Steve Callahan Survived 76 Days in a Life Raft
Life Before the Shipwreck Born in 1952 (that makes him 63) In high school, he taught himself to navigate from the stars and began sailing and helping to build boats. After college, he did repair work on boats and began designing and building them. Taught yacht design. Always loved to sail and even built his own boat.
Shipwrecked Steve set sail on the Atlantic ocean in his own boat, the Napoleon Solo. He had been out for many weeks and was headed home. One night during a storm, his boat was hit by a whale and sank. Before he got into the life raft, he was able to get a few supplies, such as water, spear gun, sleeping bag, and some food.
76 Days Adrift He was always thirsty because his solar stills only produced 20 ounces of water per day. On day 10, he was able to catch some fish. On day 44, he speared a dorado and it ripped a hole in the life raft. Steve had to spend most of his time keeping the raft afloat. He also ate seaweed and crabs that floated by. His raft attracted fish and other animal life. He called them his doggies. He was very depressed. He battled skin sores from being so wet and rubbing the raft. He was rescued on day 76 by fisherman off the island of Marie Galante. They saw birds circling in the sky – a sign of fish in the water. He had lost 40 pounds and had to be hospitalized for several months.
After His Rescue Steve returned to ship building and never hesitated to sail again. He has sailed over 80,000 miles! He was married to Kathleen Massimi who shared his love for sailing and together they have sailed all over the world and even lived on boats. He wrote Adrift about his survival. He also wrote Capsized, about four men who survived in an overturned boat for 119 days. He worked as a consultant for the movie Life of Pi. Raced several boats in transatlantic races. Designed and developed new life rafts that can sail.
Sources Website: Article: atlantic-76-dayshttp:// atlantic-76-days Article: shipwreckhttp:// shipwreck Website: Article: