Adrift: Seventy-six Days Lost at Sea
by Steven Callahan
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Book Summary Information
Author: Steven CallahanEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2002-10-17
ISBN: 0618257322
Number of pages: 256
Publisher: Mariner Books
Book Reviews of Adrift: Seventy-six Days Lost at Sea
Book Review: 76 Days of Survival on the Sea
Summary: 4 Stars
Adrift: Seventy-six Days Lost at Sea by Steven Callahan is a survival story that illuminates the importance of persistence, determination, courage, and a mind-set that does not let fear, failure or uncertainty determine the outcome regardless of the circumstances. In fact, Adrift is listed as National Geographic Adventure 100 Best Adventure Books.
In Adrift, Callahan's boat sinks in the Atlantic Ocean leaving him to survive in a standard Avon six-man model life raft that he names the Rubber Ducky III. The raft is composed of two multi-segmented inner tubes with a top tube that is a semi-circular arch that supports a tent like canopy. You would have to sit directly in the center of the raft to have any headroom. While it is advertised as a "six-man" model it does not even provide enough room for Callahan to lay down flat. As you can see this would not be a luxurious 76 days of survival. Yet, Callahan survived storms, inclement weather, sharks, holes in the raft, cramped space, sores, pain, hunger, thirst and the uncertainty of the unknown. Not an easy task under the best of circumstances.
Having read many books on survival I found Adrift at times to be repetitive, slow and boring. Mainly this is due to the fact that Callahan is confined (or imprisoned) by his location on the raft. He has no place to go and the whole story is about what happens on the raft. This in no way diminishes the tremendous accomplishment of Callahan's harrowing survival story but it does lend to a story that is repetitive. With 76 days at sea you can imagine that his daily activities become routine. On the other hand, Callahan does do into exquisite detail about techniques used and how he handled the never ending setbacks and equipment failures.
Callahan does provide good insight as to what he has gleaned from his experience. After 27 days on the raft he states, "For the first time, I clearly see a vast difference between human needs and human wants. Before this voyage, I always had what I needed - food, shelter, clothing, and companionship - yet I was often dissatisfied when I didn't get everything I wanted, when people didn't meet my expectations, when a goal was thwarted, or when I couldn't acquire some material goody. My plight has given me a strange kind of wealth, the most important kind. I value each moment that is not spent in pain, desperation, hunger, thirst, or loneliness. Even here, there is richness all around me." Now, if we could all appreciate such wisdom without having to go through such a horrific survival experience.
In the end Callahan survived his 76 day ordeal by eating 12 dorado fish, 12 triggerfish, 4 flyers, 3 birds and a few pounds of barnacles, crabs, and assorted oceanic items. Nine ships failed to see his raft and a dozen sharks tested him. I have respect for the stamina and determination that he maintained throughout his time on the ocean.
Overall, I recommend reading this book with the caveat that it can get repetitive.
Summary of Adrift: Seventy-six Days Lost at Sea
Before The Perfect Storm, before In the Heart of the Sea, Steven Callahan?s dramatic tale of survival at sea was on the New York Times bestseller list for more than thirty-six weeks. In some ways the model for the new wave of adventure books, Adrift is an undeniable seafaring classic, a riveting firsthand account by the only man known to have survived more than a month alone at sea, fighting for his life in an inflatable raft after his small sloop capsized only six days out. “Utterly absorbing? (Newsweek), Adrift is a must-have for any adventure library.
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