Posted on 09/24/2002 11:57:46 AM PDT by Sweet_Sunflower29
Adrift in his damaged sailboat for 31/2 months, a Long Beach man was found alive by a San Diego-based warship off the coast of Costa Rica – more than 2,500 miles from his home port.
Richard Van Pham, 62, was rescued a week ago by the frigate McClusky and turned over to U.S. officials in Guatemala on Sunday, Navy officials said yesterday.
He survived by catching fish, seabirds and turtles for food and collecting rainwater, said Navy crewmen who found him Sept. 17. Despite losing about 40 pounds and being heavily suntanned, Van Pham was in good condition when found, they reported.
"He's a tough old bird," said Cmdr. Gary Parriott, the McClusky's skipper, in a satellite phone interview yesterday. "I'm not sure I would have fared as well as he did."
Van Pham was dropped off in Puerto Quetzal, Guatemala, on Sunday when the frigate stopped for a port visit. Efforts to locate him in Guatemala City were unsuccessful last night.
The McClusky's crew collected about $800 to pay the hapless mariner's air fare home.
The incredible story of bad luck and survival began as a short cruise from Long Beach to Catalina in Van Pham's 26-foot sailboat Sea Breeze. A storm broke his mast. His outboard motor and two-way radio also failed.
For unknown reasons, Van Pham was not reported missing by friends, and he told officials he has no family. No search was conducted because no missing persons report was filed, Coast Guard officials said.
Van Pham was spotted 275 miles southwest of Costa Rica when a U.S. Customs Service P-3 drug-hunting plane saw his derelict vessel and asked the McClusky to check it out.
When the warship's boat neared, they saw a man cooking a sea gull on a makeshift grill – the ship's wooden trim supplying the fuel. A jury-rigged sail flapped from a splintered mast.
Hailing the boat in Spanish, Petty Officer 3rd Class Elias Nunez said he was surprised when Van Pham answered, "I don't speak Spanish. I speak English."
Van Pham was equally surprised when the sailors told him what month and day it was and where he was, Nunez said.
The ship's corpsman, Petty Officer 1st Class A.J. Davis said Van Pham was in exceptional health.
Davis spent hours talking to Van Pham, who described bashing sea turtles with a bat as they swam near the boat, hauling the carcasses aboard and then cooking part of the meat while using the remainder as bait for seabirds that would roost on the broken mast.
"This is an amazing story of survival," Coast Guard Chief Warrant Officer Lance Jones said yesterday. "But it also shows the importance of filing a float plan with friends or family."
If the Coast Guard had known he was missing, a search might have found him much earlier, said Jones.
The most poignant moment came when Van Pham left the Sea Breeze.
"He waved goodbye to his sailboat," said Petty Officer 3rd Class Joseph Slaight. "He was upset (that it would be scuttled) and said he was going to miss it."
Unable to fix the sailboat, Van Pham approved its sinking. Crew members torched the Sea Breeze, sinking it in 8,700 feet of water.
"We did it while he was below decks to lessen the blow," Parriott said.
Trust me, you can spend weeks out there and not see a soul. Water is the main issue, on my trip (solo) during the 1999 "Great El Nino" there was not enough rain to fill a thimbal, and someone adrift would have died of thirst.
Still, it's quite remarkable. And give McCluskey a Bravo Zulu for the rescue.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.