The couple, carried away by the wind on the boat, shared their secrets of surviving in the heat without food or water.
Mikhail Alaverdyan together with Nadezhda Achapkina decided to go fishing on a rubber boat in the Myskhako area. However, gusts of wind carried their inflatable boat about 70 km from the coast of Myskhako into the open sea towards Taman, and the couple had to fight for survival on the high seas for several days.
“From Novorossiysk from Myskhako we were carried away and by the night current brought us to Gelendzhik and gradually we moved away from the coast. On the second night, Novorossiysk was the size of a penny coin, only the Gelendzhik Bay shone. Then Novorossiysk completely disappeared from sight and we were drawn closer to Anapa. On the third day, the mountains disappeared from view. At night, we only saw light reflections from Gelendzhik and Novorossiysk in the sky. And then everything stopped glowing,”Nadezhda said.
Lacking supplies of food and fresh water, the couple decided not to panic, but to remain calm. Going fishing, Nadezhda dressed in beach style, which subsequently led to severe burns all over her body.
According to the survivor, they did not drink anything for three days, and then switched to sea water.
“My husband had moments when he fell into despair. Told me that if we get ashore, we will do this and that. I constantly corrected him that not “if”, but “when we get to the shore”, we will do this and that. Later he was very grateful to me. He said that I am a strong person. And he said that if I panicked and started crying, it would be very hard for him. Morally, I understood that I shouldn't behave in such a way that he was nervous and worried about my condition,”Nadezhda said.
Fate smiled at the drifting boat on August 12, on the third day of their wanderings: a tanker under the Greek flag appeared on the horizon.
“On board were Greeks, Filipinos, one Russian, one Romanian. Cool crew, amazing team. They provided us with first aid, they gave us personal belongings, they gave us something to drink, they gave us food, they constantly asked about our well-being,”Nadezhda added happily.
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The rescued couple got to the doctors only on August 15. The spouses recommend that everyone faced with difficult life situations do not lose heart, stay calm and support each other.