After a small vessel ran out of gas off the shore of an uninhabited Pacific Island, San Francisco local Jeff Sternberg survived the nightlong abandonment and fishing trip to blog about it.
The blogger and knowing storyteller, who was on a small fishing trip with friends, has spent days in the wake of the event contemplating what went wrong, the hardships he has endured, and the adjustment back into society.
“The sea can be unforgiving,” wrote the modern day Odysseus. “But it’s the challenge that keeps the brave coming back.”
The crew, which was told to dock the boat and wait overnight for a tow to help him back, were forced to ration the food in their prepacked cooler to last for an additional 10 hours. The newly created blog includes several backdated articles to preface the trip, an hourly breakdown of what happened on the island, and section titled: “Spare Thoughts.”
“We were fortunate enough to pack our vessel with blankets,” Sternberg continued to document his wisdom in a separate post. “Fate favors those who prepare, others may not have been so lucky.”
The blog contemplates many topics, including the hardships of not knowing exactly when rescue would come, slowly watching resources like phone battery disappear, and modesty required to admit he was not “keeping an eye on the GPS.”
“It was in those early hours of the morning before the sun had risen that hope seemed lowest,” the weary traveler blogged. “I looked down at my fellow crew sleeping near the fire and I knew then that we were more than just passengers, we were family, and we needed to fight to keep moving on.”
Sternberg hopes that if his blog is to gain popularity, he may recount his saga in a book.
