Crazy rescue: Man claims to have survived 24 days at sea thanks to ketchup supply

The largely identical reports from newspapers, radio and TV stations - including many German media outlets - are based on a report from a French news agency, which in turn quotes a tweet from the Colombian navy. It states that the shipwrecked man was working on a sailing boat off a harbour on Sint Maarten in December. The weather had suddenly deteriorated and the boat had drifted out to sea.

Apparently, Elvis F. was unable to operate the boat. Instead, he drifted helplessly across the Caribbean for more than three weeks, some 850 nautical miles! He only survived because there was drinking water, a ketchup bottle, garlic powder and bouillon cubes on board. He mixed these together and fed on them.

He has written the word "Help" on deck, and when he spots an aeroplane in the sky, he manages to attract the pilots' attention with the help of a mirror. They informed the Colombian navy, who in turn directed a merchant ship to the position of the sailing boat, which took him on board. Elvis F. was medically examined and apparently survived his odyssey quite well. On arrival at the next harbour, he was handed over to the immigration authorities, who are now trying to arrange his return to his home island.

In the short video from the Colombian navy, the rescued man reports how desperate he was at times:

No country for 24 days. No one you can talk to. Not knowing what to do, where you were. It was tough! I lost hope a few times. I thought about my family a lot."

Despite all the joy for the rescued man, some questions remain. Above all, why Elvis F., who was in charge of repairs on a sailing boat, was unable to operate it. In other words, to manoeuvre the boat into the next harbour under sail or with the help of the engine. It is not clear from his statement what kind of boat it was and what condition it was in. Were there no sails on board, was the engine defective? Or did the man really have no idea how to sail a boat and didn't even try - or didn't dare to set the sails?

It is just as unclear why the boat suddenly drifted away from the island. Did it break free from the anchor or a mooring buoy when the wind picked up or shifted? And why was Elvis F. unable to draw anyone's attention to himself when he realised this? Could he perhaps have jumped overboard and swum ashore? Or used his mobile phone to call for help while there was still mobile phone reception?

It is quite possible for a boat to drift the distance from Sint Maarten to the site off the Caribbean coast of Colombia within 24 days. At this time of year, the north-east trade wind blows there. The south-westerly drift of the boat is therefore in line with the wind direction. During the day, it travelled an average of 35 nautical miles. This corresponds to an average drift speed of less than two knots.

It is also not unlikely that you can survive for three weeks on the food available on board - strange as it may seem. Provided there is enough drinking water available. Ketchup contains a lot of sugar and, depending on their composition, stock cubes usually contain a lot of salt and fat.

Elvis F. says nothing about how much water and how many stock cubes he found on board. But they were obviously enough to keep him alive. However, only the owner of the boat can answer the question of why these foodstuffs and spices were on board and nothing else.

It will therefore be interesting to see whether the open questions can be answered in the coming days. In any case, one thing is already clear: Elvis F. joins the ranks of some curious and sensational rescues of shipwrecked people who, like him, had to wait for weeks or even months on the high seas to be rescued before they were finally discovered.

Not an isolated case! In the past, there have been cases of shipwrecked people drifting at sea for weeks on end

In 2005, for example, a couple survived 35 days in an open boat in the South Pacific without water or provisions. The two 52-year-olds were travelling from the island of Kiribati to a neighbouring island and had drifted 900 nautical miles. The couple subsisted on fish and collected rainwater until a helicopter spotted them and rescued them.

A year later, three Mexican fishermen caused a sensation. They had allegedly survived for an incredible nine months as castaways in the Pacific. In October 2005, they set sail in their nine-metre-long boat and were swept away by a storm. Around 4,000 nautical miles from their starting point, they were finally rescued half-starved by a Taiwanese fishing vessel.