438 Days: An Extraordinary True Story of Survival at Sea

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Declared “the best survival book in a decade” by Outside Magazine, 438 Days is the true story of the man who survived fourteen months in a small boat drifting seven thousand miles across the Pacific Ocean. On November 17, 2012, two men left the coast of Mexico for a weekend fishing trip in the open Pacific. That night, a violent storm ambushed them as they were fishing eighty miles offshore. As gale force winds and ten-foot waves pummeled their small, open boat from all sides and nearly capsized them, captain Salvador Alvarenga and his crewmate cut away a two-mile-long fishing line and began a desperate dash through crashing waves as they sought the safety of port. Fourteen months later, on January 30, 2014, Alvarenga, now a hairy, wild-bearded and half-mad castaway, washed ashore on a nearly deserted island on the far side of the Pacific. He could barely speak and was unable to walk. He claimed to have drifted from Mexico, a journey of some seven thousand miles. A “gripping saga,” (Daily Mail), 438 Days is the first-ever account of one of the most amazing survival stories in modern times. Based on dozens of hours of exclusive interviews with Alvarenga, his colleagues, search-and-rescue officials, the remote islanders who found him, and the medical team that saved his life, 438 Days is not only “an intense, immensely absorbing read” (Booklist) but an unforgettable study of the resilience, will, ingenuity and determination required for one man to survive more than a year lost and adrift at sea. 438 Days: An Extraordinary True Story of Survival at Sea by Jonathan Franklin – eBook Details Jose Salvador Alvarenga and the science of survival". CBC.ca. Associated Press. February 6, 2014 . Retrieved February 6, 2014. I suffered so much and for so long. Maybe if people read this they will realize that if I can make it, they can make it. Many people suffer only because of what happens in their head; I was also physically being tortured. I had no food. No water. If I can make it so can you. If one depressed person avoids committing suicide then the book is a success.

438 Days Quotes by Jonathan Franklin - Goodreads 438 Days Quotes by Jonathan Franklin - Goodreads

a b c d Haddou, Leila (February 3, 2014). "Pacific castaway recounts his 13-month odyssey". The Guardian . Retrieved February 4, 2014. The book was selected with the help of a panel made up of Reading Agency and library staff from across the UK. Find out more about the non-fiction strand of the Radio 2 Book Club. We didn’t think about hunger at first,” Alvarenga said. “It was the thirst. We had to drink our own urine after the storm. It wasn’t until a month later that we finally got some rain water.” It wasn’t until a year later, when the fog of confusion subsided and he scanned the maps of his drift across the Pacific Ocean, that Alvarenga began to fathom his extraordinary journey. For 438 days, he lived on the edge of sanity. “I suffered hunger, thirst and an extreme loneliness, and didn’t take my life,” Alvarenga says. “You only get one chance to live – so appreciate it.”This is not to take away from Callahan at all, that was also a 10 star read, but 438 Days was more interesting because all the problems and their solutions were explained in detail. Much was really interesting and nothing I could envisage, from his captive 'larder' of seabirds, to knowing what organs of fish to eat. Sadly his companion, the young Ezekiel didn't have the survival instinct strongly enough to overcome his revulsion at certain foods. Where Alvarenga saw nutrients, Ezekiel saw disgusting organs oozing blood. He died. Don’t think about death, if you think you are going to die, you will die…everything will work out…don’t give up hope, remain calm”. There are stories of survival and then there is this story of simply refusing to die. Salvador Alvarenga will forever be the man to tough for the sun to fry and for tough circumstances to thwart. The search party organized by Alvarenga's employer failed to find any trace of the missing men and gave up after two days because visibility was poor. [15] As days turned to weeks, they learned to scavenge their food from whatever sources presented themselves. Alvarenga managed to catch fish, turtles, jellyfish, and seabirds with his bare hands, and the pair occasionally salvaged bits of food and plastic refuse floating in the water. They collected drinking water from rainfall when possible, but more frequently were forced to drink turtle blood or their own urine. Alvarenga frequently dreamed about his favorite foods, as well as his parents. [5]

438 Days: An Extraordinary True Story of Survival at Sea 438 Days: An Extraordinary True Story of Survival at Sea

a b c Aleman, Marcos (February 4, 2014). "Sea survivor's Salvadoran family thought he died". Chicago Sun-Times . Retrieved February 4, 2014. With his knife, he cut away the ragged line of buoys. It was a drastic move. In the open ocean, with no sea anchor, he could readily flip during even a moderate tropical storm. But Alvarenga could see the shoreline clearly and he gambled that speed was of greater importance than stability. Jealousy over Córdoba’s death overwhelmed Alvarenga. He contemplated suicide in the days after dropping his friend’s body in the ocean. Only the fear that God would condemn his soul to hell stopped him from killing himself. Salvador Alvarenga was a barely literate Salvadoran fisherman who fled to Mexico for safety. Alvaranega was a hard partier who spent money as soon as it came in. Although he kept his cards close to the vest, he was a generous friend and employee who would lend money or his time, such as when other fishermen went missing. Somehow, I never heard about this man. I can’t believe this happened in my lifetime and I missed the news about it.Alvarenga's story was heavily reported worldwide despite initial criticism from skeptics. He is the first person in recorded history to have survived in a small boat lost at sea for more than a year. [12] Early and personal life [ edit ]