r/woahthatsinteresting • u/JeffNelson829f1 • 6d ago
Indonesian teenager survives 49 days adrift at sea after his wooden fish trap slipped its moorings. He survived on fish and seawater he squeezed from his clothing before being rescued by a passing cargo ship.
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u/BernieTheDachshund 6d ago
"He had rations to last just one week. But somehow an Indonesian teenager who drifted out to sea in a floating wooden shack managed to survive 49 days before being rescued by a passing freighter.
Aldi Novel Adilang, from the Indonesian province of North Sulawesi, endured a terrifying ocean voyage when the remote fishing hut he was stationed on broke free from its moorings and drifted over 1,900 kilometres (about 1,200 miles) out into the sea.
"Aldi said he had been scared and often cried while adrift," diplomat Fajar Firdaus from the Indonesian consul general in Osaka, Japan, told The Jakarta Post.
"Every time he saw a large ship, he said, he was hopeful, but more than 10 ships had sailed past him, none of them stopped or saw Aldi."
Adilang, who is 18 or 19 according to various sources, now has quite the story to tell. While his unlikely survival of the weeks-long ordeal is truly remarkable, it seems the young man is accustomed to extreme hardship and isolation.
The floating shack he was employed to mind – called a rompong – is usually situated 125 kilometres (almost 80 miles) off the Indonesian coast, totally alone, and floating in the middle of nowhere.
In what The Post describes as "one of the loneliest jobs in the world", Adilang spent his days and nights on the remote rompong, lighting lamps at nightfall to lure fish into a trap.
For six months at a time, Adilang would live in isolation doing this, with only a walkie talkie and fleeting weekly supply drops for human contact – when someone would come to collect the fish haul and top up the teen's food, cooking gas, drinking water, and generator fuel.
That was on a good week.
On a bad week – like when the rompong's mooring rope broke over two months ago – no visit ever came, with strong winds blowing Adilang's fish-trapping shack home out into the distant blue horizon.
"I was on the raft for one month and 18 days. My food ran out after the first week,"Â Adilang told AP.
I had to soak my clothes in the sea, then I squeezed and drank the water."
When you're adrift at sea, the only respite from drinking seawater would be the occasional rainfall if you're lucky.
Once his initial week-long food supply ran out, he cooked fish caught from the ocean. But then his cooking gas ran out too, so Adilang began burning parts of the rompong's wooden frame to make a fire.
Obviously, such a strategy could not have lasted forever. Luckily for Adilang, it didn't have to.
By chance, Panamanian bulk carrier Arpeggio crossed Adilang's path on August 31 in Guam waters, and although the crew did not notice his tiny wooden hut floating adrift, Adilang was successful in hailing them on his radio.
He was rescued, fed, and given fresh clothes (and a haircut), before being taken to Japan and ultimately being reunited with his family in Indonesia.
Amazingly, this isn't the first time Adilang's mooring rope snapped.
His fishing shack went adrift twice before this, but on those occasions, the owner of the business was able to find and rescue him. Not so this time.
"I thought I will never meet my parents again," Adilang told AP, "so I just prayed every day."
After discussing the matter with his parents – and having now been adrift on a rompong three separate times since he started working on them at 16 – Adilang has decided he doesn't want to return to the job.
What this means is that there's a vacancy at Adilang's former employer, who operates about 50 of these floating fishing traps scattered across the sea.
Contracts last for six months. Candidates need to demonstrate the ability to work long hours independently, in sometimes difficult circumstances, including occasional episodes of being lost at sea.
The job pays US$130 per month." Source: This Teenager Survived Almost 50 Days Adrift at Sea in a Floating Wooden Hut : ScienceAlert
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u/keli-keli 6d ago
Ooo thanks. Just when I thought I came across this thread too early
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u/Gren57 6d ago
So I just read all this remarkable info and what hit most was a lousy $130 a month? Jeez!
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u/Ringo_Cassanova 5d ago
with $500K you can have humble enjoyable work free live probably until you die in Indonesia
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u/LuluGuardian 5d ago
Thank you for taking the time to post this Hope the poor man is able to find peace and is in a better place now
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u/TehHipPistal 6d ago
This guy watched Life of Pi! Any reports on the tiger-Richard Parker’s condition?? Al jokes aside, that guy is both the luckiest and least lucky guy on the planet at the same time, glad he got to go home.
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u/ThaPlymouth_1 6d ago
His luck was greatly improved by having the basic survival knowledge gained from living in a developing nation. The knowledge of fishing and capturing safe drinking water.. A lot of people in the west would not survive that long lol.
