon and stars, and fashioning "clothes" from turtle shells and shark skins. Their own fingernails and urine provide subsistence in the early days before they learn food-gathering skills.
Franklin cleverly intersperses interesting facts from survival experts and fellow castaways to comment on exactly what Alvarenga is going through at each step, how his actions help or harm his survival chances, and what his mental state is like before, during and after his ordeal.
It's an incredible tale, clearly and methodically told, but full of passion and the will to continue on whatever it takes. Days and events are carefully recalled by Alvarenga and shared with the author so clearly that one seemingly joins the two men in their boat along and feel their fears, successes, and dwindling hope. A fantastic, stranger-than-fiction epic of skill, chance, ingenuity, luck, and human will. Highly recommended, especially when you are feeling overburdened with the setbacks life tosses your way.
If this book interests you, be sure to check out:
Phil brick, Nathaniel. In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex
The true story of a whale attack and destruction of a whale ship in the 1800s. Three boats escape, only to drift thousands of miles to try to reach the nearest land. Unbelievable, gripping, and well-researched. (previously reviewed here)
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