COSTA RICA: A sailor yesterday described how he spent four months at sea after drifting 2,500 miles from the California coast to waters off Costa Rica.
Mr Richard Van Pham, a Vietnamese immigrant, survived the ordeal by eating roasted turtle, tuna and a seagull, and by drinking rainwater. He was finally rescued by the US Navy, who sank his boat, Sea Breeze, and dropped him off in Guatemala. He flew home to Los Angeles yesterday after sailors aboard the navy ship had a whip-round to pay for his airfare.
Mr Pham (62) told the Los Angeles Times how he desperately scanned the horizon for signs of life and land as he drifted at sea for weeks on end. "I see nothing," he said. "Then one day, I see a plane. I know I'm close to people. They tip their wings to say hello. Two hours later, a ship comes to my boat. I am very, very happy."
The navy found Mr Pham 300 miles off Costa Rica last week nearly four months after he set off from Long Beach for a short jaunt to Santa Catalina Island. Somewhere on that 22-mile journey a storm blew in and whipping winds broke the Sea Breeze's mast. Then the outboard motor and radio failed and the wind and ocean current pushed the boat south.
Mr Pham has no family and had not told officials of his destination. No one reported him missing.
During the months he spent drifting in his 26-ft boat, Mr Pham stayed below deck during the day to keep out of the sun. He put out a five-gallon bucket to collect rainwater, caught fish, tore the wood panelling off his boat to make a grill and managed to catch a sea turtle that swam near his boat.
"If you travel at sea, you take what you find," Mr Pham said. "If you are scared, you will die."
Navy Capt Terry Bragg said he had never heard a story of survival like Mr Pham's. He said: "It's a three-hour cruise gone bad."
Capt Gary Parriot, captain of the frigate which rescued Mr Pham, said a US Customs plane reported a broken-down sailboat bobbing in the water close to his ship. The frigate headed to the area and found the Sea Breeze and a frantic Mr Pham. Capt Parriot said the unfortunate sailor wanted a new sail and help to fix his mast, but the vessel was simply not seaworthy and they had to sink it.
Mr Pham said he was retired and had been living on the Sea Breeze. He said he came to the US in 1976 as a refugee before becoming a businessman. But he lost everything 10 years ago when he was left in a coma for six months after a car accident. - (PA)