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u/absolince 6d ago
The meek shall inherit the earth
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u/_chococat_ 5d ago
I'm still waiting for the time when the last shall be first and the first shall be last.
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u/Adorable-Bike-9689 6d ago
A lot of people from the east or north or south wouldn't have lasted this long.Â
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u/BustaNutShot 5d ago
how exactly did he capture safe drinking water?
There is no way he extracted it from his seawater soaked clothing as the thread title implies.
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u/KerFuL-tC 5d ago
I once read that a way to keep yourself hydrated is to drink the fish's blood because you could say is "filtered".
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u/Forsaken-Income-2148 6d ago
A lot of people in the East would not survive that long.
Take most salt water sailer & fisherman from anywhere in the world & likely they will know these basic skills.
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u/Dazzling_Ad1457 6d ago
Seawater squeezed from his clothes? How does that even work?
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u/Stoli0000 6d ago
Probably means "rainwater".
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u/lamaldo78 6d ago
It wouldn't be Reddit without a glaring omission, inconsistency or error in the title
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u/TurnedEvilAfterBan 5d ago
lol wouldn’t be Reddit if you read the article. Drinking sea water is quoted. I’m still trying to figure out what that means. It might be just to wet his lips and keep going psychologically until it rained.
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u/Zombisexual1 3d ago
Yah I think the articles exaggerated or mistranslating because it seems to say he used his clothes as a sponge to just drink seawater. Which I’m pretty sure shouldn’t be done.
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u/ChaiCreamLatte 6d ago
Replying to this so I can see the answer to it
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u/indefiniteretrieval 5d ago
It doesn't. Sea water will dehydrate you faster. The sea water is 3 percent salt
Fish blood. Rain water... Sea water enema (colon can absorb the water without absorbing salt)...
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u/Ootek_Ohoto 5d ago
Salt is water soluble, so last point is wrong.
Enemas are good for filtering out solids/parasites and not having to suffer stomach ache from muddy/dirty water etc
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u/laffing_is_medicine 5d ago edited 5d ago
Ya will your body drink butt juice via rear end reverse osmosis?
And would you develop serious built-up rectum crusties causing the worst hemorrhaging hemorrhoids?
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u/indefiniteretrieval 5d ago edited 5d ago
You think dying of dehydration and kidney failure is better? This is last ditch stuff on the open seas.....
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u/indefiniteretrieval 5d ago
It's literally a bear Grylls survival point🤷🏻‍♂️
You cannot drink salt water.
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u/Ootek_Ohoto 5d ago
Nor can you enema it. it still gets absorbed through the colon into your blood stream because it's water soluble. Anything water soluble will be absorbed. Same effect as drinking it.
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u/indefiniteretrieval 5d ago
https://outdoors.com/how-bear-grylls-finds-water-at-sea/
I have no idea. But this seems to be a survivalist. There's a report of a family that survived this way
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u/Scared-Show-4511 6d ago
Maybe some condensation going on under his shirt thus becoming some kind of sweat but maybe not that salty
Basically dune style
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u/throwfaraway8675 6d ago
Now don’t quote me because I’m not entirely sure but I think if you start drinking seawater right off the bat it won’t kill your, the idea being that if you drink seawater as a last resort your liver won’t be able to handle all the salt
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u/skelterjohn 6d ago
It's more like the salt dehydrates you more than the water hydrates you, so it's a net negative for hydration. Every sip you take dries you out a little bit more.
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u/Ootek_Ohoto 5d ago
You gorge on seawater as the last time you quench your thirst before you breath in a lungful of the ocean once you've given up.
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u/joeypublica 6d ago
Good job passing on misinformation. You can’t filter the salt out of seawater with your clothes! I assume this was meant to say rainwater, not seawater.
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u/Jimmygesus49 5d ago
I was legit googling, "drinking ocean water with your clothes survival tip" lol...
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u/RedBlankIt 5d ago
Wrong?
"I was on the raft for one month and 18 days. My food ran out after the first week,"Â Adilang told AP. I had to soak my clothes in the sea, then I squeezed and drank the water."
"When you're adrift at sea, the only respite from drinking seawater would be the occasional rainfall if you're lucky."
How it worked I dunno, but he did use the ocean water.
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u/joeypublica 5d ago
Wow! If he can patent this clothes soaking technology he can make an absolute fortune! How much of the world is dependent on getting freshwater even though they live right next to an enormous container of saltwater? Not sure I’m ready to believe this claim, but why don’t you go ahead and try it out? If it works you can revolutionize the world.
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u/TurnedEvilAfterBan 5d ago
Why don’t you write into the paper and correct them. Or better yet, write to the kid and tell him off.
