Here’s a record that – luckily – hasn’t yet been broken: that of the longest recorded survival alone on a raft. During World War II, a British merchant ship, SS Benlomond, was torpedoed by a German U-boat in the Atlantic. A young Chinese steward was the only member of the crew to survive: he dived into the sea and found a life raft equipped with supplies, including chocolate, drinking water and food. The victuals would not have been sufficient to last for the entire period that followed, but they got him started and he did his bit by collecting rainwater and catching fish which he then proceeded to dry. After 133 days, Poon Lim was rescued by a Brazilian fishing boat. Later, he toured the world teaching survival techniques.
But let’s take a step back. While he was adrift, the young man had been sighted also by various other ships which, however, did not pick him up because an Asian on a raft was assumed to be a ‘trap’ set by the enemy. Even solidarity can slip up on a banana skin
Name Day:
St Clement