Couple Survived 66 Days at Sea on a Rubber Raft by Eating ‘Almost 2 Lbs. of Raw Fish a Day’ After Whales Sank Their Yacht

YOU NEED TO KNOW

• A couple went on a yachting adventure in 1989

• William and Simone Butler were 1,200 miles off the coast of Costa Rica when their boat sank.

• From there they boarded a life raft, where they survived 66 days adrift in the Pacific Ocean.

It’s a story that sounds familiar to anyone who’s followed orca activity in recent years: A couple was shipwrecked when their yacht was surrounded and sunk by a group of whales off the coast of Costa Rica. But what happened next was completely different; Two people were adrift on a rubber raft in the Pacific Ocean for 66 days and were rescued by a tiny device aptly named “Survivor.”

William and Simone Butler were on a three-week voyage around the world on their 40-foot yacht, about 1,200 miles offshore, when it was sunk by whales on June 15, 1989.

The two scrambled to get food, fishing gear and a 7lb weight. Called the “Survivor-35,” the pump is a hand-operated pump that turns salt water into fresh water before being launched into a rubber raft.

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This turns out to be an integral part of quick thinking; because the duo would be stranded on a raft drifting in the Pacific Ocean for 66 days.

For more than two months, they subsisted mostly on raw fish and “three liters of precious drinking water” that William, then 60, extracted from Survivor each day, PEOPLE reported at the time.

At the end of the difficult 66-day process, 52-year-old William and Simone were rescued by the Costa Rican Coast Guard and taken to a hospital in the coastal city of Golfito.

Despite all the negativities, the two were in relatively good health (except for dehydration and severe sunburns). William, who told reporters from his hospital bed that they fished every day, said, “I forced myself to eat almost 2 kilos of raw fish a day, and I forced my wife to eat it too.”

Even with fish both William and Simone lost a reported 50 lbs. each during the ordeal.

Following their recovery, the couple returned to the states with William. I tell journalists“It’s hard to believe that seven days ago we were still drifting and trying to reach land. It’s really hard to argue with the situation.”

The couple said they had fended off shark attacks and fish feeding sprees during this ordeal, and were contacted to turn their story into a book or film.

But afterwards they were more content to stay on solid ground. “We’re going to rest and get away from the ocean for a while and go to the mountains and meadows,” William said at the time, according to PEOPLE.

According to one obituary, William died in June 2024His wife was dying a few years ago.

In fact, his obituary described his sailing adventures, which began at the age of 14 when he “made his first blue water voyage from Havana to Varadero as skipper on his 15-foot Snipe.”

“Bill went on numerous voyages as captain, including treasure hunts, fishing, three transatlantic voyages, the return of Cape Horn, and a circumnavigation attempt that ended with the schooner Siboney being sunk by whales,” the obituary said.

“During Bill’s sailing years, he logged over 74,000 nautical miles at sea on the two mistresses of the sea, Siboney and New Chance, with his children, grandchildren and numerous crew members.”

Read the original article People