Clinging to a Mast: Boat Going Down

An Indian naval commander takes leave from the military to take part in a unique nautical contest. No GPS, no computers - the purest test of sailing skill there is. For Abhilash Tomy, it’s a dream come true… until a catastrophe in the Indian Ocean changes everything. With a broken spine, thousands of miles from the nearest landmass, he might as well be lost in space… A Noiser production, written by Joe Viner. For ad-free listening, bonus material and early access to new episodes, join Noiser+. Click the Noiser+ banner to get started. Or, if you’re on Spotify or Android, go to noiser.com/subscriptions If you have an amazing survival story of your own that you’d like to put forward for the show, let us know. Drop us an email at [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Speaker names marked ? are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.

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• 1:04John Hopkins?

  It's September the 22nd, 2018.

• 1:08John Hopkins?

  Hurricane-force winds churn the cold, wild waters of the Southern Indian Ocean.

• 1:15John Hopkins?

  Slate gray swells streaked with icy veins of white foam heap up 30 feet and collapse in blasts of freezing spray.

• 1:26John Hopkins?

  Sailors call these "confused seas", when the wind blows from different directions, causing the waves to slam together, creating a frenzied mass of water.

• 1:37John Hopkins?

  Amid the maelstrom, a sailboat plunges into the deep trough behind a breaking wave. She is a tiny, turquoise speck against the ocean's dark expanse, a scrap of flotsam twisting in the surf.

• 1:55John Hopkins?

  As water engulfs the deck, only the mizzen mast is visible, a vertical 30-foot spar bobbing and swaying above the turmoil. And clinging to the very top of the mizzen, desperately holding on, is 39-year-old Avila Stoney.

• 2:16Speaker 04

  We had waves of 10, 15 meters from the northwest, waves of 10, 15 meters from the southwest. It was very crazy. It looked like God was trying to invent the earth all over again.

• 2:29John Hopkins?

  Abhilash hugs the mast and squints down through the lashing spray.

• 2:35John Hopkins?

  An enormous drop separates him from the deck.

• 2:41John Hopkins?

  Suffering an injury out here in one of the most remote stretches of ocean on the planet would be catastrophic.

• 2:49John Hopkins?

  The wind screams in Abhilash's ears as he tries to adjust his feet. The mast flexes and bends. With trembling hands, he gingerly begins to lower himself. Which is when his foot slips. His grip is lost. And he falls.

• 3:10Speaker 04

  And that's how it happened. It led to the biggest search and rescue event of this century.

• 3:21John Hopkins?

  Ever wondered what you would do when disaster strikes? If your life depended on your next decision, could you make the right choice?

• 3:30John Hopkins?

  Welcome to Real Survival Stories. These are the astonishing tales of ordinary people thrown into extraordinary situations. People suddenly forced to fight for their lives.

• 3:45John Hopkins?

  In this episode, we meet Abhilash Tomy.

• 3:49John Hopkins?

  Back in 2018, Abhilash, a commander in the Indian Navy, takes leave from the military to realize a long-held ambition: to take part in the Golden Globe Round-the-World Yacht Race. What sets this contest apart from others like it is that modern technology is forbidden. There's no GPS, no satellites, no computers, making it the purest test of sailing skill. And the most treacherous.

• 4:16John Hopkins?

  Only the best and the bravest dare compete. For Abhilash, it's a dream come true. Until a catastrophe in the Indian Ocean changes everything.

• 4:27Speaker 04

  After thirty minutes, when I tried to stand, my knees just collapsed and I fell. I couldn't stand.

• 4:34John Hopkins?

  Severely injured and incapacitated, Abhilash just has to hope for rescue. But in his current location, thousands of miles from the nearest populated landmass, he might as well be lost in space.

• 4:48Speaker 04

  It was quite, quite, quite remote. In fact, you know, the interns were discussing, and we were praying that if ever we had to have an accident, this should not be the place.

• 5:01John Hopkins?

  I'm John Hopkins. From the Noiser Network, this is Real Survival Stories.

• 5:38John Hopkins?

  It's July 2018 in the North Atlantic.

• 5:42John Hopkins?

  Abhilash Tomy crouches by the stern of his sleek, thirty-two-foot racing yacht, the Raya.

• 5:49John Hopkins?

  With one hand steering the tiller, the bearded thirty-nine-year-old gazes straight ahead, calmly scanning the horizon through his reflective shades.

• 5:59John Hopkins?

  White cumulus clouds drift across the sky. The ocean below is a shifting mosaic of light and shadow, of blue and darker blue.

• 6:11John Hopkins?

  It's easy to forget that Arbelash isn't alone out here, but he is in fact one of eighteen sailors currently competing in the 2018 Golden Globe Race.

