An extreme experiment carried out by the French doctor Alain Bombard proved that the possibilities human body truly endless. Alone, this legendary man swam Atlantic Ocean, maintaining his strength only by what the ocean sends him. Throughout the entire journey, Alan did not eat or even drink ordinary fresh water, but in the end he managed to reach the treasured shore.
Alain Bombard was the doctor on duty at the Boulogne hospital when 43 sailors were brought there - victims of a shipwreck at the Carnot Pier. None of them could be saved. Alain reproached himself for not being able to do anything for them. He began collecting information about shipwrecks. It turned out that around the world about 200 thousand people die every year in such disasters. Of these, 50 thousand manage to get onto lifeboats and rafts, but still die a painful death after some time. And 90% of victims die within the first three days after the shipwreck. Bombard wrote: “Victims of the legendary shipwrecks who died prematurely, I know: it was not the sea that killed you, it was not hunger that killed you, it was not thirst that killed you! Rocking on the waves to the plaintive cries of seagulls, you died of fear.”
And he decided to cross the Atlantic Ocean on a tiny inflatable boat. Without water and food - to prove that a person is able to survive after a shipwreck.
But before this, Alain spent six months in the laboratories of the Oceanographic Museum of Monaco. He studied the chemical composition of sea water, types of plankton, and the structure of marine fish. The Frenchman learned that sea fish are more than half fresh water. And fish meat contains less salt than beef. This means, Bombar decided, you can quench your thirst with juice squeezed out of fish.
At first, swimming was not intended to be solo. Bombar looked for a companion for a long time, even advertised in newspapers. But the letters came from suicides (“please take me with you on a voyage, because I have already tried unsuccessfully to commit suicide three times already”), crazy people (“I am a very good travel companion, and besides, I will give you permission to eat me when you are hungry”) or not very smart readers (“I propose to test your theory on my family, first I ask you to accept my mother-in-law into the crew, I have already received her consent”).
In the end, an unemployed yachtsman, Panamanian Jack Palmer, was found. Bombard did not reproach him in any way, but after two weeks of a test voyage from Monaco to the island of Mallorca, during which the researchers ate only two sea bass, several spoons of plankton and drank several liters of sea water, Jack Palmer changed his mind and simply did not set sail. And Alain Bombard sailed across the Atlantic alone.
He named his boat "Heretic". It was a tightly inflated rubber punt, 4 m 65 cm long and 1 m 90 cm wide, with a wooden stern and light wooden flooring at the bottom. The Heretic moved with the help of a quadrangular sail measuring approximately 1.5 x 2 m. Retractable keels, oars, mast, hoists and other equipment were extremely simple and inconvenient. As a matter of principle, he did not take any fishing rods or nets with him; he decided to make them from improvised means, as befits a shipwrecked person. He tied a knife to the end of the oar and bent the tip to form a harpoon. When he harpooned the first sea bream, he also obtained the first fishing hooks, which he made from fish bones.
During the first nights, Bombar was caught in a storm. It was impossible to actively resist the waves on a rubber boat; you could only bail out the water. He didn’t think of taking the ladle with him, so he used his hat, quickly became weak, lost consciousness and woke up in the water. The boat was completely filled with water, only rubber floats remained on the surface. Before the boat was afloat, he bailed out water for two hours: each time new water negated all his work.
As soon as the storm subsided, the sail burst. Bombar replaced it with a spare one, but half an hour later a squall struck and tore off the new sail and carried it away along with all the fasteners. Bombar had to sew up the old one and walk under it the whole way.
It is believed that a person can live no more than 10 days without water. Bombar was only able to drink fresh water on the 23rd day of the voyage, having found himself in a strip of heavy rain. How did he survive? Used sea water. “Alas, you can’t drink sea water for more than five days in a row,” Alen clarified. - I say this as a doctor, otherwise you can ruin your kidneys. You need to take a break of at least three days. And then this cycle can be repeated.”
During these three days, Bombar extracted water from fish. Bombar cut the meat into small pieces and squeezed out the liquid using his shirt. It turned out to be a slurry of fat and juice, disgusting to the taste, but fresh. It’s easier with large fish: you can make cuts on its body and immediately drink the juice. To avoid scurvy, the navigator ate plankton every day - it is rich in vitamin C. “It was enough to throw an ordinary sock on a string overboard to get a total of two tablespoons of plankton during the day,” Bombard assured. - Unlike raw fish, it doesn’t taste bad. It feels like you’re eating lobsters or shrimp.”
