A lost sailor was found after nearly four MONTHS adrift—thousands of miles from his destination.
Yachtsman Richard Van Pham set out to make a 28-mile trip to an island off California.
But his boat was battered by a storm and he drifted 2,800 miles down the coast of Mexico to Costa Rica—where he was picked up by a US Navy frigate 14 weeks later.
Van Pham, 62, told crewmen he survived by drinking rain and catching turtles, fish and seabirds. He had lost 40lb and was heavily sunburned but otherwise in incredibly good shape.
Commander Gary Parriott, skipper of the USS McClusky, said:"He's a tough old bird. I'm not sure I'd have fared as well as he did."
Van Pham's fantastic voyage began when he left Long Beach for Catalina in the 26ft Sea Breeze. The storm broke the mast and his outboard motor and radio failed. His derelict craft was finally spotted 275 miles off Central America by a US drug-busting plane.
The McClusky found him roasting a seagull on a grill, using bits of the yacht for firewood.
Van Pham was equally staggered to be told the date andswhereshe was.
He later told how he bashed turtles swimming near his yacht with a bat, then used bits of carcass as fishing bait.
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