A solo sailor from California was rescued this week after being stranded at sea for about a month during his venture to voyage across the Pacific for the first time.
Solo Voyage Turns into Struggle for Survival
On June 7, 39-year-old Kai Sato left from Catalina Island to sail to Hawaii. Nearly two weeks in, things took an unexpected turn. Amid strong winds and rough seas, his mast snapped, and he eventually ran out of gas while attempting to motor back to shore.
“I was literally like a sitting duck, just getting taken south by the current going way off course,” Sato said. To repair his 32-foot boat, he used materials on hand, such as PVC pipes and kayak paddles.
Another obstacle came weeks later, on July 11. He ran out of water, forcing him to take buckets of seawater and tie plastic bags around them to collect the condensation — an effort to make the salty ocean water drinkable. “I was just licking that to survive,” Sato said, adding that his diet while drifting had consisted mostly of oatmeal and the fish and squid he came across.
His luck finally turned around last Tuesday when a Pasha Hawaii ship crew spotted the distressed sailboat around 900 miles from Hawaii. They helped him climb aboard and gave him a suite, clothes, and food. “I was like crying and like so happy, and then they got me fruit and water, and yeah, they were so good to me, those guys,” Sato said.
The solo sailor isn’t letting one bad experience diminish his passion. He told KHNL that he is now planning a sail to the Philippines.
Original reporting: NBC4 Los Angeles — read the source article.