• 6:21John Hopkins?

  While at sea, the sailors are completely cut off from the world on land. Within the rules of the competition, the only contact permitted is a weekly check-in with Race HQ via satellite phone.

• 6:35John Hopkins?

  Arbelash has already spoken to the race organizers this week, which is why the sound of the sat phone ringing below deck triggers an immediate pang of unease.

• 6:47John Hopkins?

  He climbs down the steps and answers.

• 6:51Speaker 04

  You can only speak to the race organizers. If you speak to anybody else, you are disqualified. And here, the race director was asking me to speak to my wife. He was asking me to call my wife and speak to her.

• 7:04John Hopkins?

  Arbelash hangs up the phone and immediately dials his wife. This must be something serious. As he waits for her to pick up, the tension rises. They're only about a week into this race. He would, of course, drop everything if there was an emergency back home, but the idea of quitting so early is still a galling thought. It's not just the time and money that Arbelash has invested to get here. This race is about far more than that. It's an expedition over thirty years in the making.

• 7:38Speaker 04

  When I was growing up, I read a lot of books on adventure, and most of them were about stories of people going to sea, getting lost, stranded in an island, Treasure Island, or Jack London's Call of the Wild, or Jules' worm, and people like that. And this created an image of the sea which was very magical and romantic, and, you know, it was somehow pulling me towards it.

• 8:06John Hopkins?

  Growing up in the port city of Kochi, the home of India's largest naval command, Abhilash spends his childhood immersed in maritime culture, surrounded by ships and seafarers.

• 8:18Speaker 04

  My father was a naval officer and I think when I was probably six years old, we had an office party and it was in a sailing club. And that's when I'm seeing a boat for the first time, that's in a sailing boat or a canoe. And I just fell in love with it.

• 8:36John Hopkins?

  After that formative first encounter, Abhilash was hooked. He followed his father into the navy, becoming a commissioned officer by the age of 21.

• 8:47John Hopkins?

  After earning his nautical stripes, he went on to get his wings, qualifying as a maritime reconnaissance pilot. For an avowed thrill seeker, life in the military offered no shortage of excitement.

• 9:01John Hopkins?

  But through all his flying sorties and naval patrols, Abhilash never forgot those adventure books, with their tales of great navigators and daring sea voyages. He joined the navy's sailing team, relishing the thrill of races. He even represented India in several long-distance competitions.

• 9:21John Hopkins?

  But there was still something missing. One day, while leafing through a sailing magazine, Abhilash came across an article about a solo round-the-world yacht race. It sparked an idea.

• 9:34Speaker 04

  When I read about it, I thought, you know, one day I should do my own circumnavigation. And I did some calculations, I realized that if I saved enough money in my provident fund for 20 years, I'll have enough to buy a boat and sail around the world.

• 9:49John Hopkins?

  In the end, Abhilash wouldn't have to wait that long to achieve his dream. In 2009, he volunteered to provide shore support for Captain Dilip Dunde, a fellow navy man who was attempting to become the first Indian sailor to circumnavigate the globe. Abhilash leapt at the opportunity to learn from the great man. Then, two years later, the Navy came to him with an offer. Would he like to go one step further than Captain Dondé and attempt to become the first Indian and only the seventy-ninth person ever to sail solo around the world without stopping?

• 10:28John Hopkins?

  Abhilash didn't hesitate.

• 10:31John Hopkins?

  Aboard a fifty-five-foot sloop provided by the Navy, he set off on his voyage in November 2012, returning to Mumbai five months later, having written himself into the history books.

• 10:46Speaker 04

  What I loved the most was the fact that I was alone. I absolutely loved my own company. I loved the freedom. I loved the fact that I did not have to take orders from anybody or adhere to somebody else's idea of what is right or wrong.

• 11:04Speaker 04

  In that sense, this was a life-altering experience.

• 11:09John Hopkins?

  By any metric, Abhilash has reached the pinnacle of sailing. But still, he wasn't satisfied.

• 11:17Speaker 04

  I enjoyed the experience of my first circumnavigation. I wanted to go back to sea again, for which it had to be a bigger challenge than just sailing around the world.

• 11:26John Hopkins?

  The question he now faced was, what else was there?

• 11:31John Hopkins?

  Abhilash returned to his naval base, where he fell back into the rhythms of military life.

• 11:37John Hopkins?

  Then, a few months later, a friend reached out to ask if he'd heard about an upcoming sailing event, a race commemorating the fiftieth anniversary of the Golden Globe.

• 11:48John Hopkins?

  Now, this sounded interesting.

• 11:53John Hopkins?

