by Christopher Baran ’24

Ever since the dawn of humanity, survival has remained our most vital instinct. The efforts to survive exede those of any other. In this series of thrilling stories, we will cover some of the most amazing tales of survival from people all across the globe. In a competitive school where stress is the norm, many of us wonder if we have the ability to survive the academic year. But before you keep complaining, just be grateful you didn’t end up the topic of this article. 

Many of us fear the ocean. Its sheer size and volume, nearly all of it undiscovered, is enough to send one far away from its unforgiving current and ferocious waves. A man by the name of Jose Salvador Alvarenga experienced these dangers firsthand, as he holds the world record for most time stranded out at sea. 36 year old Jose was born in El Salvador, but moved to the pacific seaside village of Costa Azul, Mexico, where fishing competition was high. Jose had been an experienced fisherman for many years at this point, and was planning a relatively short thirty hour deep sea fishing shift. On the day of, his usual fishing partner could not make it, so he grabbed a 22 year old rookie named Ezequiel Cordoba. Cordoba had virtually no seafaring experience, but Jose reasoned it was fine since they would remain close to the shore. Thus, on November 17, 2012, the two men set out on their fateful trip. They left shore on a 24 foot fiberglass skiff, a type of flat bottom boat with a pointed bow and flat stern. On board were fishing supplies, a portable radio and an icebox. The journey began rather bountiful, as over 1,000 lbs of fish was initially caught. Unfortunately, their luck ran short. A few hours into the job, a massive storm struck that lasted five days. As buckets of whipping rain obscured the men’s view, steering back to shore was rendered near impossible. To make maneuvering easier, they were forced to dump their catches. Jose and Cordoba drank rainwater and ate what little food they brought with them until the storm finally passed. Afterwards, the motor was gone and the majority of the electronics and gear were either missing or damaged. The radio’s backup battery contained enough charge to relay a message to shore, but it died before a proper location could be established. Left with no radio, motor, few supplies, no shore in sight, and on a small boat lacking sails, anchors, oars, or lights, the two were officially stranded. 

Jose’s fishing skills came into tremendous use throughout his voyage, as he was able to catch various sea life with his bare hands for consumption. They collected rainwater when they could, but usually had to default on either turtle blood or their own urine for hydration. Fortunately, they utilized plastic bottles floating in the ocean to save some rainwater for future needs, well after a storm stopped. The icebox also came into use, as it was flipped upside down to provide a shield from the sun’s fierce rays. Weeks and eventually months passed. The hope that a passing plane or ship would spot them slowly diminished, especially with no navigation of any kind. Jose passed time by charting the phases of the moon, while Cordoba enjoyed singing. Whenever an airplane would fly overhead, they both imagined extravagant feasts the people on board could possibly be eating. Jose performed as well as he could for a man lost in Earth’s largest ocean. Cordoba, however, was far from accustomed to the seafood diet and harsh salty air. By the fourth month, he was mentally and physically drained. He would tell Jose that he had lost all hope. Cordoba grew sick due to the digestion of nothing but raw sea animals. Refusing to eat any more, he starved himself and passed away. Afterwards, Jose entered his darkest period among his time on the seas. He kept Cordoba’s lifeless body on the boat for six days, attempting conversation with it. He soon realized his insanity and tossed it overboard. With Jose now utterly alone, he seriously contemplated suicide, but pushed onwards. He would later say “I wanted to kill myself, but no. I asked God that he was going to save me.” 

Months later, with Jose’s delicate body in tremendous states of deterioration, his prayers were seemingly answered. He noticed coconuts bobbing in the surrounding water, a sure sign that land was near. He had just finished counting his 15th lunar cycle. Finally, at long last on January 30, 2014, he spotted a thin strip of sand and trees poking from the horizon, a whopping 438 days from when he first left shore. Once Jose was close enough to the shore, he left the safety of his boat and swam, his toes touching land for the first time in well over a year. The island, which Jose initially believed to be uninhabited, was actually a small remote corner of the Marshall Islands, a small scattered archipelago nation of 60 thousand people in the middle of the Pacific. Jose had drifted 6000 miles from Costa Azul. On the island, he knocked on the door of a small beach house. The couple who resided there could not understand a word of Jose’s story, but nonetheless called the shocked authorities who assumed he had died 11 months ago. The fisherman had officially been found, but of course at a cost. His ankles were tremendously swollen, and he could barely walk. He often refused to make eye contact with those who interacted with him. He would say, “the only thing left was my intestines and gut, plus skin and bones.” He was even found to have a slipped vertebrae from the constant awkward positions of being hunched under the icebox. The islanders nursed him back to health, and in two weeks he was flown to his Salvadorian hometown of Garita Palmera. Jose’s family was obviously overjoyed upon his return, as well as his boss, who sent a failed search party after he first got swept away. The return home was not solely a joyous reunion, as the family of Cordoba sued Jose for one million dollars on grounds of cannibalism, claiming he ate their son for substance. The case never truly gained traction, as Jose’s lawyers vehemently denied the allegations, and there is virtually no possible evidence to claim otherwise. Today, Jose Salvador Alvarenga lives in a village in El Salvador, far away from the open ocean where his life was changed forever. 

Jose’s story is one of incredible perseverance and strength. His ability to live off the blue waters for that long, even when hope seemed lost, is a testament to the fortitude of the everyday person.