The Old (Liar) and the Sea

Ahoy, and welcome to I’dRatherBeSailing; this week we have a short but spicy roundup. Let’s get into it:

• The Old (Liar) and the Sea: The man who cried tuna.

• Race Updates: Spain wins SailGP in LA, Rolex Fastnet derailed.

• Sailing Snippets: Collapsible Catamaran, a Below Deck leak.

The Old (Liar) and the Sea

Tall tales and sailing go together like PB&J.

Timothy Shaddock and his dog were rescued after being stranded at sea for 3 months, surviving on raw fish and rainwater.

Bullsh*t.

Why? Well you’ve probably heard the story circulating this week, but if you haven’t, here’s the lowdown: Shaddock departed from La Paz aboard Aloha Toa on a journey to French Polynesia (4,000nm) aboard his catamaran with his Dog, but was stranded after a storm ripped off his sail, knocked out his electronics, and his ability to cook. Unable to steer, navigate, or cook, he was adrift for 3 months, surviving on raw tuna, before being found by a tuna boat’s spotting helicopter…

Or, he made the whole thing up.

The heartwarming story starts to cool a little when you put your Sherlock Sailing Hat on. A lightening strike could knock out your electronics, sure. But your galley? How does lightening knock out propane. So then you wonder, surely he would’ve used his backup sat phone or activated his EPIRB. Surely he had backup safety electronics for such a journey? It turns out, he did! He was in contact with his family the whole time, he just didn’t want to call for help, “because of my pride.” So he wasn’t really lost. Now, how he kept his sat phone charged for 3 months without any electronics is a mystery, for sure.

Without a sail, he was stranded. Without a backup sail, he was unprepared. Without a backup sail on a 4,000nm ocean crossing, he was negligent. Or maybe he was just lying. Maybe he was only ‘adrift’ for a few days or weeks before being ‘rescued’.

He certainly would not be the first man to lie about what happened out at sea. Ahem, Donald Crowhurst.

It turns out that in 2013, Tim Shady, I mean Tim Shaddock, appears to have claimed he cured his cancer with an all raw food diet. How convenient a narrative would it be to survive the high seas on a coincidentally raw diet. The theory is that if one wanted to say, sell a book on a miraculous survival and the benefits of a weird diet, this would be a great marketing stunt. So there you have it Watson, the motive! We’ll call this the case of The Man Who Cried Tuna.

We’ll be on the lookout to see if he happens to release a book soon.

The worst part of it all, is that if he really was stranded out there for three months with the ability to call for help, that he put his dog through the whole ordeal. That dog did not deserve to suffer that. He also dishonors every sailor that genuinely gets lost at sea, without the ability to call for help. Shame on you Tim Shady.

Below are some links to further explore the story.

This piece on why he didn’t make a rescue call, and the case of the mysterious ‘hurricane’.

This piece that covers the full story, and includes video of the rescue.

Readers, what do you think about this story? Does smell fishy to you? We’d love to hear your thoughts in the comment box at the end.

Sailing Snippets

Great-granddaughters of disputed 1923 sailing champion set sail in Chicago-to-Mackinac race: You can read the local report here.

Lawson Missing off Mexico: Donald Lawson, who is attempting to break a single handed speed circumnavigation record, has been reported overdue after missing a checkin with his wife. The story is here.

Below Deck S5 Leak: Leaks are never good on a sailboat, but this is the good kind of leak. Parsifall III was spotted in Ibiza, so it looks like next seasons frictions and flirtations will be in the Med. Check out the very important reporting here.

Collapsible Catamaran: IZIBoat, designed by a self taught windsurfer and meant to make sailing more accessible, as designed a collapsible catamaran capable of being towed by bike, and set up in less than 15 minutes. The IZIBoat website is taking preorders for delivery in 2024, but their website is in french, so you can check out a press release for more info here.