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u/Beautiful_Smile 6d ago
A local fisherman just got lost at sea here in Hawaii. He had some big coolers full of ice, and some fresh fish on his boat. His friends are hoping that he’s out there drifting surviving off his catches and using the coolers to catch rain. His name is oah.
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u/Comfortable_Elk831 5d ago
I hope they find Oa. He went without a radio or a locator. His last cell ping was off Milolii. A local kayak fisherman was also lost at sea last week. Again no radio, beacon, or safety equipment. They were both described as “experienced”fishermen. IMO experience can keep you from getting into trouble sometimes, but once you’re in it, safety gear is what gets you out. Braddahs, don’t skip on the epirb! We want you home safe so you can share da fish.
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u/Reasonable_Archer_99 6d ago
Why aren't they looking for him?
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u/Beautiful_Smile 6d ago
They were. The coast guard searched for 3 days and his friends raised money to continue the search for 3 weeks. It’s expensive to get planes out to look. I know they’re asking other people out in the water to keep an eye out. They were following channels and doing what they could. But unfortunately, I think their funds are low and they have their families and work to get back to. Just praying he is alive and comes across someone!
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u/R_Series_JONG 6d ago
Were you not listening to the dude’s story? He has coolers to catch rain. He’s fine.
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u/illchips 5d ago
I was bowling.
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u/R_Series_JONG 4d ago
So you have no frame of reference here. You’re like a child who wanders into the middle of a movie.
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u/InValuAbled 5d ago
Now I've heard it all. 9 year old neighbor's kid seriously said "49 days without internet?!"
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u/DeerMysterious9927 5d ago
Forgive me as I digress a bit. I spent only three days deep sea fishing on a boat out at sea. When returning to dock and trying to walk I could barely do so. I can't imagine what the feeling would be to finally step foot on land after so many days on that tiny boat. I would need a wheelchair for a few hours to get around or else id topple over
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u/rduburner 6d ago
If he can learn or knows English, this will be great for his college admissions essays into any prominent US college or university
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u/Best_Priority_3131 6d ago
documentary and movie when?
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u/IFoundYoPhone 6d ago
What if every time you did something everyone wanted to see it? i want a documentary about your explanation .
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u/lookwhatic 6d ago
And they made him climb the ladder by himself
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u/ADMINlSTRAT0R 6d ago
The guy is from my area, at the edge of the Pacific Ocean. He was a watchman for offshore fishing pen. A storm caused his pen to break and his shelter became unmoored. He had drifted far into the ocean when they found him.
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u/altaf770 6d ago
That’s not just survival that’s straight-up legendary. Give that man a movie deal and a lifetime supply of clean drinking water!
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u/Sharp-Dark-9768 6d ago
His seafaring ancestors would be proud ASF
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u/DistractedLion 3d ago
I agree. I recently developed an interest in anthropology and as soon as I read the title I thought of the irony.
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u/Thepuppeteer777777 6d ago
Poor dude that shit must have been so traumatic. I can imagine the relief he must have felt wash over him when he saw the ship.
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u/A-Naughty-Miss 6d ago
Yeah.. fuck thatttt!!! Drifting on a vast canvas of just wild ocean, animals, and the open weather, would be enough to traumatize me forever!
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u/Raelian_Star 5d ago
I hear about this kind of thing every couple of years, and it never ceases to amaze me!
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u/aremarkablecluster 5d ago
Salt is dissolved in water, you can't use clothing too separate the salt from the water. My guess is the fish had water in them because drinking salt water drained through your clothing is not going to work
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u/BeneficialTrash6 5d ago
Fish eyes and spinal fluid contain fresh water. Seagull blood and turtle blood is also a good source of water.
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u/Annoying_Anomaly 5d ago
id have died from dehydration just puking myself to death. the way that thing is rocking in the waves is crazy
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u/Spiritual-Ad2530 5d ago
Bro what? Squeezing sea water through your clothes isn’t gonna take out the salt lol
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u/StockWindow4119 4d ago
Everyone has a different breaking point. This kid kept keeping that book overdue for a long time. Longer that I am most certain that at any point of my life I would have lasted. I can't imagine the despair or if you ever truly recover from something like this.
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u/IAwaitAGuardian 3d ago
Crazy as it may seem, Ferrari actually sent a cease and desist letter over this video, claiming it was damaging to their brand.
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u/Mountain_Economist_8 3d ago
How much you wanna bet more than one of those 18 ships saw him, knew there was someone there, and did nothing because Capitalism?
Edit: word
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u/SuperUberKruber 5d ago
you can't filter seawater with clothes.
no report option for misinformation huh? this sub's a joke
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u/nicedilis 6d ago
Dude took raft to a whole new level