A man recently drifted ashore in a 24′ fiberglass boat on Ebon Atoll in the Marshall Islands in the northern Pacific.  He speaks only Spanish and says his name is Jose Ivan.  He claims to have set off from Mexico heading for El Salvador with a companion in September 2012. The companion apparently died at sea several months ago.  If his story is true, he survived for 16 months and drifted across 8,000 miles of open ocean from Mexico.

Man Washes Up On Marshall Islands, Claims He Floated From 8,000 Miles Away

“His condition isn’t good, but he’s getting better,” Ola Fjeldstad, a Norwegian anthropology student doing research on Ebon, the southern most outpost of the Marshalls, told AFP by telephone…. 

“The boat is really scratched up and looks like it has been in the water for a long time,” said the researcher from Ebon.

Ivan indicated to Fjeldstad that he survived by eating turtles, birds and fish and drinking turtle blood when there was no rain.

No fishing gear was on the boat and Ivan suggested he caught turtles and birds with his bare hands. There was a turtle on the boat when it landed at Ebon.

“He’s staying at the local council house and a family is feeding him,” said Fjeldstad, who added that the man had a basic health check and was found to have low blood pressure. But he did not appear to have any life-threatening illness and was able to walk with the aid of men on the island. 

“We’ve been giving him a lot of water, and he’s gaining strength,” said the Norwegian. 

The Marshall Islands, in the northern Pacific, are home to barely 60,000 people spread over 24 atolls, with most of them standing at an average of just two metres above sea level.

Thanks to Irwin Bryan and Alaric Bond for contributing to the post.