Man Gets Stranded on Atlantic for 76 Days Straight, Where His ‘Unfinished Business’ Kept Him Going

A sailor's physical and mental fortitude got tested for 76 days straight when his beloved boat broke down in the middle of the Atlantic. Steve Callahan is a naval architect with a lot of experience in boats and voyages on the sea, The Guardian reported.  Despite the extensive experience, the man found himself adrift on a raft when nature, quite literally struck his boat, causing it to go haywire. He was left with some equipment and his own devices, to survive the disaster that had befallen him.

Steve Callahan

Steve Callahan from his childhood had an affinity for boats, The Guardian reported. In his 20s, he started building and designing sea vessels. One of his creations named 'Napolean Solo' was a 6.5m sloop. In 1981, the man decided to take 'Napolean Solo' into the Atlantic. The voyage was exhilarating for him because he had been dreaming of sailing across the Atlantic since he was a child. The life-changing disaster happened during his return journey from the Atlantic. 

Strike with nature

The return voyage's first week was smooth, The Guardian reported. The picture completely changed in the second week, when the vessel encountered strong winds. This development did not bother Callahan. "I wasn't too concerned: I knew the boat and I'd been through much worse," he explained. Things took a turn for worse when the boat smashed with something so heavy that it made a hole in the hull. Callahan speculates that it must be a whale or a large shark, but he is not completely sure. Water was quickly entering the boat, and Calahan knew instantly that 'Napolean Solo' was going down. "I felt an odd mixture of sensations: fear, panic, even slight amusement at the fact that there was a camera attached to the back of the boat taking these dramatic shots of the storm, and my sinking boat, that no one would ever see. Then I snapped into autopilot," Callahan shared. 

Escape from the boat

Callahan's first thought was to collect his life raft, The Guardian reported. Later he turned his attention to essential survival items and gathered water, food, flares, a spear gun, as well as a sleeping bag. "The boat was almost completely submerged, but I held my breath and went under again and again," Callahan said. The sailor attached the raft to the end of a rope that was tied to the boat and shifted himself as well as his supplies on it. For the next 76 days, the raft became his home, as he waited for help from the outside world. 

Survival

Callahan was left to his own devices and required a lot of willpower to brave through nature's attacks, The Guardian reported.  The sailor wanted to come out of the situation, to make something of his tattered life. "I was divorced and felt I had failed at human relations generally, at business, and now even at sailing. I desperately wanted to get through it so I could make a better job of my life," he explained. The man spent his days, fishing and making water with a solar still. Slowly and steadily his supplies started drying up. On day 14, he saw a ship but was unable to attract its attention. He spent the entire month drifting on the sea. Things became difficult when the man entered the tropical waters and started to get dehydrated. "One of the worst parts of being adrift for so long was the physical discomfort, the salt-water sores on my skin, the hunger and constant thirst," he stated about his struggles. On day 40, a part of the raft broke down, and Callahan had to think on his toes, to keep it afloat. This was his lowest moment in the journey, where he just wanted to give up. But somehow he persevered and managed to keep the raft stable. 

Rescue

On day 76, help finally arrived in the form of some fishermen off Guadeloupe, The Guardian reported. They had noted some birds around the raft, and finding it weird, came to check out the raft. "The fish guts that I had thrown back into the sea had attracted both seabirds and fish and a whole ecosystem had sprung up around my raft," Callahan shared. By the time, Callahan was rescued, he had lost a third of his weight and could not even walk properly. The whole experience was overwhelming to Callahan, LADBible reported. "There's nothing noble in me having survived, it's just what I did," the sailor stated. "I had too much unfinished business and I think that kept me alive to a large degree." Later on, he wrote a book titled  Adrift: Seventy-six Days Lost at Sea detailing the whole ordeal.