An Australian Man And His Dog Survived At Sea For Two Months Before They Were Rescued By A Passing Helicopter

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Tim Shaddock, an Australian who is 51 years old, traveled to French Polynesia in April with his dog Bella. They were lost at sea after their boat's technical systems were damaged by a storm that came in several weeks into their journey.

It would be impossible for anyone to survive, yet somehow Bella and Shaddock did. They subsisted for two months on raw fish and rainwater till a helicopter accidentally discovered them.

Shaddock's doctor told Australia's 9News that the recovered man is "stable and very well."

Shaddock and Bella were stuck in the huge and dangerous Pacific Ocean when the storm destroyed their boat and his equipment, ending their 3,700-mile expedition that had started in the Mexican port of La Paz.

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Shaddock was able to survive by eating everything he could catch, which required more than luck.

Mike Tipton, an ocean survival expert, explained, “It’s a combination of luck and skill. And also knowing for example, as Tim did, that during the heat of the day, you need to protect yourself because the last thing you want when you’re in danger of becoming dehydrated is to be sweating.”

Shaddock covered himself and Bella with his boat's canopy during the hot midday hours to protect them from the sun. Fortunately, Shaddock had fishing equipment with him, so he was able to catch some fish in addition to the current supplies for the two of them.

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Fresh water was still going to be a problem. Everyone knows you shouldn't drink seawater, and the National Ocean Service claims salt is the reason why. Humans can take small amounts of salt—most do so daily—but the amount of liquid we drink often outweighs this salt by a large margin.

The majority of humans, however, could not safely drink the amount of salt found in ocean water. Human kidneys can only generate urine that is less salty than salt water, therefore even after urinating, the body would still contain too much salt. Your body forces you to urinate more water than you drank to make up for this, which may eventually lead to your death from dehydration.

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Shaddock was lucky to be stuck in a warm, tropical region with lots of rain. Although rainwater and raw fish are probably not anyone's ideal diet, Shaddock and Bella were able to survive for two months at sea on this diet. Even if Shaddock had gained weight since he had left and had a thick beard, the situation was still far preferable to the alternative.

Given how large the ocean is, Shaddock and Bella were a "needle in a haystack" when a helicopter accompanying a tuna trawler discovered them on their boat. Despite this, Shaddock and Bella seemed to be in generally good health and spirits.

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“I have been through a very difficult ordeal at sea,” Shaddock told 9News. “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.”

Tipton said that Bella's presence on the team had probably helped "a tremendous amount."

“I think that may have well made the difference,” he said. “You’re living very much from day to day and you have to have a very positive mental attitude in order to get through this kind of ordeal and not give up… Just imagine how dark and lonely it would feel out there at night time.”

Shaddock can only eat small meals at the moment, so doctors will need to monitor him carefully for a while as he transitions back to a normal diet.