  The 1968 Golden Globe Race holds an almost mythical status in sailing history. That year, The Sunday Times offered a £5,000 prize to the first individual who could complete a non-stop circumnavigation of the world, an unprecedented feat at the time. Just nine sailors signed up. But the race seemed cursed from the outset. Storms ravaged the course. Yachts sank. One participant tragically took his own life. And of the nine competitors who started the doomed voyage, only one finished.

• 12:33John Hopkins?

  Such was the catastrophe of that first edition. The Golden Globe was never held again. It seemed nobody was willing to repeat a race subsequently dubbed "A Voyage for Mad Men", until now. Fifty years on, the Golden Globe Race is back. Again, it's a solo, round-the-world race, non-stop and unassisted. Setting off from Les Sables de L'Enne, in France, and finishing in the same place some seven months and 30,000 miles later. It's hard to imagine a tougher test of skill and mental fortitude. For Abelash, it's perfect.

• 13:14Speaker 04

  2018 was the golden jubilee of the Golden Globe Race, so they decided to have the race one more time. And, you know, to keep things simple or complicated, you are not allowed to use any technology that did not exist in 1968. No GPS, no iPod, iPad, electronic logs, electronic charts, no satellite phones, nothing. You have to sail as if it's 1968.

• 13:40John Hopkins?

  That's the catch. The boats must also be old-fashioned designs, built without high-tech materials and no greater than 39 feet in length. It's a return to traditional seafaring, where the sailors must rely on celestial navigation, using the stars, paper charts, and a compass to plot their course around the planet. Just like in the adventure books Abelash read as a child.

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• 15:16John Hopkins?

  Now, one week into the race, Abhilash sits below deck, the satellite phone clamped to his ear.

• 15:24John Hopkins?

  He watches the waterline rise and fall beyond the portholes as Tharaya rocks on her keel. The race director has assured Abhilash that phoning his wife won't disqualify him. Clearly, something has happened which merits an exception to the rule.

• 15:41John Hopkins?

  Eventually, he hears his wife's voice at the end of the line.

• 15:46Speaker 04

  I phoned her, and turns out she was pregnant. I was going to become a father, she was going to become a mother, and my world had just turned upside down.

• 15:59John Hopkins?

  Abhilash is stunned. It's happy news. But after the initial joy and surprise, he is faced with a sobering choice.

• 16:09Speaker 04

  I asked her what she wanted me to do. You know, I asked her if she wanted me to turn back. She said, "No, just go for your race. Just continue racing."

• 16:18John Hopkins?

  With his wife's blessing, Abhilash presses on. There is no prize money on offer in this race, just a gold plaque for the finishers and a lifetime's worth of bragging rights.

• 16:31John Hopkins?

  But Abhilash now has a far stronger incentive to finish and to get home in one piece. He scampers back above deck.

• 16:43John Hopkins?

  Wispy spray billows from the crests of the breaking waves. With a bit of good fortune, he'll be able to ride this tailwind all the way down to the equator.

• 16:53John Hopkins?

  Abhilash trims the sails and points the boat due south. As Tharaya runs forward, the skipper scans the horizon for other vessels.

• 17:06John Hopkins?

  He is racing against seventeen of the world's best solo sailors. During the weeks of preparation, when the boats were in harbor, a sense of camaraderie developed among the competitors.

• 17:19Speaker 04

  I believe that sailing is the only sport I have seen where people are competitive, but they are collaborative. You meet these competitors every day, you talk to them, they become friends, you share a meal, you help each other preparing your boats for the race. And one thing we realize is that it is not the competitor who is the enemy, but the sea. The sea is our common enemy, who we have to deal with.

• 17:47John Hopkins?

  Aside from the few designated photo drops along the route, when the sailors have a chance to deliver and receive letters, videos and photographs from their loved ones, it will be at least seven months before any of them lays eyes on another human being. For some, the isolation will be too much to bear. But not Abhilash. While he can't predict the whims of the sea, one thing is certain. If he taps out of this race, it won't be because of loneliness.

• 18:17Speaker 04

  I don't miss human company at all. I'm very happy alone. I would say I'm happier alone rather than sailing with a crew. We are brought up in human company from the moment we are born, which means that we have to live by the rules of human company. And it's very complicated. You'll not understand all these little rules, codes, ethics, moralities, etc., until you live away from it. And when you are away from it, that's when you taste freedom. And that's what I constantly seek when I go to sea. All these external stimulations just drop off. You can see the gray sea and the gray sky, and either there is wind or no wind. There is very little happening externally, or very little changes externally.

• 19:01Speaker 04

  And that's when your mind starts spending time with itself, and that's when you start to understand what sort of a person you are.

