Australian and his dog rescued after 3 months adrift in Pacific
Sydney resident Timothy Lyndsay Shaddock, 54, and dog Bella were rescued 1,900km from land by the crew of Mexican tuna boat.
An Australian sailor who had been adrift at sea with his dog for three months has been rescued by a Mexican tuna boat in international waters, the fishing vessel’s owner said.
Timothy Lyndsay Shaddock, 54, was on board his incapacitated catamaran Aloha Toa in the Pacific about 1,900km (1,200 miles) from land when the crew of the boat from the Grupomar fleet spotted them, the company said in a statement on Monday.
The company said Shaddock and his dog Bella were in a “precarious” state when found, lacking provisions and shelter. The tuna boat’s crew gave them medical attention, food and hydration, it said.
Grupomar did not provide specific details on what day Shaddock was rescued or when he had started his voyage.
The tuna boat, captained by Oscar Meza Oregón, was expected to arrive in the Mexican Pacific coast port of Manzanillo on Tuesday with Shaddock and Bella.
Antonio Suarez Gutierrez, Grupomar’s founder and president, said he was proud of his crew, praising them for their humanity in saving the life of someone in trouble.
Esta no ha sido la primera vez que alguno de los buques de la flota de Grupomar/Tuny rescata a un náufrago. Don Antonio Suárez Gutierrez y la familia de Grupomar ® queremos felicitar a nuestra tripulación por su valentía y humanismo en el exitoso rescate del Sr. Shaddock. pic.twitter.com/T5feSz5fcK
— Grupomar® (@Grupomar) July 18, 2023
[Translation: This has not been the first time that one of the vessels in the Grupomar/Tuny fleet has rescued a castaway. Mr. Antonio Suarez Gutierrez and the Grupomar family would like to congratulate our crew for their courage and humanity in the successful rescue of Mr. Shaddock.]
Shaddock told Australia’s Nine News television that he and his dog had survived on raw fish and rainwater after a storm damaged his vessel and wiped out its electronics.
“I’ve been through a very difficult ordeal at sea and I’m just needing rest and good food because I’ve been alone at sea a long time,” a thin and bearded Shaddock said in a video broadcast by Nine on Sunday night Australian time.
“Otherwise, I’m in very good health,” Shaddock added.
The Sydney resident and his dog had sailed from the Mexican city of La Paz for French Polynesia in April, but the voyage ended within weeks, Sydney’s Daily Telegraph newspaper reported.
In photographs of the rescue, provided by Grupomar to the Associated Press news agency, a smiling, bearded and thin Shaddock is seen with a blood pressure cuff around his arm, holding a box of pain medication inside the fishing boat’s cabin.
In others, Bella is stretched out on the deck. The catamaran floats nearby without a visible sail.
