--- title: "Australian and His Dog Survive Two Months Adrift in Derelict Vessel" description: "Tim Shaddock, a 51-year-old Australian sailor from Sydney, and his dog Bella survived for two months while being adrift in the Pacific Ocean." date: "2023-07-18" modified: "2023-07-18" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/man-dog-survive-two-months-shipwreck" categories: - "Science & Energy" tags: - "pacific ocean" - "sailing" - "survival" - "the digest" --- # Australian and His Dog Survive Two Months Adrift in Derelict Vessel ![Tim Shaddock, a 51-year-old Australian sailor from Sydney, and his dog Bella survived for two months while being adrift in the Pacific Ocean.]() *\Image: 9News\* ## Difficult Ordeal Earlier this year, a 51-year-old Australian sailor and his dog left the western Mexico coast to sail to French Polynesia. But a severe storm damaged the catamaran's electronics weeks into their journey, causing them to drift helplessly in the Pacific Ocean. Two months later, a helicopter accompanying a tuna trawler spotted the vessel still off the coast of Mexico. Miraculously, the pair — Tim Shaddock and his canine companion Bella — survived by drinking rainwater and eating raw fish, [Australian broadcaster *9News* reports](). Footage shows Shaddock draped in clothing to avoid being burned by the Sun, with bits of food stuck in his overgrown beard, which to be fair is exactly what you'd expect a man to look like after being adrift for two months. "I have been through a very difficult ordeal at sea," he told *9News*. "I'm just needing rest and good food because I have been alone at sea a long time. Otherwise I'm in very good health." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M1TjsJA2zPA ## Positive Attitude It's an amazing story of resilience and an extraordinary refusal to give up — not to mention intra-species cooperation and support. Shaddock's dog Bella likely helped "tremendous amount," University of Portsmouth ocean survival expert Mike Tipton told *9News*. "I think that may have well made the difference." "You're living very much from day-to-day and you have to have a very positive mental attitude in order to get through this kind of ordeal and not give up," he added. **More on survival:** *[Man Allegedly Drives Tesla Off 250 Foot Cliff on Purpose, But Whole Family Survives]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()