Bombar refused to wear waterproof clothing. He was wearing ordinary trousers, a shirt, a sweater and a jacket. The Frenchman believed that he was already superbly equipped. After all, when a ship sinks, a person usually does not have time to think about his wardrobe. Already on the second day after sailing, having gotten wet through and through, Bombar discovered that even wet clothes retain body heat. Thus, another rule was born: “A shipwrecked person should not take off his clothes, even if they are wet.”
After sixty-five days of sailing, Alain Bombard reached the island of Barbados. He lost 25 kg, his red blood cell and hemoglobin levels were bordering on fatal, he was diagnosed with serious visual impairment, his toenails fell out, and his entire skin was covered with rashes and small pimples. The body was dehydrated and extremely exhausted, but it reached the shore. An emergency supply of food remained on his boat, the safety of which was officially certified at the end of the experiment - he never touched the NZ.
He wrote the book "Overboard of his own free will."
Then he received more than ten thousand letters, the authors of which thanked him with the words: “If it weren’t for your example, we would have died in the harsh waves of the sea.”
Everyone has a great idea of what the ocean looks like. In its tranquility, the vast blue expanse fascinates and calms. It is not difficult to cross it using modern vehicles, be it ships or airplanes. But scientists have proven in practice more than once that it is possible to cross the ocean using such a primitive device as a raft. A considerable number of feature films have been made based on such stories.
Interesting fact The fact remains how the oceans were formed. After all, in the early periods of the development of our planet there were no continuous covers of water. The most likely theory put forward by scientists is the formation of oceans from steam that settled as the Earth cooled. The process took place hundreds of millions of years ago, and covered virtually the entire surface of the planet with ocean. Naturally, the available surface even then did not have a smooth surface and there were places with shallow seas.
Since it is impossible to survive in the ocean without fresh water, long-term existence on its surface, without special filters, is out of the question. The largest ocean in the world, the Pacific Ocean, has an average depth of almost four kilometers, and at its deepest points almost eleven kilometers. An interesting fact is that along the one hundred and eightieth meridian, which passes through the Pacific Ocean, the date changes.
Since the ocean is located relative to the equator between Eurasia and America, and having a length of twenty thousand kilometers, it is difficult to believe that such a giant can be overcome on a raft. Naturally, this is the largest of the oceans of our planet, but the smaller oceans - the Atlantic, Indian and Arctic - are surprising in their size.
For traveling across the ocean on a raft, much more modest goals are planned than reaching a diametrically opposite continent, or mainland. Before you cross the ocean on a raft, you need to become an expert in ocean currents. After all, it is precisely this that will have greatest influence for the upcoming route. But at the same time, it is also worth taking into account the direction of the main air flows, since when the sail is installed on the raft, they will make adjustments in the direction of movement.
For greater stability of the raft, it is necessary to establish a rule with which to also influence the course of navigation. To sail in the ocean on a raft, you should set an island as your goal, since the raft structure itself may not withstand the long-term influence of salt water. It is also important to determine the presence of reefs in the area of arrival, since successful mooring most often depends on their presence.
Oceanographer Stanislav Kurilov entered not only the history of science, but also world history, swimming alone across the ocean. And Kurilov did not set some kind of record in this way - he implemented a plan to escape from his homeland, from the USSR. In two days, without sleep, food or drink, he covered a distance of 100 kilometers and reached the Philippine island of Siargao.
In the pre-perestroika era, many were attracted by the myth of the Western “paradise”, a world of freedom and abundance... Alas, leaving the USSR abroad, and even more so emigrating, was a very, very difficult matter at that time. Therefore, some decided to flee the country illegally. One of them was Stanislav Kurilov. He became famous for swimming alone ocean.
Kurilov's biography turned out to be quite stormy. He was born in the city of Ordzhonikidze in 1936, and spent his childhood in Semipalatinsk, where he became interested in swimming. At the age of 10 he swam across the Irtysh River. But the boy dreamed of the sea. As a teenager, Slava tried to get a job as a cabin boy in the Baltic Fleet, but was unsuccessful. Then there was service in the army, in a sapper battalion, study at a pedagogical institute, navigation school and the Leningrad Meteorological Institute, and finally, work at the Institute of Oceanology in Leningrad and the Institute of Marine Biology in Vladivostok...
Kurilov did yoga, was a deep-sea diving instructor - in a word, he received an excellent physical training, which later became very useful to him.
