The Shocking True Castaway Incredible Survivor Story (Thomas Musgrave)

You've seen the movie Castaway and you're obviously now a bit of an expert on how to survive on a desert island in the middle of the ocean. First you do a reconnaissance to see if there is anyone else on the island and if there is anything to eat, such as bananas conveniently hanging from the trees or any wandering animals. Nothing; It looks like you'll have to make a spear to be able to fish in shallow water. Well, that turns out to be harder than I thought. At least you managed to collect some rainwater after your shower, using a large leaf as a receptacle.

You are also aware that if you don't find something shaped like a head and proceed to draw eyes and a nose on it, you could lose your head. You call him "Rocky." If it's a girl, you can call her "Coco" or "Shelly." In reality, the chances of surviving on an uninhabited island for a long time are slim. If you wash without tools, you may find yourself in a bind. Even if you found the most important thing, drinking water, you will still have to build a shelter, craft a hunting tool, and actually be able to hunt. In fact, if there is anything available to kill.

But some people have survived, and we will now introduce you to Captain Thomas Musgrave, a man whose

story

is nothing short of amazing. He was born in England in 1832, but at the age of 16 he set out to sail the seas for the first time. He made a career out of this, but when his ship, the Grafton, left Australia on 12 November 1863 to pursue mining and sealing opportunities, his life would change forever. A crew of just five headed first to Campbell Island, which is part of New Zealand's subantarctic islands. Frankly, it's in the middle of nowhere, but on that island it was believed there would be tin to mine and the boys left.

They also had a backup plan, because if they didn't find tin they could at least hunt some seals and, upon their return, sell the skins and oil. Sometimes life throws you a curveball, and after reaching that remote place the boys couldn't find any cans to extract, and besides, it seemed like the seals hadn't shown up for the hunting party. They could not return empty-handed as explorations were an expensive undertaking. They decided to head to Auckland Island and explore there. It was a Thursday, December 31, 1863, not a good day for a sailor. Strong winds buffeted the ship; Water broke in all directions and a thick fog surrounded the ship.

These poor conditions persisted, but on New Year's Day the men sighted the island. As they approached, they saw a large number of seals, which lifted the men's spirits, but then bad weather hit the ship again. They managed to drop both anchors, but due to strong winds, heavy rain and rough seas, they were unable to stabilize the ship. About midnight a violent gale threw the ship against the rocks. Water rushed into the ship and before long the ocean spilled onto her deck. The men abandoned all hope of pumping the water and instead gathered as many supplies as they could.

The ship was wrecked; It was a lost cause. However, they got close enough to the island to gather their things and abandon ship. At least they were alive, but none of those five men could imagine what awaited them. They had some food with them. They had tools, as well as a gun and gunpowder. As shelter they could use parts of the ship, including the sails. They got to work. A week passed and the men had not been able to do much due to the terrible weather and high winds, but when things improved they got to work on the shelter.

With the wood from the ship and the fabric from the sails, it wasn't that difficult to build a shelter. It helped that one of the crew members had experience with this and at least had a combination hammer, something similar to an ax and a drill. Over time, they had a stable cabin to live in. Soon I would have a chimney so I could have a fire in the place and let the smoke out. It had a table, and to sleep on it the men made what looked like stretchers. Weeks went by and supplies were running out, but those seals were practically everywhere.

The men heard them roar in their sleep, which was like music to their ears. In fact, when they woke up there were seals right outside their shelter, so the closest one got it and it ended up being seal meat. Living on seal meat alone wasn't exactly the best diet and the men didn't want to get scurvy, so they began looking for other food sources. Luckily, there were mosquitoes around the island, which are like ducks. They were very tasty. The boys also discovered that older seals tasted horrible, but if they could get a pup that had never been in the water, it was delicious.

Upon eating it for the first time, Musgrave commented, "It tastes like lamb!" It turned out that the larger seals didn't really like the two-legged animals taking their pups and sometimes resisted. They were soon frightened when the men fired a gun. However, it wasn't always seal for dinner. The boys also ate a lot of fish and crabs. As desert islands go, sometimes it wasn't the worst of places. However, as the months passed, the men began to wonder how long it would take for an expedition to find them, or if anyone was looking for them. The fact was, those guys had long been thought to be dead.

Only two months had passed when Musgrave wrote in his diary: “I am in a very bad mood today, and I know that a loved one in Sydney is too; because I have no doubt that at this point they have given me up for lost, and what will become of my dear wife and my children? May God, to whom only they can now turn for comfort, care for and protect them, be my constant and fervent prayer. “I will never forgive myself for having participated in this company.” What could they do to pass the time? Well, they worked on that house of theirs and with all the wood they needed they turned it into a pretty decent abode.

