Solo-sail gone wrong: California man survives month at sea drifting to Hawaii
HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – A California man was stranded on his sailboat for over a month while en route to Hawaii.
Kai Sato, 39, sailed off from the Catalina Islands on June 7, in an attempt to complete his first solo sail across the Pacific.
His plans took a turn for the worse when his mast snapped only two weeks into his journey.
“I cried for a whole week, just drifting south, like miserable,” said Sato. “I felt like I was going to just try to turn my motor on and just suffocate, to kill myself.”
When Sato tried to motor back to shore, he ran out of gas, leaving him stranded.
“I was literally like a sitting duck, just getting taken south by the current going way off course,” said Sato.
After five days of contemplation, he sprang into action. He began by jerry-rigging the sails, using PVC pipes and kayak paddles to repair his boat.
Sato said it took him a month to make his way back into the shipping lane from California to Hawaii.
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But it was far from smooth sailing, and on July 11, he ran out of water. He then filled buckets with seawater and tied plastic bags to seal it off to collect its condensation.
“I was just licking that to survive,” Sato said. He added he ate mostly oatmeal and fish and squid that landed in his boat.
Sato recounted calling out for guidance, meditating and talking to the water and wind. He also felt the presence of his uncle, who completed a previous sail from California to Hawaii with him when he was a young boy.
Then, on Tuesday, a Pasha Hawaii ship came into view.
After two tries, Pasha crew dropped a rope ladder to Sato, and he climbed aboard. The crew gave him a suite, clothes and lots of food.
“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,” Sato said.
Sato is now staying with a relative and just got to the Hilton as he plans his next sail, to the Philippines, in a bigger boat.
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