Marine research became the meaning of his life. However, the status of being “restricted to travel abroad” was very disturbing. Kurilov was stubbornly not allowed to go abroad, since his sister married an Indian and lived in Canada...
The idea of escaping had been brewing for a long time, but it finally took shape when Stanislav saw an advertisement for a tourist cruise. The liner with the iconic name " Soviet Union"followed a flight from Vladivostok to the equator without visiting any ports. Stanislav realized that this was his chance to change his life and fulfill his old dream...
Many residents of socialist countries tried to cross the border illegally and penetrate behind the Iron Curtain. People jumped from windows, climbed through sewers, threw themselves onto barbed wire... One family from Czechoslovakia crossed the border using an inflatable balloon. Another, from the GDR, crossed over Berlin Wall in Germany, using a cable with a cradle... But most of the escapes ended in failure.
The route by sea seemed to Kurilov the most realistic option. Moreover, he had the appropriate knowledge and training.
Kurilov managed to purchase a ticket to the cruise. He managed to calculate the optimal route from the map and on the night of December 13, 1974, he jumped from the side of the ship into the water... In two days, without sleep, food or drink, he covered a distance of 100 kilometers in fins and a mask with a snorkel and reached the Philippine island Siargao, where it was picked up by local fishermen. After long ordeals, Kurilov was deported to Canada, where he received citizenship... Meanwhile, in the USSR, he was sentenced in absentia “for treason to the motherland” to ten years in the camps, and his relatives were subjected to repression... At that time, such consequences were common.
In Canada, Stanislav Kurilov first worked in a pizzeria, but then got the opportunity to engage in his favorite marine research... In 1986, he got married and moved to Israel, where he joined the Haifa Oceanographic Institute. His fate seemed to be going quite well... In 1996, the Israeli magazine "22" published Kurilov's biographical story "Escape". In it, the author told the amazing story of his escape from the USSR...
The descriptions of the sea voyage itself are striking in their poetry:
"It's like I was just born in ocean, and there is no land at all. I saw the primeval ocean, exactly the same as it was a million years ago... Self-excitation occurs - one wave of fear causes another... Ocean waves, especially during swells, are so perfect that they seem alive and spiritual. When you see huge waves, you are filled with both admiration and horror. The waves seemed to swallow it, twisting it like a screw, sucking in the cave cavities."
It must be said that many pages of the story may raise serious doubts for a specialist. So, it’s hard to believe that a person could stay in the water for so long without a watercraft... Nevertheless, Kurilov’s escape is a fait accompli. But its details are known more from the words of the hero himself, and today it is almost impossible to restore the truth. Besides, Soviet authorities commented on this story very restrainedly - God forbid, it would occur to someone to repeat the “feat”!
MOOLOOLABA /Australia/, May 31. /Special correspondent ITAR-TASS Pavel Vanichkin/. A Russian traveler has reached the coast of Australia. Thus, he managed to cross the Pacific Ocean alone on a rowing boat without visiting ports or outside help. The next project of the Russian traveler will be a hot air balloon flight around the Earth...
From the coast of Chile to Australia
Konyukhov started on December 22, 2013 from the port of Concon (Chile) at 09:15 am Chilean time, covered over 17 thousand km on a boat called "Turgoyak" and finished in the town of Mooloolaba (Queensland) at 13:13 Eastern time coast of Australia. "Turgoyak" has a length of 9 meters, a width of 1.8 meters, the weight of its body made of carbon fiber is 250 kg, and its weight when fully loaded is 850 kg.
As the International Society of Ocean Rowing reported from London, Konyukhov completed the journey in 160 days. According to the society, the previous best achievement of crossing the Pacific Ocean in a single rowing boat in the southern half was 273 days.
This result was shown by the 52-year-old English rower Jim Shekdar, who started on June 29, 2000 from the Peruvian port of Ilo. Jim also competed and finished on March 30, 2001 on North Stradbroke Island.
Initially, Konyukhov planned to cross the Pacific Ocean in 200 days and nights. It was reported that in order to cross the ocean, a traveler had to make 4 million strokes.
Flight around the Earth
“The ground is not very hard yet,” said Konyukhov, who stepped onto the shore. ITAR-TASS. His very first steps were indeed slightly hesitant, but literally after a few moments he was already able to walk without assistance.