It protected from the cold, had a work area, a kitchen area and a warm fire. Plus, they had managed to keep the mosquitoes away, which had been a nuisance. On some seal clubbing days, things didn't always go as planned. In fact, on one particular day, a tiger seal had taken offense at being beaten by his young friends and one of the men had to hide in a tree until the others came to rescue him. What Musgrave would call “pitched battles” with seals would become quite common. After the months passed, the main battle was against misery. The days were long and the weather terrible, and the men lost all hope of ever leaving the island.

They played and made their own dominoes, but there wasn't much they could do to keep their spirits up. Their spirits improved considerably when one of the men made a breakthrough. What was that you might ask? The answer is that the man had managed to make his own "hooch", a kind of prison beer that he didn't taste too bad. He made it from a flower that grew all over the island and then fermented. They now had beer on tap as long as they wanted and it also became another part of their mixed diet. After a few months and many drinks, they had also taught the parrots that they had to talk, which they found somewhat amusing.

Still, on May 15, Musgrave wrote: “Oh my goodness! How long will this last? Oh, free me from this bondage! Night and morning, day and in my dreams, I offer you my prayers.” They had better fishing techniques, but in June the seals disappeared and their main food source disappeared. The water was warmer and the seals spent most of their time in the water. Hunting them became difficult. Now hunger came. Months passed and the seals returned. The men had food, but they had no hope of seeing any ships sailing near the island. In October Musgrave wrote: “It would be impossible for me to convey to anyone any idea of ​​my present state of mind.

I am anything but crazy; If that happened, it would most likely be a relief.” It was that month that the men realized they had to leave the island. Food was not always available and there were periods of terrible hunger. His health was affected; some had been injured while hunting and exploring. Things weren't looking good. Building a boat to navigate rough waters is not as easy as the movies make it out to be, and without an expert or even a carpenter, Musgrave wrote that the idea of ​​simply making a boat that wouldn't sink in a second seemed like a farce to him. .

Nevertheless, the men collected as many pieces of the wreckage as they could and discussed how they would build this thing. If anything, they had time during the day to think and build. In addition to the bouts of hunger, the men managed to start making something that looked seaworthy. Musgrave wrote: “I hope we succeed. It is very

true

that with energetic perseverance men can work wonders, and our success would by no means constitute a miracle. “All the men are very optimistic and I have no doubt that we will be able to do something that will take us to New Zealand.” Sanguine means "positive", if you didn't know.

More than a year passed and there were unsuccessful attempts to launch his homemade boat. Some days we spent fixing that thing, others starving and looking for larvae to eat. Musgrave put his diary aside for months and then, in the spring, picked it up again. The men are in what he calls a deplorable state, skinny and dressed in rags. Sometimes they face a “terrible famine” and almost want to bite their hands. In June Musgrave wrote: “We all suffered a violent attack of dysentery at about the same time. We have all recovered from this; But I have rheumatic pain and cramps left, which in all probability will accompany me throughout my life.” But it is time to launch the ship, although they accept that there is little chance of success.

They won't survive much longer on the island, but the thought of drowning also weighs heavily on their minds. One thing that lifted their spirits was the discovery of a cat, who stayed with them while they finished their boat. On June 27 they launched the ship, which was so terrifying that some of the men wanted to return to the island. After attempting to set sail, it became clear that five men were too heavy. It was decided that two men would stay behind and that if the others returned home a ship would be sent to pick them up. The three eventually managed to sail to Stewart Island, which was inhabited.

There they met Captain Cross, the first human they had seen in 18 months. This is what Musgrave wrote: “When we landed I could not stand, but they took me to that gentleman's house, where they immediately prepared us something to eat, of which I ate sparingly; because I felt very bad and I couldn't eat.” Weeks passed, but the men and Captain Cross finally returned to the island where they hoped the two that remained were still alive. This is how Musgrave described this joyful encounter: “One of them, the cook, seeing me, turned pale as a ghost and staggered to a post, on which he leaned for support, as he was evidently about to fall.

Fainting; while the other, George, took my hand in his and shook my arm vigorously, crying, 'Captain Musgrave, how is he, how is he?'” What is more

incredible

is that four months after those men were shipwrecked on that island, another ship had been destroyed and another group of sailors were trying to survive on another part of the island. Both groups had no idea the other was on the island. In that other boat only 19 of the 25 men made it to shore and the rest drowned. They were not as lucky and there was less to eat, and in the end only three survived when they were spotted by a passing ship.

Some died of hunger; others were abandoned. In his case, it was every man for himself, rather than the collaboration Musgrave enjoyed with his men. One of those three

survivor

s said things were bleak and at one point two men got into a fight and one killed the other. The next morning, the winner of that fight was eating the loser. If you like survival stories, we have other

incredible

stories of a different type of survival for you. Try one of these amazing videos, “The Chernobyl Suicide Squad: 3 Men Who Averted an Even Worse Nuclear Disaster” or “The Only Man to Survive TWO Nuclear Bombs.”