• 19:10John Hopkins?

  As the weeks fall away, Abhilash maintains a steady course.

• 19:16John Hopkins?

  Without reliance on modern tech, he must instead employ some ancient techniques. He predicts the weather by reading the sky and the ocean. He gauges distance and speed by instinct alone. At night, he studies the stars to calculate his position on the map.

• 19:37John Hopkins?

  It's a stern test of his nautical chops. But Abhilash isn't just rising to the challenge, he is excelling, pushing towards pole position.

• 19:48Speaker 04

  I crossed the equator, headed for the coast of Brazil. I went around a high pressure without stopping, south of Cape of Good Hope. I caught a current by monitoring its temperature. And I was able to sail 240 miles in 24 hours. And in three days I did 600 miles. And from being, I think, 13th or 14th at one point in time, I found myself in third position.

• 20:17John Hopkins?

  When he embarked on this race, his goal was simply to reach the finish line. That would be achievement enough. But as he rounds the Cape of South Africa and sails east into the Indian Ocean, a new possibility presents itself.

• 20:32John Hopkins?

  Abhilash might not merely finish this race, he might actually be on course to win.

• 20:45John Hopkins?

  It's September 22, 2018, almost three months since the start of the Golden Globe Race.

• 20:53John Hopkins?

  A storm is brewing in the southern Indian Ocean.

• 20:57John Hopkins?

  The sea writhes and roils, its puter surface webbed with streaks of dense white foam.

• 21:05John Hopkins?

  Onboard Tharaya, Abhilash listens to the rigging moan. Loose ropes thrash and strain at their moorings.

• 21:15Speaker 04

  We had a text message from the race director saying that there was going to be a storm. And I spoke with him on the 20th of September, I think. And he assured me that it's not something I've not seen before. And he gave us some directions to keep us safe, but I'm not sure how well it worked.

• 21:36John Hopkins?

  Right now, the race director's assurances offer little comfort. The wind must be approaching 70 miles an hour. Tharaya surges skyward on the 50-foot swell before crashing down into the deep trough. A soaking, stinging mist fills the air.

• 21:55John Hopkins?

  Abhilash wipes his eyes and tries to focus on keeping his boat upright.

• 22:01John Hopkins?

  He is sailing through one of the remotest places on Earth. A cold, inhospitable stretch of ocean somewhere along one of the world's loneliest latitudes.

• 22:12Speaker 04

  So if you draw a line between Australia and South Africa, and drop a line from the southern tip of India going south, I was at the intersection of these two lines. It was quite, quite, quite, quite remote. In fact, you know, we interns were discussing, and we were praying that if ever we had to have an accident, this should not be the place.

• 22:38John Hopkins?

  The nearest continental landmass is Antarctica. If Abhilash were to become stranded out here, thousands of miles from anywhere, it would take days for a diverted vessel to reach him. He's got to ride out the storm. But the weather is showing no signs of improving, quite the opposite. He can handle the odd knockdown when the wind flattens the mast against the surface of the ocean. What he really must avoid are the endgame scenarios. A 360-degree rollover or a dreaded pitch-pulling when the boat capsizes nose-first, bow over stern.

• 23:21John Hopkins?

  Abhilash knows how to navigate storms, how to adjust the position of the boat to counteract the force of the wind. But this tempest is different. These waves aren't coming from just one direction.

• 23:35Speaker 04

  So we had waves of ten, fifteen meters from the northwest, waves of ten, fifteen meters from the southwest, both hitting the boat simultaneously, boat adding together and building up to heights of easily above twenty meters. It was very crazy. It looked like God was trying to invent the earth all over again.

• 24:00John Hopkins?

  Below deck, cupboard doors fly open and release their contents throughout the cabin. Arbelash frantically tunes his shortwave radio. Two of his fellow competitors are sailing nearby, an Irish sailor named Gregor McCuckin and a Dutchman Mark Slats. Arbelash contacts them both to inform them of his situation and to check on theirs.

• 24:23Speaker 04

  I got on the radio and I spoke with Gregor and with Mark Slats and Mark told us that he had a couple of knockdowns and it was quite bad for him. Gregor told us that after his knockdown, he lost the mizzen mast and boom. So, you know, it was completely gone.

• 24:43John Hopkins?

  Sounds like Gregor and Mark are faring even worse than he is. They agree to check in again in a couple of hours. Then they wish each other good luck and get off the radio.

• 24:56John Hopkins?

  Arbelash darts back to the cockpit. He watches grimly as another mountain of water crests fifty feet above him. The force of the wave knocks the raya flat against the surface of the ocean. Fortunately, she rights herself this time.

