One Man Lived Off Ketchup And Garlic Powder While Lost At Sea For A Month

The vast majority of our planet is covered by the ocean. The vast, blue expanse inspires in us a slew of disparate emotions. Watching waves crash over a sandy shore is undeniably beautiful, but the ocean can be just as terrifying as it is awe-inspiring.

If these eight unsolved ocean mysteries, which include disappearing ships and sea serpents, aren't enough to convince you, there is no shortage of stories that reveal exactly how intimidating the open ocean can be. Jose Salvador Avarenga, a Mexican fisherman, survived for over 400 days at sea after inclement weather blew his boat off course, via Wide Open Spaces. To survive, he fished for aquatic animals, hunted seabirds, and drank primarily rainwater and turtle blood. During World War II, Poon Lim spent 133 days adrift after a German U-boat sunk his ship.

Recently, another story of survival at sea emerged out of Columbia. Elvis Francois' plight is both harrowing and inspiring.

According to CBS News, 47-year-old Elvis Francois, who started his terrifying journey in the Antilles islands was working on his boat when a storm kicked up. By the time Francois was able to set up his ship's sale, he was already too far out to sea to make returning to shore possible. He tried calling for help on his phone but was unable to get consistent service. He wrote 'HELP' on the side of his boat and resigned himself to waiting for rescue.

The only sources of food that Francois had with him on the boat were ketchup, garlic powder, and stock cubes, which he mixed together into a bare-bones soup, per CNN. While it's possible that Francois was getting a small amount of protein from the stock cubes, a standard ketchup recipe reveals that there was next to no nutritional value in his survival slurry. Fortunately, the Columbian Navy rescued Francois after 24 days adrift, and he was still in relatively good health. Francois explained that he would think about his family whenever he lost hope.