Sailor and his dog rescued after they were shipwrecked for three months
A sailor and his dog who were adrift at sea for three months have been rescued by a passing fishing boat.
Timothy Shaddock, 54, and his pet pooch Bella set sail from the Mexican city of La Paz in April, hoping to reach French Polynesia.
However after just weeks a storm damaged his catamaran, Aloha Toa, and destroyed its electronics, leaving them at the mercy of the sea.
A Mexican tuna fishing boat, part of the Grupomar fishing fleet, was sailing in international waters about 1,200 miles offshore when they spotted Mr Shaddock’s boat and rescued both him and his dog.
Mr Shaddock, from Sydney, Australia, and his dog received food, water and medical attention aboard the fishing boat, and they’re expected to reach the port of Manzanillo today.
Antonio Suarez Gutierrez, Grupomar’s founder and president, said he was proud of his crew, praising them for their humanity in saving the life of someone in trouble.
Mr Shaddock told Australia’s Nine News he and his dog survived on raw fish and rainwater.
Looking thin and bearded, he said: ‘I’ve been through a very difficult ordeal at sea and I’m just needing rest and good food because I’ve been alone at sea a long time.
‘Otherwise, I’m in very good health.’
In photographs of the rescue, Mr Shaddock is seen with a blood pressure cuff around his arm, holding a box of pain medication inside the fishing boat’s cabin.
In others, Bella is stretched out on the deck.
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