• 25:16John Hopkins?

  But the yacht continues to be hurled around by the monstrous swells. She's healed over forty-five degrees now, her barnacle-encrusted hull lifted out of the water. Arbelash clings to the sharply listing deck. He grabs the tiller, the lever used to steer the boat, and pulls with all his strength.

• 25:36Speaker 04

  I was using both my arms and I'd wedged my legs on the other side and I was pulling the tiller and the tiller was bending five degrees and still it was quite difficult to keep the boat sailing in any direction. And that's when a wave hit and my boat had another knock down.

• 25:54John Hopkins?

  Arbelash grabs the nearest handheld he can find.

• 25:58John Hopkins?

  The mizzen mast is a thirty-foot upright spar near the back of the boat. Arbelash clutches onto it as the yacht tips over a full, hair-raising one hundred and twenty degrees, plunging him beneath the icy, agitated surface.

• 26:15John Hopkins?

  Fully submerged, Arbelash wraps around the mast in a desperate, clawing bear hug. If he lets go, he'll be ripped away from his boat.

• 26:25John Hopkins?

  The power of the sea batters him, pulling him away from his lifeline. Suddenly, he loses his grip and slides further along the mast.

• 26:36Speaker 04

  I just humped the mizzen mast, right, so that I don't get separated from the boat. Now the mizzen mast buried underwater, I got separated from the hull and I went to the end of the mizzen.

• 26:50John Hopkins?

  Still underwater, Arbelash is now one rogue wave, one slip, from certain death. How long can he hold on like this?

• 27:02John Hopkins?

  Then, miraculously, he is lifted out of the water and hoisted into the air.

• 27:10Speaker 04

  Suddenly, the boat straightened and I was on top of the mizzen, which is about eight or nine meters tall.

• 27:17John Hopkins?

  While the mast flexes in the wind, Arbelash looks down.

• 27:22John Hopkins?

  Thirty feet below, it is a scene of devastation. The main mast has snapped clean off at the base. Downed lines and twisted metal stanchions entangle the deck.

• 27:35John Hopkins?

  Trembling with adrenaline, he tries to adjust his feet to begin to climb down the mast, which is when he loses his footing.

• 27:45John Hopkins?

  And the next thing he knows, he's falling, tumbling backwards through space, until he lands with a sickening crack.

• 27:58John Hopkins?

  His spine has borne the brunt of the fall. But Abhilash doesn't yet know the extent of the damage. Right now, he is stupefied, staring up at a broken length of rigging intersecting the storm-bound sky. Water continues to engulf the deck, sweeping over him in white, foamy torrents.

• 28:19John Hopkins?

  Gradually, he comes to his senses. He needs to get below deck, otherwise he'll be washed overboard. Abhilash crawls on his belly over to the hatch and drops down into the cabin.

• 28:33John Hopkins?

  Remarkably, what strikes him most is that it's a terrible mess. The floor is strewn with maps and tools. Still running on adrenaline, Abhilash sets about restoring some order, moving around on his hands and knees as he tidies up.

• 28:49Speaker 04

  After thirty minutes, when I tried to stand, my knees just collapsed and I fell. And then I pushed myself up. I pushed myself up using my arms and, you know, then I tried to stand, my knees collapsed again and I fell.

• 29:05John Hopkins?

  It's no use. He can't stand up. As the adrenaline fades, bolts of pain fire along his spine. Grimacing, he drags himself towards his bunk. Every movement triggers sharp spasms, like electrodes are hooked to his nerve endings.

• 29:23Speaker 04

  Finally, I crawled onto the bunk and sent a message on the satellite device saying, "Rolled, test mastered, severe back injury, cannot get up."

• 29:35John Hopkins?

  Abhilash lies there, stiff and shivering, listening to the storm rage outside.

• 29:47John Hopkins?

  After a few moments that feel like hours, the satellite phone beeps, a reply from Race HQ.

• 29:55Speaker 04

  He texted back saying that if you need rescue, you have to activate the emergency beacon.

• 30:01John Hopkins?

  Despite the race banning the use of modern technology, the competitors do carry with them an emergency kit of high-tech safety equipment for life and death moments like this one.

• 30:14John Hopkins?

  Abelash looks around, scanning the gloomy cabin.

• 30:19John Hopkins?

  A flickering light bulb illuminates the lurching floorboards, leading to a locked cabinet. That's where he keeps his satellite radio beacon.

• 30:29John Hopkins?

  Now is the time to accept the inevitable and activate the beacon. This will notify rescuers of his exact coordinates and disqualify him from the race. If only he could reach it.

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• 31:50John Hopkins?

  It's the following morning. The storm has passed.

