An Australian sailor rescued by a Mexican tuna boat after spending three months at sea with his dog Bella is “grateful” to be alive after setting foot on dry land for the first time since his ordeal began has.
Timothy Lyndsay Shaddock, 54, revealed he survived on “a lot of sushi” after disembarking from the fishing boat, the Maria Delia, that rescued him in the Mexican city of Manzanillo on Tuesday.
“I’m doing well. “I’m doing a lot better than I was, I tell you,” Shaddock, smiling, bearded and thin, told reporters at the dock in the port city about 210 miles west of Mexico City.
“I’m just so grateful to the captain and fishing company who saved my life.” “I’m alive and I didn’t think I could make it,” Shaddock said, adding that he and his “wonderful “ Bitch Bella go well.
The Sydney man’s catamaran set sail from the Mexican city of La Paz bound for tropical French Polynesia in April, but was paralyzed for weeks on the 3,700-mile voyage by bad weather.
Timothy Lyndsay Shaddock, 54, revealed he survived on “a lot of sushi” after disembarking from the fishing boat that rescued him in the Mexican city of Manzanillo on Tuesday
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pymnqBYdACK
He said the last time he saw land was in early May when he sailed out of the Gulf of California into the Pacific. It was full moon.
Shaddock described himself as a quiet person who loves being alone at sea. When asked why he set out from Mexico’s Baja Peninsula to cross the Pacific Ocean, Shaddock struggled to offer an explanation.
“I’m not sure I have an answer to that, but I really enjoy sailing and I love the people on the sea,” he said. “It is the people in the sea that bring us all together.” The ocean is within us. “We are the ocean.”
Shaddock said he was well taken care of, but a storm crippled his electronics and cooking ability. He and Bella ate raw fish.
“It was a lot of sushi chewing,” he joked, noting how “thin” he’d gotten.
Shaddock said there have been “many, many, many bad days” at sea, but there have also been good ones.
“The energy, the fatigue is the hardest thing,” he said. He spent the time fixing things and staying positive by getting in the water to “just enjoy being in the water”.
“I have tried to find happiness within myself and I have often experienced that alone at sea. I would also get in the water and just enjoy being in the water.”
“There were many, many, many bad days and many good days,” he said.
Shaddock said he was well taken care of, but a storm crippled his electronics and cooking ability. He and Bella ate raw fish
Shaddock and his dog Bella are seen aboard the fishing boat that rescued them from the sea
Rescuers arrive at Shaddock’s wrecked catamaran, where the sailor spent three months adrift after a storm crippled the ship
Shaddock said the tuna boat became his country and Bella was an instant hit with the crew. The dog is seen playing on the deck after the rescue
When the tuna boat’s helicopter spotted Shaddock’s catamaran about 1,200 miles offshore, it was the first sign of people it had seen in three months, Shaddock said.
The pilot threw him a drink and then flew away, only to come back later from the María Delia in a speedboat, he said.
Grupomar, operator of the fishing fleet, did not provide any information about the time of the rescue.
However, a statement said Shaddock and his dog were in a “poor” condition when they were found, lacking provisions and shelter and the crew of the tuna boat had given them medical attention, food and hydration.
Shaddock said the tuna boat became his country and Bella was an instant hit with the crew. He also explained how he and the dog met.
“Bella somehow 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 three times to find her a home and she just kept following me out onto the water. She’s a lot braver than me, that’s for sure.’
Australian sailor Tim Shaddock smiles after arriving in Manzanillo harbor on Tuesday
The crew of the Mexican tuna boat Maria Delia pose for photos with Bella, Australian Timothy Lyndsay Shaddock’s dog, both of whom they rescued at sea
A crew member of the fishing boat will adopt Bella from Shaddock on the condition that he takes good care of the dog
Maybe that’s why Bella didn’t leave the boat until Shaddock left on Tuesday.
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.
Shaddock said he will be returning to Australia soon and looks forward to seeing his family again.
Antonio Suarez, President of Grupomar, said this could be the last voyage of the María Delia as he is modernizing the company’s fleet and the boat is the smallest and is more than 50 years old.
If so, it would be a “wonderful farewell that saves lives,” Suarez said.