Campaign ManagerA Plan
It all began when José Salvador Alvarenga an efficient sailor and fisherman and also a native of El Salvador thought of going on a small fishing expedition. Going on expeditions in search of fishes, crabs, and other aquatic animals is one of the most usual things that fishermen do. Just like other fishermen, the 35-year-old Alvarenga planned the expedition with his friend and fishing companion Ray Perez.
Preparation
It was November 2012, and the day of the expedition was approaching. The two were about to sail towards the ocean from Cost Azul, a village located on the shore of Chiapas, Mexico. Everything had been planned beforehand. According to the plan the deep sea fishing expedition was going to last for 30 hours spanning the whole night and a day. After collecting enough mahi-mahi, fresh tuna, sailfish, marlins, and shark they would head back to their village. If their plan succeeds they would earn enough income for a week by the catch.
Dilemma
For some reason, Perez had to back out of it that caused a dilemma for Alvarenga. Should he go on the expedition without him or not? The withdrawal was made in last minute so finding an accompanier on such a short notice was quite a feat for Alvarenga. But his desire to go on the expedition was too strong to get tamed by any problem like this. He decided to look for another guy who could go with him on the expedition.
Getting Someone Else!
The search of Alvarenga came to an end when he met Ezequiel Córdoba, a 23-year-old man residing in the remotest corner of the lagoon. Ezequiel agreed to go on the trip if paid a sum of $50. Called Piñata by the village locals, he had a flair for soccer and was a member of village soccer team which also means that he did not have much idea about the fish expedition. Moreover, both of them had never heard of each other until their confrontation on this occasion. It was to see how the people who barely knew each other hours ago were going to survive the voyage together. The beginning itself was revealing that the journey was going to be quite interesting.
Easy Money
The boat also had several technical and electronic devices to be taken in use in emergency situation. However, most of them needed attention. But the two-way battery was only half filled and GPS wasn’t waterproof. Alvarenga did not bother to mend them as he had never felt the need of using them in his past voyages and did not see any possibility of using them this time. Along with all these devices, he also had a mobile phone that he used to keep inside a packet so that it remains dry.
All Done
Alvarenga was right! In a matter of a day, they managed to catch 1,100 pounds (500 kg) that filled the cooler to its brim. Now, the duo thought of driving back home as they had caught enough fishes and most importantly, the boat was becoming unstable with so much load. Just when they turn the boat towards the shore something horrible happened.
Storm
An unannounced storm had engulfed the ocean! In a matter of a second, the water surrounding the voyagers began to make loud noises and the sky started getting struck by heart shuddering thunder. Unfortunately, Alvarenga who had not expected this situation had not made any preparation for that. The two started pleading for the storm to get calm on their rocking boat. But that was just the beginning.
Water Spilled Over Plan
Ezequiel Córdoba who was too naive to deal with this situation began to pour water out of the boat. He was so frightened that he remained clung to the boat’s railings for a while and screamed hopelessly for help. Unfortunately, there was no one who could listen to them. Alvarenga being an experienced sailor knew that only way out of this trouble is to get the boat back to land. They were 50 miles (80 km) away from the shore.
Steering Back To Home
Alvarenga wading through the strong waves steered the boat towards the storm. No doubt, it was an uphill task navigating and driving the boat in the middle of a life-threatening storm. The sea was churning up causing the boat turning and tossing continuously. After a while fighting the storm, the two finally took a sigh of relief when they saw a mountain and that is when something happened that would have been the last thing to expect.
“Willy! Willy! Willy!”
José Alvarenga rushed towards the radio to send his boss Willy, SOS. The radio was half charged but Alvarenga had no time to take note of that. It seemed they were not completely out of luck as his boss answered him at once. “Willy! Willy! Willy. The motor is ruined!” said Alvarenga. On which Willy replied, “Calm down, man, give me your coordinates.” Willy waited for him to provide him with their location when another realization dawned upon Alvarenga. No doubt, today was the worst day of his life.
No Location
Everything was falling apart! First came the unexpected rain then just when they were about to reach land their boat stopped functioning and now the GPS had gone defunct due to the storm. Without GPS it was difficult for Willy and rescue team to locate the boat. However, Willy came up with another idea, he told Alvarenga to place an anchor that would make their boat perceivable from the sky. Sadly, Alvarenga did not have that too. He had left it home as he thought the object would not come into use this time too. However, Willy kept telling him that he would send someone to rescue them but with no traces of their boat, it seemed impossible. 
Failed Search Mission
Willy wasted no time and brought Chiapas authorities into the loop. The authorities immediately took the matter into their hands and sent out a boat in the sea that looked for them. Honestly, the chances of finding the two were thin as there was no clue about their location despite that the team kept finding them. Subsequently, an airborne team took out the search operation that looked for the boat for about 48 hours. However, the air team too failed to locate the boat owing to the failing visibility.
Time Goes By
Every cloud has a silver lining! The sea too taught some useful lessons to Alvarenga. He learned that storms are easy to deal with and weaker as he floated further out. He calculated time by observing the waxing and waning of the moon. If we go by his calculation till now it had been 14 lunar cycles since he got lost in the sea. Which implies that he had been staying alone in the sea for about ten months now.
Land At Last
One day while he was in his boat, he saw a group of birds passing over his boat when he looked straight he saw a piece of land. Surrounded by water all around, the size of the land was similar to a football field. Initially, he thought of it as a product of his imagination but despite that, he decided to trust his eyes. It was going to be risky because if it was nothing more than a hallucination, there was a chance of his going stray in some other direction.
Making The Way
First, he did away with the buoys so that his boat does not float back or withdraw and steered right in the direction of the green filled island. The tiny island was looking wild and forlorn. With no anchor no doubt he was running the risk of getting his boat capsized, but it was worth it.
