A man who was lost at sea just like Tom Hanks’ character in the film Cast Away ‘didn’t think he’d make it’.
Tim Shaddock and his canine pal Bella were recently rescued after they went missing earlier this year in a case which has drawn comparisons to the beloved survival film from 2000.
Almost two decades after Hanks’ character Chuck Noland survived a plane crash and fend for himself on an island for four years, the world watched as sailor Shaddock was brought to dry land after he and his dog were left stranded in the Pacific Ocean.
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Shaddock’s trip from La Paz in Mexico to French Polynesia in April took an unexpected turn when his catamaran was subjected to terribly stormy weather within just a few short weeks, causing catastrophic damage to the electronics.
As the Australian man had no way to call for help because all the communications on the boat were cut off, Shaddock and Bella were helpless for three months.
Shaddock and his four-legged companion survived on raw fish and rainwater and he used the boat’s shelter to shield himself from suffering severe sunburn.
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The pair’s fortunes changed a lot faster than Chuck Noland’s, as they were spotted by a tuna trawler and its helicopter out in the ocean. They were rescued and transported to the Mexican city of Manzanillo.
Speaking to press after setting foot on dry land once again, the 54-year-old from Sydney. He was smiling and upbeat and said joked about having to eat ‘a lot of tuna sushi’.
"I'm feeling alright,” he told Sky News on Tuesday (18 July). “I'm feeling a lot better than I was, I tell ya."
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Shaddock thanked the fishing company, Maria Delia Tuna, for saving his life, adding: "I didn't think I would make it ... there were many bad days and many good days. I lost my cooking along the way so it was a lot of tuna sushi ... I'm still very skinny."
He also shared a special message to the captain. "To the captain and fishing company that saved my life, I'm just so grateful. I'm alive and I didn't really think I'd make it.”
Neither Shaddock nor the pup have suffered any kind of major injury or illness and after being rescued, the sailor revealed he had been eating ‘so much food’, which is exactly what we’d all do in his situation.
During a chat with Australia’s 9News, he shared: “I’m just needing rest and good food because I have been alone at sea a long time. Otherwise, I’m in very good health.
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“I have very good medicine and I’m being looked after very well.”
Featured Image Credit: Sky NewsTopics: Good News, News, Australia, World News