After the triumphant finish, answering a question about plans for the future, Konyukhov said that he planned to make a non-stop flight around the Earth in a hot air balloon. He intends to start in Australia, fly from west to east approximately along the 40th latitude and finish again in Australia. However, the traveler categorically refused to say when this might happen. “I’ve been traveling for more than 40 years,” recalled Konyukhov. “Previously, I did it mainly for scientific purposes and out of sporting interests, but now I’m thinking about the younger generation, to whom I want to instill a spirit of romance. I want people to dream more.”
Answering a question from corr. ITAR-TASS, about the difficulties during the journey, Konyukhov said: “At first it was difficult, and then even more difficult.” “The main difficulty of this kind of test is its monotony,” the traveler continued the story. “Every day I tried to row for 18 hours, slept for 20-25 minutes, but no more than two and a half hours a day.” “On the other hand, I I walked with God's help - all the biggest hurricanes passed me by, the boat never capsized, favorable currents helped me.
Happy ending
I sent a greeting to Konyukhov, which was read by the Russian Ambassador to Australia Vladimir Morozov, who took part in the meeting of the Russian traveler in the city of Mooloolaba. About five hundred people gathered to meet the famous Russian traveler on the city beach - his friends, local residents, visiting tourists, journalists.
“I am glad to congratulate you on the successful completion of the expedition “On a rowing boat across the Pacific Ocean,” says the president’s greeting. “This unique voyage was closely followed by your colleagues, scientists and experts, members of the Russian Geographical Society, and maritime enthusiasts from many countries. Thanks courage and perseverance, extraordinary human and professional qualities“You have withstood difficult trials and conquered the water element.”
“Today we can say with confidence that the first solo trip in history on a rowing boat from the coast of Chile to Australia was successful. And you continued the wonderful traditions of the great Russian explorers and travelers who made a great contribution to the study of the World Ocean. I wish you all the best and the fulfillment of new plans," the president said in his greeting.
63-year-old Russian priest Orthodox Church Fedor Konyukhov is the first person in the world who managed to reach the five poles of our planet: North (three times), South, Pole relative inaccessibility in Northern Arctic Ocean, (altitude poles) and Cape Horn (yachtsmen's poles). Konyukhov became the first Russian to complete the “Seven Summits of the World” program - to climb the highest peak of each continent. He managed to cross now two oceans on a rowing boat. In 2002, he single-handedly crossed the Atlantic Ocean on a URALAZ rowing boat, setting a world record of 3 thousand nautical miles in 46 days.
It is not the harsh elements of the sea that kill shipwrecked people, but their own fears and weaknesses. To prove this, French doctor Alain Bombard crossed the Atlantic in an inflatable boat, without food or water.
In May 1951, the French trawler Notre-Dame de Peyrags set sail from the port of Equiem. At night, the ship lost its course and was thrown onto the ledge of the Carnot Pier by the waves. The ship sank, but almost the entire crew managed to put on vests and leave the ship. The sailors had to swim a short distance to get to the stairs on the wall of the pier. Imagine the surprise of the port doctor Alain Bombard when in the morning rescuers pulled 43 corpses ashore! People who found themselves in the water simply saw no point in fighting the elements and drowned while remaining afloat.
Stock of knowledge
The doctor who witnessed the tragedy could not boast of much experience. He was only twenty-six years old. While still studying at the university, Alain was interested in the capabilities of the human body in extreme conditions. He collected a lot of documented facts when brave souls remained alive on rafts and boats, in cold and heat, with a flask of water and a can of canned food on the fifth, tenth and even thirtieth day after the crash. And then he put forward the version that it is not the sea that kills people, but their own fear and despair.The sea wolves only laughed at the arguments of yesterday’s student. “Boy, you’ve only seen the sea from the pier, and yet you’re interfering with serious issues,” the ship’s doctors arrogantly declared. And then Bombar decided to experimentally prove that he was right. He conceived a voyage as close as possible to the conditions of a sea disaster.
Before trying his hand, Alain decided to stock up on knowledge. The Frenchman spent six months, from October 1951 to March 1952, in the laboratories of the Oceanographic Museum of Monaco.
Alain Bombard with a hand press, which he used to squeeze the juice out of fish
He studied the chemical composition of sea water, types of plankton, and the structure of marine fish. The Frenchman learned that sea fish are more than half fresh water. And fish meat contains less salt than beef. This means, Bombar decided, you can quench your thirst with juice squeezed out of fish. He also found out that sea water is also suitable for drinking. True, in small doses. And the plankton that whales feed on is quite edible.
