Caribbean Sailor Encounters Rough Seas and Is Lost for 24 Days

Elvis Francois became lost at sea and survived for 24 days eating only ketchup, rainwater and seasoning.  The 47-year-old man was repairing his sailboat while off the island of St. Martin in the Netherland Antilles when currents pushed him further into the depths of the sea.

The Caribbean sailor phoned his friends to let them know that he was lost but unfortunately, he was unable to receive communication from them due to loss of signal.  He waited for someone to come to his rescue but to no avail.  He discovered a passing plane and used a mirror as a distress signal while writing out the word "help" on the hull of his boat.

He lost hope for a brief moment and thought that there was no way forward.  

"At some point I lost hope and thought about my family, but I thank the coast guard. If it weren’t for them I wouldn’t be telling the story,” Francois said. 

Francois didn’t become disheartened and instead showcased superior survival skills. Of his experience being lost at sea, he described it as "rough."

"Twenty four days — no land, nobody to talk to. Don't know what to do, don't know where you are," he said.  “It was rough."

"I tried to go back to port, but I lost track because it took me a while to mount the sail and fix the sail," Francois said in a video released by the Navy. …I call my friends, my coworkers. They tried to contact me, but they lost service. There was nothing else I could do than sit down and wait." 

Francois would eventually resort to throwing water out of his boat so that it wouldn’t sink.  After seeing that he had nothing to eat, he found some ketchup and Maggi bouillon cubes on the boat and consumed them for 24 days straight.

The day finally came when a container ship came to rescue him at a location that was 120 miles northwest of Cartagena, Columbia.  The plane had seen his signal on Jan 18th and that day, the CMA CGM Voltaire would forever be etched into his extraordinary life story.

After his rescue, Francois was photographed receiving medical care. 

 

Though he looked a little disheveled and had lost weight, he was miraculously found to be in good health.  Thank the angels.