Sailor adrift at sea for three months with his dog ‘survived on a lot of sushi’

Timothy Lyndsay Shaddock began his journey with dog Bella in April (Picture: AFP)

A sailor who was stranded at sea for three months managed to ‘survive on a lot of sushi’ but he didn’t think ‘he would make it’.

Timothy Lyndsay Shaddock, 54, set out from Mexico’s Baja Peninsula to cross the Pacific Ocean to French Polynesia in April.

But just weeks into the 3,700 mile journey, the Australian national’s catamaran was damaged by bad weather.

Mr Shaddock said the last time he saw land was in early May as he sailed out of the Sea of Cortez and into the Pacific during a full moon.

Thankfully he was rescued by the crew in the Maria Delia last week, who spotted him from their helicopter.

He said: ‘I’m feeling alright. I’m feeling a lot better than I was, I tell ya.

‘To the captain and fishing company that saved my life, I’m just so grateful. I’m alive and I didn’t really think I’d make it.’

Mr Shaddock said he had been well-provisioned, but a storm knocked out his electronics and ability to cook – forcing him and his dog Bella to survive on raw fish.

Mr Shaddock survived on raw fish throughout his ordeal (Picture: Ulises Ruiz/AFP via Getty Images)

A crew member of the Mexican tuna boat ‘Maria Delia’ waves for photos with Bella the dog (Picture: AP)

He said: ‘There were many, many, many bad days and many good days.

‘The energy, the fatigue is the hardest part.’

He added he and his ‘amazing’ Bella are both doing well.

Asked why he decided to make the journey, he was initially at a loss.

Mr Shaddock said: ‘I’m not sure I have the answer to that, but I very much enjoy sailing and I love the people of the sea.

‘It’s the people of the sea that make us all come together. The ocean is in us. We are the ocean.’

The crew said they found Mr Shaddock in a ‘precarious’ state (Picture: AP)

He passed the time fixing things and stayed positive by going into the water to ‘just enjoy being in the water’.

When the tuna boat’s helicopter spotted Mr Shaddock’s catamaran about 1,200 miles from land, it was the first sign of humans he had seen in three months, he said.

The pilot tossed him a drink and then flew away, returning later with a speedboat from the Maria Delia, he said.

Grupomar, which operates the fishing fleet, did not specify when the rescue occurred.

But it said in a statement that Mr Shaddock and his dog were in a ‘precarious’ state when found, lacking provisions and shelter, and that the tuna boat’s crew gave them medical attention, food and hydration.

Mr Shaddock said Bella was an immediate hit with the crew.

Both Mr Shaddock and Bella lacked provisions and shelter during their ordeal (Picture: Grupomar/AFP)

He also explained how he and the dog met.

‘Bella sort of found me in the middle of Mexico. She’s Mexican,’ he said.

‘She’s the spirit of the middle of the country and she wouldn’t let me go. I tried to find a home for her three times and she just kept following me on to the water. She’s a lot braver than I am, that’s for sure.’

The loyal dog did not leave the boat until Mr Shaddock had driven away on Tuesday.

Mr Shaddock said he will be returning to Australia soon (Picture: Reuters)

He had already chosen Genaro Rosales, a crew member from Mazatlan, to adopt her on the condition that he would take good care of the dog.

Mr Shaddock said he will be returning to Australia soon and that he is looking forward to seeing his family.

Antonio Suarez, Grupomar’s president, said this could be the Maria Delia’s final trip because he is modernising the company’s fleet and the boat is its smallest and is more than 50 years old.

If so, it would be a ‘marvellous farewell, saving human lives’, Mr Suarez said.

In February a man identified as Elvis Francois was rescued by the Colombian navy after 24 days adrift in the Caribbean on a sailboat.

Last year a Brazilian gardener named Nelson Nedy was found on a deserted island after five days of living off two lemons and charcoal.

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‘I’m alive and I didn’t really think I’d make it.’