• 31:55John Hopkins?

  Maskless Thariah and her injured skipper drift aimlessly on the undulating swell.

• 32:03John Hopkins?

  A film of sweat glistens on Abelash's skin.

• 32:08John Hopkins?

  With a suspected broken back, any hope of him finishing the race is now well and truly gone.

• 32:15Speaker 04

  From my experience, if you can locate the person,

• 32:19Speaker 04

  he will be saved. So, from my perspective, all I had to do was to make sure that my position was known to rescuers. And I had to be alive till rescue came. But to stay alive, I had to make sure that I did not panic.

• 32:36John Hopkins?

  His high-pressure job in the military has endowed Abhilash with a cool head. Staying calm will be relatively straightforward. It's being found that's the real problem.

• 32:49John Hopkins?

  He's been psyching himself up for several hours now. He can't delay any longer. He has to get to that emergency beacon.

• 32:58John Hopkins?

  Taking several steadying breaths, he is able to swing his legs out of his bunk and lower himself onto the floor. Gritting his teeth against the agonizing pain, he crawls across the cabin. He manages to open the cupboard

• 33:15John Hopkins?

  and remove the sealed bag that contains the emergency rescue gear. Without hesitating, he retrieves the beacon and activates it.

• 33:26John Hopkins?

  This tiny act is exhausting. But with it now done, Abhilash scoots slowly back over to the bunk and clambers in.

• 33:36John Hopkins?

  Now all he can do is wait.

• 33:39John Hopkins?

  Though, given his remote coordinates, rescue could be several days away.

• 33:45John Hopkins?

  This will be a monumental test of Abhilash's patience.

• 33:50John Hopkins?

  And as he lies there, he starts experiencing new and unexpected sources of discomfort.

• 33:57Speaker 04

  For some reason, my diaphragm got irritated. And I had these constant hiccups. And non-stop hiccups, you know, for hours and hours and hours. It just won't stop.

• 34:10John Hopkins?

  These relentless hiccups are testing his composure. It's like torture.

• 34:16John Hopkins?

  After a while, a particularly violent contraction forces vomit up through his throat. To his surprise and relief, this seems to have cleared up whatever was causing the hiccups, offering him a moment of peace. But the respite is short-lived.

• 34:33Speaker 04

  The hiccup started again, and this went on, you know, I vomited twice more. And that helped me sleep, but after the third time, there was nothing left in my stomach to vomit. And I was just not able to sleep.

• 34:48John Hopkins?

  Tormented by spasms and by the fiery burn of stomach acid, the wait is brutal.

• 34:55John Hopkins?

  Fortunately, Abhilash has experiences he can draw upon to keep himself centered.

• 35:00Speaker 04

  One of the tools that I had with me was the way we were trained at the Naval Academy. I made use of that experience, I made use of the meditation processes that I do to stay relatively mentally and emotionally healthy inside the boat.

• 35:19John Hopkins?

  Abhilash begins chanting, softly murmuring the various mantras that help him reach a state of emotional equilibrium.

• 35:27Speaker 04

  If I told myself that I'm going to be rescued by tomorrow evening, you know what happens to your mental state if you're not rescued by tomorrow evening. So I just wanted to be okay in that moment, and I just wanted to survive like that for however long it took.

• 35:47John Hopkins?

  One day bleeds into the next. He receives occasional updates from the organizers, reassurances that help is on its way.

• 35:56John Hopkins?

  But Abhilash doesn't let himself get his hopes up. Reliance on others will only fuel frustration and panic. He alone is equipped to help himself through this.

• 36:07Speaker 04

  Destiny is what happens to you. Like the storm was destiny, the fact that my spine broke was destiny. It's something that I had to accept. But how to respond to it, what to make of it, what sort of emotions to feel in response to what happened is what Freewill gave me.

• 36:27John Hopkins?

  And then there is his wife and his impending fatherhood.

• 36:32John Hopkins?

  In the long hours, Abhilash allows himself moments to consider the future with his newborn baby.

• 36:39Speaker 04

  It was not I need to get out of here to be with my child, but it was like when I get out of here, I'm looking forward to being with my child. You know, it was, it was that sort of thinking that I had. Of course, you're curious what your kid is going to look like. Will it be a boy or a girl? What are you going to name them? And I was looking forward to all these experiences.

• 37:01John Hopkins?

  Every now and then, the pain in Abhilash's back takes hold. He's barely able to move. And there's no escaping that this spinal injury could have lifelong repercussions.

• 37:13Speaker 04

  I even considered the eventuality of being permanently paralyzed. In my mind, there were scenarios where I'm rescued, but I'm paralyzed. I'm rescued, but it's late. I'm rescued, but it's early. But there was no scenario where I'm not going to be rescued. This is one thing that I was very certain and very confident of.