One on one with the ocean
Bombar attracted two more people with his adventurous idea. But due to the size of the rubber vessel (4.65 by 1.9 m), I took only one of them with me.Rubber boat “Heretic” - on it Alain Bombard went to conquer the elements
The boat itself was a tightly inflated rubber horseshoe, the ends of which were connected by a wooden stern. The bottom, on which the light wooden flooring (elani) lay, was also made of rubber. There were four inflatable floats on the sides. The boat was supposed to be accelerated by a quadrangular sail with an area of three square meters. The name of the ship was a match for the navigator himself - “Heretic”.
Bombard later wrote that the reason for choosing the name was that most people considered his idea “heresy”, not believing in the possibility of surviving by eating only seafood and salt water.
However, Bombar did take some things into the boat: a compass, a sextant, navigation books and photographic equipment. On board there was also a first aid kit, a box with water and food, which were sealed to prevent temptation. They were intended for the most extreme cases.
Alain's partner was to be the English yachtsman Jack Palmer. Together with him, Bombard made a test voyage on the Heretic from Monaco to the island of Minorca lasting seventeen days. The experimenters recalled that already on that voyage they experienced a deep sense of fear and helplessness in front of the elements. But everyone assessed the result of the campaign in their own way. Bombard was inspired by the victory of his will over the sea, and Palmer decided that he would not tempt fate twice. At the appointed time of departure, Palmer simply did not show up at the port, and Bomb Bar had to go to the Atlantic alone.
On October 19, 1952, a motor yacht towed the Heretic from the port of Puerto de la Luz in the Canary Islands to the ocean and unhooked the cable. The northeast trade wind blew into the small sail, and the Heretic set off towards the unknown.
It is worth noting that Bombard made the experiment more difficult by choosing voyages from Europe to America. In the middle of the 20th century, ocean routes lay hundreds of miles from Bombard’s path, and he simply did not have a chance to feed himself at the expense of good sailors.
Against nature
On one of the first nights of the voyage, Bombar was caught in a terrible storm. The boat filled with water, and only the floats kept it on the surface. The Frenchman tried to scoop out the water, but he did not have a ladle, and there was no point in doing it with his palms. I had to adapt my hat. By morning the sea had calmed down, and the traveler perked up.A week later, the wind tore the sail that was moving the boat. Bombar installed a new one, but half an hour later the wind blew it away into the waves. Alen had to repair the old one, and he floated under it for two months.
The traveler obtained food as he had planned. He tied a knife to a stick and with this “harpoon” killed his first prey - a sea bream fish. He made fishhooks from her bones. IN open ocean the fish was unafraid and grabbed everything that fell into the water. The flying fish even flew into the boat itself, killing itself when it hit the sail. By morning, the Frenchman found up to fifteen dead fish in the boat.
Bombar's other "delicacy" was plankton, which tasted like krill paste but was unsightly. Occasionally birds were caught on the hook. The traveler ate them raw, throwing only feathers and bones overboard.
During the voyage, Alen drank sea water for seven days, and the rest of the time he squeezed the “juice” out of fish. It was also possible to collect the dew that settled on the sail in the morning. After almost a month of sailing, a gift from heaven awaited him - a downpour that gave fifteen liters of fresh water.
The extreme hike was difficult for him. The sun, salt and rough food led to the fact that the whole body (even under the nails) was covered with small ulcers. Bombar opened the abscesses, but they were in no hurry to heal. The skin on my legs also peeled off in shreds, and the nails on four of my fingers fell out. Being a doctor, Alain monitored his health and recorded everything in the ship's log.
When it rained for five days in a row, Bombar began to suffer greatly from excess humidity. Then, when there was no wind and heat, the Frenchman decided that these were his last hours and wrote his will. And when he was about to give his soul to God, the shore appeared on the horizon.
Having lost twenty-five kilograms of weight in sixty-five days of sailing, on December 22, 1952, Alain Bombard reached the island of Barbados. In addition to proving his theory of survival at sea, the Frenchman became the first person to cross the Atlantic Ocean in a rubber boat.
After the heroic voyage, the whole world recognized the name of Alain Bombard. But he himself considered the main result of this journey not to be the glory that fell. And the fact that throughout his life he received more than ten thousand letters, the authors of which thanked him with the words: “If it weren’t for your example, we would have died in the harsh waves of the sea.”