French rescuers picked up a Pole and his cat in the Indian Ocean. According to the navigator himself, he and his furry companion drifted for almost seven months in a small boat without the opportunity to ask for help. They survived on bags of Chinese noodles and fish caught in the ocean.
On December 24, French rescuers delivered a boat to the shores of Reunion Island in the Indian Ocean, in which there were an emaciated Pole Zbigniew Recket and his cat Samira, says The Local. The rescued navigator claims to have spent the past seven months in the ocean, drifting in a lifeboat with a broken engine and a radio that is not working.
The Pole told his story to the local media, reports The Local. 54-year-old Zbigniew claims that he lived in the United States until 2014, but decided to travel to India, where he purchased his ship. As it turned out later, he could not return to the United States because his green card had expired. Then he went to Indonesia in his large covered lifeboat, which he equipped with a mast, engine and rudder.
December 28, 2017 at 04:00 PM
Soon after the start of this voyage, the wind broke the mast and the boat began to be carried away to the west. But then he was able to land in the Comoros off the east coast of Africa. According to his own statement, Zbigniew lived in Comoros for two years. From there, he applied to the Polish embassy in Kenya, and was refused to return to his homeland.
They sent me 150 euros (about 10 thousand rubles), and that was the end of the help.
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On May 20, 2017, Zbigniew and the cat Samira, whom he picked up while living on the islands, embarked on a new voyage. This time, the Pole intended to reach the port of Durban in South Africa. The route of the proposed trip was 2 thousand kilometers and ran through the Mozambique Strait.
But Zbigniew again failed to achieve his goal: on the way, the boat's engine broke down and the current carried away from the planned course.
First we were carried to the coast of Somalia, then to the Maldives, then to Indonesia. I have seen the land several times, but I have never been able to turn towards it.
The sailor claims that he and his cat survived by eating fish caught in the ocean and eating half a packet of Chinese noodles a day - he had a month's supply of it. Kochi, however, did not endure such trips: they drove 500 kilometers under the hood of the car, and even flew into space.
All the equipment on board the boat was damaged, and the Pole was not able to establish communication, Zbigniew said.
I met several ships, but the batteries of my radio had no charge left to communicate with them.
After almost seven months of wandering, Zbigniew and Samira found themselves near the French island of Reunion, where on December 24 their ship was noticed by passengers of a pleasure yacht. They notified the rescuers of the find, and soon the tug delivered the boat and its inhabitants to the shore.
At Reunion, a local charity took custody of the navigator and donated food and clothing to Zbigniew. The doctors determined that the Pole was emaciated, but otherwise healthy. The man says that he is thinking of staying on the island, to which he has the right as an EU citizen.
I want to start a normal life, find a job.
While Zbigniew's story is being tested: the authorities hope to establish the route the Pole has traveled over the past seven months. It is possible that he embellishes his story a little, because the only witness of his adventures is a cat. The local authorities were able to confirm at least part of the incredible story of the Pole: in addition to his Polish passport, he was found with permission to stay in the Comoros and a US green card, reports The Local.
Philip Kachalin
