A sailor experienced a nightmare at sea when his boat became disabled during his voyage from the West Coast to Hawaii earlier this summer.
Kaichi Sato, 39, left Southern California to sail to Hawaii on June 7.
Trouble ensued during his journey when he encountered strong winds and rough seas, which snapped his mast. He simultaneously ran out of water and had to cook his food using seawater. Sato collected some rainwater to drink during this time but became dehydrated and depressed, a news release from the Seafarers International Union states.
On July 21, crew members on the container ship M/V George III spotted Sato's sailboat approximately 900 miles from
Hawaii.
Once the George III was close enough to the drifting boat, a crew member threw Sato a life preserver that allowed him to come aboard. It took about an hour and a half to recover Sato, according to the union's statement.
Sato credited the crew of George III for saving his life.
Sailor recounts his experience
In an interview with HawaiiNewsNow, Sato said that after the mast snapped, he "cried for a whole week, just drifting south, (feeling) like miserable." He recalled attempting to motor back to shore, but he ran out of fuel.
“I was literally like a sitting duck, just getting taken south by the current going way off course,” Sato told the outlet.
According to Sato, he attempted to sail back in a shipping lane to be rescued after five days of contemplating his next move. He started to jury-rig the sails by using PVC pipes and kayak paddles to repair his boat.
After running out of fresh water, he filled buckets with seawater and tied plastic bags to seal it off to collect its condensation, he told HawaiiNewsNow.
“I was just licking that to survive,” he said.
For food, he survived on oatmeal in addition to fish and squid that landed in his boat.
Once rescued, he recalled being "ecstatic."
"I was like crying and like so happy, and then they got me fruit and water, and yeah, they were so good to me, those guys,” Sato said.
Michelle Del Rey is a trending news reporter at USA TODAY. Reach her at mdelrey@usatoday.com.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Sailor voyaging to Hawaii survives after being stranded at sea. See how