• 37:34John Hopkins?

  But Abhilash's confidence doesn't change the immense danger he is still in.

• 37:39John Hopkins?

  He is adrift in a dead zone, a place he himself has referred to as an oceanic black hole. Even with his satellite beacon transmitting his coordinates, finding his boat, a tiny speck on the endless blue expanse, will be like locating a missing shuttle in space.

• 37:59John Hopkins?

  And though he's able to stay calm for the time being, the question remains, how long will it take for his composure to break?

• 38:17John Hopkins?

  It's September the 24th, two days since the storm wrecked Abhilash's boat.

• 38:24John Hopkins?

  He lies in his bunk, meditating and chanting in a barely audible whisper. His chest burns and the pain in his back pulsates relentlessly.

• 38:36John Hopkins?

  Time stretches on. He stares at the ceiling, trying to keep himself measured. Over and over, he tells himself, help will come, help will come.

• 38:52John Hopkins?

  And then he hears it.

• 38:55John Hopkins?

  Craning his neck, Abilash peers through the porthole. There, bobbing on the swell just a few hundred feet from him is a French Fisheries Patrol vessel, Osiris. Rescue has arrived.

• 39:12John Hopkins?

  Moments later, an orange dinghy pulls up alongside Tharaya and a trio of rescuers climb aboard.

• 39:19Speaker 04

  And I remember three of the rescuers came inside and before they could enter the boat, they asked if they had my permission to come inside the boat. And I thought I was hallucinating.

• 39:32Speaker 04

  But they were real people, thankfully.

• 39:35John Hopkins?

  The rescuers slowly lift Abilash from his bunk and strap him into a stretcher, taking great care with his damaged spine. Then they load him into the dinghy and chug back across to the patrol vessel. Once he's safely stowed on board, Osiris, the captain switches on the motors.

• 39:56John Hopkins?

  Abilash turns his head.

• 39:59Speaker 04

  They strapped me up, put me on the boat, and as they were leaving, I wanted to have one last look at my boat. I tried, but I couldn't. I couldn't see my boat.

• 40:12John Hopkins?

  Tharaya and Abilash part ways. The boat lost in the watery vastness.

• 40:24John Hopkins?

  The rescue vessel makes its way to the island of New Amsterdam, a tiny volcanic outcrop halfway between Australia and Africa.

• 40:33John Hopkins?

  New Amsterdam has a transient population of about 20 people, most of whom work at the island's small climate research station.

• 40:42John Hopkins?

  There's also a rudimentary medical center, which is where Abilash is taken as soon as they arrive. He is immediately x-rayed and medicated with strong painkillers.

• 40:53John Hopkins?

  And although the scans don't reveal anything conclusive about his injuries, Abilash starts to feel some of the strength returning to his legs. Fears of paralysis, it seems, were premature.

• 41:06John Hopkins?

  Only a couple of days after arriving on the island, miraculously, he is able to stand on his own two feet.

• 41:15Speaker 04

  I went out for a walk with crutches. And I remember I took off my flip-flops and I walked on the wet grass bare feet. And one of those days, the Prime Minister of India phoned me to check how I was doing.

• 41:31John Hopkins?

  It's little wonder that Abhilash's endeavors have inspired so much excitement back home. His participation in this race was a historic first, and his forced withdrawal doesn't change that.

• 41:44Speaker 04

  This is the first time that anybody from India has even made it to the start line of a round-the-world race. So in that sense, it was a huge success. It was not somebody who was trailing or was just making up the numbers. And the way I got out of the race was spectacular. It was not because I embarrassed my family or felt lonely or, you know, some reason like that. I was not really frustrated that I was out of the boat, and I think I was already making a plan to return to the race.

• 42:18John Hopkins?

  True to form, Abhilash doesn't waste any time dwelling on the past. The next Golden Globe race will take place in four years' time. He intends to be ready for it.

• 42:34John Hopkins?

  Recuperating alongside him on New Amsterdam is Gregor McCocken, his fellow competitor, whose ship suffered a similar fate during the storm. The other affected sailor, Mark Slats, managed to avoid disaster and pressed on with the race. He will ultimately go on to finish second.

• 42:53John Hopkins?

  Four days after arriving on the island, Gregor is picked up by an Australian frigate. The two friends bid each other farewell. Maybe next time, luck will be on their side.

• 43:06John Hopkins?

  The following day, it's Abhilash's turn. An Indian navy warship reroutes to the island, collects the marooned sailor and takes him back to India.

• 43:16John Hopkins?

