Man who was stranded in Pacific Ocean for over a month explains how he survived
Britt Jones
Featured Image Credit: Hawaii News Now via YouTube
A California man who went missing a month ago in the Pacific Ocean after drifting from Hawaii has been found alive.
Kai Sato, 39, began his sailing journey from Catalina Island on June 7, however; things took a turn for the worst when his mast snapped all but two weeks into the trip.
Sadly, that wasn't the only thing to hinder his progress.
Soon, he ran out of gas around 500 miles from California, and the phone he was using to navigate his directions died, leaving him at the mercy of the sea, as he floated away.
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“I cried for a whole week, just drifting south, like miserable,” Sato, who is now safe and on dry land, revealed to Hawaii News Now he was suicidal.
He said: “I felt like I was going to just try to turn my motor on and just suffocate, to kill myself.”
Revealing he felt 'like a sitting duck, just getting taken south by the current going way off course,' he allowed himself five days to panic before taking action that would eventually lead to his rescue.
But after five days of thinking, he snapped into action and began makeshift repairs to the boat with PVC pipes and kayak paddles.
Sato said it took him a month to find his way from California to Hawaii, but during that time he ran out of water, and had to use his own knowledge to forage what he needed.
This included filling buckets of seawater and using plastic bags to collect condensation for consumption.
“I was just licking that to survive,” Sato said, before adding he ate mostly oatmeal and fish and squid that landed in his boat to keep him fed.
After weeks of struggling, finally, a Pasha Hawaii ship came into view, and the team promptly rescued him from the sea.
As for how he felt when the ladder was thrown by the crew, he told the outlet: “Oh my God, yeah, like ecstatic, you know what I mean? Like I was like crying and like so happy, and then they got me fruit and water, and yeah, they were so good to me, those guys."
But if you thought this would scare the man from sailing again – that's just not the case.
In fact, he's already planning to charter a larger boat to the Philippines after just getting back on Tuesday (July 21).
People online have had some mixed feelings about Sato's willingness to get back out to sea after his long journey being lost in the Pacific.
One person said: "he still hasn't learn his lesson and wants to do it again smh."
Another warned: " Dude, take a hint from the universe and take a break because you might not be so lucky next time."
Someone else said: "Wow all these negative comments! Way to go bro welcome back to civilization safe and healthy."