Holiday Disaster

Richard Van Ham has been in love with fishing for a very long time. He has always liked fishing alone. One day, he sailed out of Long Beach in California and there were no clouds in the sky when he set sail. Richard was a single man and had no relatives. Before he set sail, he didn’t tell any of his friends about his fishing trip.

 

At first everything was wonderful. As the time passed, the weather started to change. In the afternoon there was a lot of wind and rain. After a little while, some big waves started to hit his small boat. After the storm, his radio and engine were out of order, so he couldn’t contact anyone. Luckily, in the boat Richard had some mineral water, biscuits, nuts and chocolate. He finished them in three days and then had nothing to eat or drink. 

 

To survive he caught fish and collected rainwater. He used the fish to catch birds. To cook the birds he used some parts of the boat and lit fire. His only entertainment was watching videos. His TV had solar power and he had some videos on his boat. He spent four months like this on his boat.

 

Four months later, a US navy boat found him on the coast of Costa Rica and saved him. ‘When we arrived, he was busy with cooking a seagull,’ said the captain. Richard has no health problems but he has lost weight. He says, ‘This event has taught me how to survive. All my life I have always thought that I was unlucky, but now I see that I’m one of the luckiest people in the world. They have saved my life after a long time.’