I had to be smart: the sailor survived after spending 133 days on a raft in the ocean

It was the height of World War II when the Chinese Pan Lien went to serve on a British passenger ship. He was heading to the shores of South America when a German submarine suddenly started firing rockets at him. As a result, the ship quickly sank. Realizing this, the young man did not hesitate, despite the fact that he could not swim, put on a protective vest and jumped overboard. This is precisely what saved him from the explosion that soon happened. Among the wreckage, the man was lucky to find a life raft, which later became his home for a long 133 days, until he was finally saved. Thus began the story of a man who not only managed to survive, but also simultaneously became record holders in time spent alone in the middle of the ocean. So how exactly did he succeed?

At first it was not difficult to do this, since the raft was well equipped with food, water, torches, lanterns and a rope. After the supplies ran out, Pan Lian had to learn to survive. He began to use his jacket to collect rainwater, and made a hook from a spring from a lantern to catch fish. He even came up with catching gulls: for this, he placed algae in a jar from canned food, which he collected from the bottom of the raft, and next to a piece of fish. As soon as some seagull was led to a similar "nest" and sat nearby, a man quickly grabbed it. Fleeing from the consequences of prolonged inactivity, Lien began to tie himself with a rope to a raft and periodically swim in the ocean.

When sharks began to appear around, the sailor was not afraid. On the contrary, he began to lure them with small fish to catch, and used a nail as a weapon. On especially dry days, he drank the blood of these predators and birds so as not to die from dehydration, and the meat was dried in the sun. In his hometown in Hainan, there was a dish made from shark fins and guts dried in the sun. So he did, receiving a Chinese delicacy.

Sunburns became increasingly painful, and the mental state of the shipwrecked man began to deteriorate. But most of all he was depressed that the ships he met ignored his call for help, passing by. However, his strength of mind and thirst for life did not allow him to give up, and then one day he suddenly noticed that the color of the water had changed, which means that somewhere near there should be a shore. Soon he saw a fishing boat and started screaming for help. Three Brazilian fishermen headed in his direction, and after a while he was already saved and taken to the hospital. That was April 5, 1943.