Staff Writer
After spending more than two months at sea in the Pacific Ocean, an Australian seaman was rescued along with a stray dog. He has since made the decision to leave the dog in Mexico with the captain of the ship that saved them.
Tim Shaddock and his dog Bella were rescued by a tuna boat after spending weeks on a storm-damaged yacht subsisting on raw fish and rainwater.
Tuesday saw Shaddock’s arrival at the Mexican port of Manzanillo. He was frail, had a shaggy beard, and his wild hair was pulled back into a cap embroidered with the Grupomar fishing company’s logo.
Antonio Guerra, the director of Grupomar, informed the local media on Wednesday that Timothy had presented the dog to the captain of the ship that had saved his life.
In April, Shaddock, 54, and Bella left the Mexican port city of La Paz with the intention of traveling roughly 6,000 kilometers (3,700 miles) before setting anchor in French Polynesia.
However, they quickly were stuck when the boat’s electronics failed due to damage from choppy waves.
The ragged amateur yachtsman was recovered from the water more than two months later by a tuna trawler, “more than 1,200 miles from land,” according to Grupomar, in a rescue that brought to mind the Tom Hanks film “Cast Away.”
Shaddock claimed that just before leaving, he had discovered Bella in Mexico. He tried to find the stray dog a home, but was unsuccessful, so he decided to take her with him.
She is incredible. That dog is extraordinary,” he said to reporters this Tuesday. “I’m simply happy she’s still alive. She has much more courage than I have.
