The 13 month castaway

[alexb]

As seen here and in other news outlets: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/feb/03/officials-wary-pacific-castaways-story-survival

My initial reaction is deep scepticism. I remember reading Survive the Savage Sea as a child (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dougal_Robertson) and what strikes me is that this chap has none of the emaciation, sores or even sunburn that other survivors of shipwreck seem to have in abundance.

[clarion]

I have to admit I'm sceptical, too.  But, beyond what you cite, I'm not really sure why.

[ian]

To be honest, I've seen people emerge looking worse after a few stops travel on the Northern Line.

Thirteen months of extreme malnutrition and exposure and all he got was that beard.

[Morrisette]

Yeah, he looks a bit healthy to me. Mind you wasn't there supposed to be another person on the boat? But he's not there now. The BBC interview I saw clearly implied that there may be a connection. 

[PeteB99]

Alain Bombard sailed the Atlantic in 1952 in a 15 foot rubber dinghy aiming to survive only on what he caught. Took him 60 odd days and he was in quite a bad state at the end (toenails and I think teeth fell out). To survive 13 months without contracting very severe scurvy seems incredible. On the other hand 13 months is about the right time for a drift from Mexico to Polynesia. If he really is genuine there will be a lot to be learned from his experience.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alain_Bombard

[clarion]

The timing isn't too hard to work out, as I heard that there had been some others drifted that way a short while ago.  Hiding till the beard grows, then heading out to sea to be found isn't too difficult.

It's the issue of the mysterious original companion that makes me uneasy.

[mrcharly-YHT]

He probably ate his companion.
There is plenty of precedent.

He was also an experienced fisherman, on a fishing boat. So he had the gear to catch fish.

[L CC]

To survive 13 months without contracting very severe scurvy seems incredible.

Apparently you only need much VitC if you eat carbs. So a diet consisting of, say, erm, long pig would not necessarily lead to scurvy.

[I'm quite sceptical of his claim though. He doesn't mention any tigers?].

[Chris S]

Animal offal contains enough Vit C to sustain humans.

As does whale/seal blubber. Which is why the Inuit don't get scurvy either.

Seal Liver pate anyone?

[mrcharly-YHT]

Raw fish contains vit C

[PeteB99]

The Inuit diet does include some plant life although they do get most of their Vit C from fresh fish. Fish Liver is mostly Vits A & D. It may be possible to get sufficient Vits from fresh fish to survive but every other westerner who has tried it ended up in a fairly poor state even when they had been prepared and trained for the trip. Which is why I said that if he is genuine there is a lot to be learned from his experience.

As for the companion - probably no mystery - he got eaten.

[clarion]

OK.  So you believe that this chap was adrift for that length of time.  See, I don't.

[PeteB99]

No the balance of probabilities is that the trip is a fake for reasons that will probably come out eventually.

If it's not though we need to study him.

[mrcharly-YHT]

It isn't vit C that is the worry for Innuit, it is Vit B I believe. Which they get from from eating *all* the parts of sea mammals. Our castaway ate a land-mammal.

Don't forget that this guy had shelter. It wasn't like he was in an open boat.

If the trip was a fake, how did he get from A to B?  The boat he was in couldn't carry enough fuel to make that trip in a deliberate fashion.

[Chris S]

The Inuit diet does include some plant life although they do get most of their Vit C from fresh fish. Fish Liver is mostly Vits A & D. It may be possible to get sufficient Vits from fresh fish to survive but every other westerner who has tried it ended up in a fairly poor state even when they had been prepared and trained for the trip. Which is why I said that if he is genuine there is a lot to be learned from his experience.

As for the companion - probably no mystery - he got eaten.

Not sure about that.

See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vilhjalmur_Stefansson

Stefansson is also a figure of considerable interest in dietary circles, especially those with an interest in very low-carbohydrate diets. Stefansson documented the fact that the Inuit diet consisted of about 90% meat and fish; Inuit would often go 6 to 9 months a year eating nothing but meat and fish—essentially, a no-carbohydrate diet. He found that he and his fellow explorers of European descent were also perfectly healthy on such a diet. When medical authorities questioned him on this, he and a fellow explorer agreed to undertake a study under the auspices of the Journal of the American Medical Association to demonstrate that they could eat a 100% meat diet in a closely observed laboratory setting for the first several weeks, with paid observers for the rest of an entire year. Stefansson was compensated for his efforts by the American Meat Institute.[15] The results were published in the Journal, and both men were perfectly healthy on such a diet, without vitamin supplementation or anything else in their diet except meat and entrails.[16]

His journal from previous trips does suggest he was ill for some time before adapting to the diet. Turned out he was eating waaaay too much protein - which is easy to do if you get stuck into the Whale Burgers and Seal steaks without regard. Once he got the knack of eating the fatty meats and not just lean mean, he was fine; thriving in fact.

[Jaded]

It's not very vegan though, is it?

[clarion]

And it was paid for by the meat industry?  Hmmm...

[PeteB99]

The Inuit diet does include some plant life although they do get most of their Vit C from fresh fish. Fish Liver is mostly Vits A & D. It may be possible to get sufficient Vits from fresh fish to survive but every other westerner who has tried it ended up in a fairly poor state even when they had been prepared and trained for the trip. Which is why I said that if he is genuine there is a lot to be learned from his experience.

As for the companion - probably no mystery - he got eaten.

Not sure about that.

See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vilhjalmur_Stefansson

Stefansson is also a figure of considerable interest in dietary circles, especially those with an interest in very low-carbohydrate diets. Stefansson documented the fact that the Inuit diet consisted of about 90% meat and fish; Inuit would often go 6 to 9 months a year eating nothing but meat and fish—essentially, a no-carbohydrate diet. He found that he and his fellow explorers of European descent were also perfectly healthy on such a diet. When medical authorities questioned him on this, he and a fellow explorer agreed to undertake a study under the auspices of the Journal of the American Medical Association to demonstrate that they could eat a 100% meat diet in a closely observed laboratory setting for the first several weeks, with paid observers for the rest of an entire year. Stefansson was compensated for his efforts by the American Meat Institute.[15] The results were published in the Journal, and both men were perfectly healthy on such a diet, without vitamin supplementation or anything else in their diet except meat and entrails.[16]

His journal from previous trips does suggest he was ill for some time before adapting to the diet. Turned out he was eating waaaay too much protein - which is easy to do if you get stuck into the Whale Burgers and Seal steaks without regard. Once he got the knack of eating the fatty meats and not just lean mean, he was fine; thriving in fact.

Yeah my info came originally from Ammundsens journals from his North West passage trip where he spent a couple of winters with the Inuit. He went into a fair bit of detail on their diet and survival skills.

One of my points is that a westerner with no adaptation to such a diet is unlikely to fair very well on it, as you say Steffansson was quite ill and took some time to adjust.

I think it could be done but that someone with no training or preparation is unlikely to be the one to acheive it.

Anyway an analysis of his hair and fingernails should give data on what he has been eating the last 6 months.

[PeteB99]

Looks like it was true after all


http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/nov/07/fisherman-lost-at-sea-436-days-book-extract

[Cudzoziemiec]

It's not very vegan though, is it?

He'd never play for Forest Green!

[Cudzoziemiec]

My initial thought before even reading was that his beard and hair had not grown much in 13 months.

[hellymedic]

Hair, nails and beard grow more slowly in the nutritionally and metabolically stressed.
Some people have short hair cycles and hair won't grow beyond a certain length.
Some of the photographs show the man after he had a chance to wash and trim his hair.