1. Steve Callahan Survived 76 Days in a Life Raft

2. 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.

3. Shipwrecked - 1983  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.

4. 76 Days Adrift - 1983  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.

5. 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.

6. Sources  Website: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steven_Callahanhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steven_Callahan  Article: http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2012/mar/23/adrift-in- atlantic-76-dayshttp://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2012/mar/23/adrift-in- atlantic-76-days  Article: http://www.express.co.uk/news/world/369064/I-survived-a-real-life- shipwreckhttp://www.express.co.uk/news/world/369064/I-survived-a-real-life- shipwreck  Website: http://www.stevencallahan.nethttp://www.stevencallahan.net  Article: http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20084604,00.htmlhttp://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20084604,00.html