  He is immediately flown to a navy hospital, where further scans reveal the extent of the damage.

• 43:23Speaker 04

  I was put through an MRI machine, and when I came out of it, I was told that I had four fractures in the spine. And if I fell again, I would be properly paralyzed for the rest of my life.

• 43:36John Hopkins?

  Abhilash is incredibly lucky to have avoided more lasting damage. He is kept in hospital for two and a half weeks.

• 43:44Speaker 04

  On the 18th day, a neurosurgeon operated my spine. He fitted two titanium rods, fused five vertebrae into a single piece, and did some bone grafting and all that. And yeah, I was out of the operation theater.

• 44:01Speaker 05

  This holiday, all plans, even unlimited, are just $15 a month. A holiday deal this good obviously deserves an enormously expensive holiday song, like "All I Want..."

• 44:12Speaker 05

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• 44:20Speaker 06

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• 44:32Speaker 01

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• 44:58John Hopkins?

  Fresh for everyone. Restrictions apply. See site or store for details. Abhilash's new reinforced spine isn't the only thing that's changed. After leaving the hospital and travelling home, it's clear that life won't be returning to normal anytime soon.

• 45:15Speaker 04

  I come home in a wheelchair. I've got crutches. My wife is pregnant. And my bank account is in minus whatever, half a billion or something.

• 45:27John Hopkins?

  Abhilash begins a grueling six-month physical therapy program, slowly working his way back to fitness.

• 45:35John Hopkins?

  And as he picks up the pieces of his life, he decides not to let things go back to how they were before.

• 45:44John Hopkins?

  Four years after the birth of his son, he decides to quit the navy, to focus on sailing full-time, with the start line of the Golden Globe back in his sights.

• 45:57John Hopkins?

  He manages to secure a sponsor, buy a boat, and in September 2022, he sets off again from France, determined not to let the race beat him this time.

• 46:08John Hopkins?

  It very nearly does.

• 46:10Speaker 04

  I run into hundreds of thousands of problems. Nearly every part of the boat has a breakdown, except the toilet. In a storm, my back spasms and my right leg becomes inoperable. I deal with that. I do a lot of physioexercises to get my leg working again. I run out of food towards the end. I run out of water somewhere in the middle of the race. I'll fit all the problems and I finally cross the finish line in second position after spending 236 days at sea.

• 46:50John Hopkins?

  After returning home, Abhilash notices something different. The usual drive to push his limits to seek out the next big challenge isn't there this time.

• 47:02John Hopkins?

  Perhaps with a second-place finish in the Golden Globe, his achievements have finally caught up with his ambition. Or perhaps it's that parenthood has a way of altering one's perspectives.

• 47:16Speaker 04

  I love taking risk. The problem with taking this sort of a risk, racing around the world alone, is that if anything goes wrong, my family has to bear the brunt of it.

• 47:29Speaker 04

  A small mistake could mean that my kids might end up growing up without a father. So, yeah, I think I'll take different kinds of risks and keep myself happy.

• 47:47John Hopkins?

  While Arbelash lay below deck on Tharaya, waiting for rescue with a shattered spine, staying calm meant dealing with what was happening right there and then, not contemplating unhelpful what-ifs.

• 48:01John Hopkins?

  Following his completion of the second Golden Globe, Arbelash says he adopts a similar mentality. Instead of focusing on the next race, the next record, he shifts his attention to the present and appreciates what he already has in front of him.

• 48:17Speaker 04

  Instead of looking at that point in the future, that alternate reality where everything is fine and things are not the way it is right now. Instead of looking at that alternate reality, I just started focusing on the present, the right now, and I made it my only objective to be comfortable with whatever is happening right now. Well, it's a philosophy that I've grown up with that helped me survive.

• 48:52John Hopkins?

  Next time on Real Survival Stories, we meet humanitarian aid worker Jeff Frazier. In April 2023, Jeff is in Haiti to facilitate a food relief program when he is taken hostage by a criminal gang.

• 49:08John Hopkins?

  Trapped in a fortified compound, Jeff must negotiate with his captors and forge bonds with his fellow hostages, praying every day that he will eventually make it home to his family. About 20% of kidnapping victims are killed in the process. You hope that the calculus...

• 49:27Speaker 05

  Plays out in your favor so that they see you as more valuable alive than dead. But how certain are you that they're gonna do that math?

• 49:41John Hopkins?

  That's next time on Real Survival Stories.

• 49:45John Hopkins?

  Listen now without waiting a week by subscribing to Noiser Plus.

• 49:50Speaker 00

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• 49:56Speaker 01

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• 50:14Speaker 05

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• 50:38Speaker 06

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