Originally posted by Mickey1992
I can't imagine living for more than 3 months on fish and the occasional seagull.
"The boat was so badly damaged that it had to be sunk."
Read: The military was too lazy to tow the thing back to port.
Fish and fowl for 3 months, no dairy, no vegetables.... wow. I'm surprised the guy isn't dead from malnutrition. Although, the article said he lived on the boat as a residence when in the harbor, so maybe he had some supplies on board. Still, normally people only keep about 2 weeks worth of food in their cupboard. I can't imagine trying to stretch my kitchen supplies for 3 months!
If the boat is floating, it ain't so badly damaged that it can't be repaired. I think it was a case of the military not being able to tow it due to the distance, but not being able to haul it aboard because of it larger size. Costa Rica to California would be a pretty long tow job.
You should read an account of the whale ship Essex sometime. Those poor bastages had their entire ship taken out from under them by a sperm whale, and the incident inspired the classic novel "Moby Dick". They spent 3 months at sea in open dinghys, trying to reach South America. They had little water, little food, improvised sails, no shelter. They ate barnacles off the hulls of the boats and resorted to cannibalism for survival, and eventually murder near the end. They were living skeletons when they were found. Grueling stuff.
