Australian man and dog recovered after spending months lost at sea

Fifty-one-year-old Tim Shaddock and his dog Bella survived months lost at sea after their boat was damaged by a storm, the BBC reported on Monday.

Shaddock, a resident of Sydney in Australia, was traveling from Mexico to French Polynesia, a 3,728-mile (almost 6,000 kilometers) journey, when the storm hit. The electronic devices aboard his boat were destroyed by the weather and so Shaddock and Bella were left to drift through the North Pacific Ocean without the ability to call for help.

After two months of floating without aid, his boat was discovered off Mexico’s coast, where a helicopter spotted them, and they were rescued. 

How did Shaddock and Bella survive?

The duo managed to catch fish as their boat drifted, which they were forced to eat raw because of the lack of electricity. They collected rainwater for drinking.

Prof. Mike Tipton, an ocean survival expert, told Weekend Today that the pair’s survival was a “combination of luck and skill."

"And also knowing for example, as Tim did, that during the heat of the day you need to protect yourself because the last thing you want when you're in danger of becoming dehydrated is to be sweating."

"These voyages of any great length tend to occur in the Pacific," he said.

"If you look back through history, they tend to occur in warm environments because if it was a cold environment you don't survive long enough."

The expert went on to explain how incredible it is that Shaddock had been spotted, saying that "People need to appreciate how small the boat is and how vast the Pacific is. The chances of someone being found are pretty slim.”

How are Shaddock and Bella doing now?

"I have been through a very difficult ordeal at sea," he told 9News.

"I'm just needing rest and good food because I have been alone at sea a long time. Otherwise, I'm in very good health."

Shaddock said that his furry sea companion was a massive help that “made the difference” and that Bella was doing well.

"You're living very much from day-to-day and you have to have a very positive mental attitude in order to get through this kind of ordeal and not give up,” he explained.

"But also, having a plan, rationing yourself in terms of water and food, is really the secret to long survival voyages.”

"Just imagine how dark and lonely it would feel out there at night time."