The storm that changed everything for the man
At first, everything seemed to be going well. However, a fierce storm changed everything.
Steven was confident as he encountered the storm. He had faced harsh weather before and thought it would pass quickly.
He decided to go below deck to sleep, leaving the boat on autopilot. Unfortunately, while he was resting, disaster struck.
‘All of a sudden, there was this big bag on the side of the boat,’ he described.
‘There was this huge flood of water, immediately.’
Steven’s struggle for survival after the fierce storm
A massive wave hit the boat, tearing apart its hull and flooding it with water. Steven woke up to chaos as his boat began to sink.
With only moments to react, Steven jumped into his lifeboat.
But he soon realized that all of his important supplies were still on the sinking boat. He knew he wouldn’t survive long without them.
In a brave move, he dove back down into the sinking vessel. He managed to grab some supplies before the hatch closed.
Just then, a large wave burst the hatch open again, allowing him to escape back to his lifeboat.
Once in the lifeboat, he faced a new challenge.
He was cold and worried about hypothermia, saying, “I might not make it until morning.”
“I was shivering a lot and I was worried about dying of hypothermia. I might not make it until morning,” he recalled.
“I am just this teeny teeny thing surrounded by the immensity of sea,” Steven continued.
But he did survive the night, although his ordeal was far from over.
With no way to contact anyone and being about 1,000 miles from land, Steven felt very alone.
Steven’s challenge of finding water and coping with hunger
Before the storm, he had stored eight pints of water, which would last him about eight days. After that, he needed to find a way to get more water.
While searching through his supplies, Steven found a harpoon and three solar stills, which are devices designed to purify seawater.
He used these stills to create drinkable water by heating seawater in the sun.
After a few tries, he succeeded in making his own fresh water.
Although he had water, food was a different story. Days passed without any food, and Steven felt increasingly desperate.
“I was desperately lonesome; there was no part of this that wasn’t a hellish experience,” he recalled.
On the 14th day, the man tried to catch fish with his harpoon.
Things looked promising until nightfall when he encountered a shark. The shark tossed him around in his raft, and he fought for his life.
As the days went by, Steven’s strength began to fade. By day 74, he felt like he was reaching his limit.
“It was over. I was just done. I had nothing left to give,” he said.
Despite the overwhelming odds against him, he continued to hold onto hope.
On the 76th day, everything changed.
Steven spotted floating plastic bottles and crates, which meant he was near land.
His heart raced as he realized help was on the way.
Local fishermen found him and brought him to safety. When they rescued him, he weighed only 100 pounds, a testament to the hardships he endured.
