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José Salvador Alvarenga: How a man survived in the ocean for 14 months

José Salvador_Alvarenga
José Salvador_Alvarenga

Toronto: José Salvador Alvarenga was a Mexican fisherman who survived the sea for 438 days. José Salvador Alvarenga‘s story is the best example of Never Give Up. He believed in him, which is why he was able to survive alone in the ocean for 438 days and set a world record.

Before we begin with the story of José Salvador Alvarenga, did you know that if all the land on the planet were combined, the Pacific Ocean would be three times larger than the land?

If someone gets lost in this ocean, there is a very slim chance that they will be found.

José Salvador Alvarenga was a Mexican fisherman.

He was living with his family and catching fish in the Pacific Ocean.

On November 17, 2012, he went to the sea with a friend to catch fish on the boat.

It wasn’t even 7 meters long. There was no roof over it, and there was no room inside.

The boat had a small icebox where they had to keep the fish.

Both of those fishermen were aware that there would be a storm in the sea, but in their eagerness to earn more money by catching fish, they take risks and travel 130 kilometers from land to the Pacific Ocean.

Those people were caught in the grip of the storm at 1 a.m.

Due to the storm, they cut the fishing nets and left them in the sea, and they began to push the boat towards the shore.

They drove the boat to the shore continuously for 6 hours, and they could see the peaks of the mountains present on this land.

However, the boat’s motor failed, but the radio remained operational.

They also communicated their location to their boss via radio.

He said he was on his way to pick them up, but their radio battery had died and their radio had been turned off.

Consider how frustrated those people must have been at the time, not being able to take the boat anywhere and having lost contact with the outside world.

The ground was close by, and they could see the mountains standing on the shore, but the wind was blowing in the opposite direction, causing him to drift away from his shore.

And the mountains visible from the shore began to fade away. And their boat began to move toward the deep sea. His boss dispatched a search team to find them, and he searched for them both for four days, but he was nowhere to be found. His boss stopped looking for him after admitting defeat.

The wind carried them 450 kilometers away from the shore in 5 days. There was nothing but blue sea in all four directions in front of them, and their boat was so small in such a large sea that it couldn’t be seen from the sky.

They didn’t have a flare gun or a device that could send a signal to the sky and request assistance.

In such a situation, their food consisted of fish, turtles, and plastic bottles found floating in the sea, which they collected, and whenever it rained, he would collect the rainwater in that bottle.

If it does not rain, they usually quench their thirst by drinking the blood of turtles or by drinking their own urine.

Consider how they must have felt at the time, when days passed by on a daily basis and they were both on a small boat.

They spend their time fishing, talking to each other, crying, laughing, missing their families, and hoping that he will find someone.

Despite the passage of four months, no one has discovered them. After 4 months, Alvarenga’s friend lost hope of survival. As a result, he also stopped drinking and eating. And his body weakened to the point where his life was over.

Consider what happened on Alvarenga at the time. His only friend had also abandoned him. Alvarenga was now alone in the Pacific Ocean. Alvarenga made a wish to end his life four days after his friend died.

But his faith was preventing him from doing so. But then Alvarenga attempted to fight for his life. And, in order to keep himself alive in some way, And, at the time, Alvarenga was in the center of the Pacific Ocean, and ships used to visit the area from time to time.

A cargo ship passed by about 8 months later. Alvarenga also made gestures by standing up, but the Ship moved quickly and no one noticed the Alvarenga. Consider how Alvarenga’s life has unfolded. That time, which he had been anticipating for months, arrived, but nothing happened, and he was left alone in the sea.

It had been a frustrating time for him; he had travelled 8000 kilometers on his small boat in 11 months, and he had encountered harsh sunlight and storms along the way.

He saw coconuts floating in the water and birds flying in the sky on January 30, 2014.

Alvarenga realized the land was nearby and discovered an island.

Alvarenga jumped from the boat and made his way to the island.

After 438 days in the water, he was granted the right to live on land.

He noticed a house on the island and knocked on its door.

This was one of the most beautiful moments in Alvarenga’s life.

In which Alvarenga finally met someone after months of waiting.

If he had missed that island, it would have been in the middle of the sea.

Then, after 5000 kilometers, he’d get the land-only option, and it’d take another 240 days to get there.

Alvarenga later came to his house and wrote a book about his journey.

Unknowingly, Alvarenga set a record by spending 438 days at sea, and no one wants to break it.

This story of Alvarenga teaches us a lot. That we must never lose hope. Regardless of how far the destination is. However, by taking small steps, it will be discovered one day. If Alvarenga’s friend had not given up hope, he might still be alive today.

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