Condiments Company Offers To Buy A Boat For Man Who Survived With Just Ketchup And Seasonings While Lost At Sea
Feb 24, 2023 by apost team
Heinz is looking for a man who survived being lost at sea for 24 days just by eating ketchup and seasonings. The food processing and condiments company announced its plans to buy him a new sailboat and asked the world for help in locating the sailor.
In a post on Instagram on Feb. 14, 2023, Heinz said that they are hoping to celebrate the "safe return home" of Elvis Francois, the man from Dominica who was rescued at sea by the Colombian Navy in December 2022. However, efforts to find him have been without positive results so Heinz was hoping to get a direct message from someone with information.
Francois was repairing his sailboat at an island near his home in St. Maarten amid bad weather and this swept him onto the open sea. Despite trying to get back to the port, the man encountered one mishap after another and became disoriented. According to WRTV, he did not have any navigation skills.
His sailboat was supposed to have a ship-to-shore communication tool, but this died on him after calling a few contacts. With the service gone, there was nothing else he could do but wait for someone to come for him.
As the days dragged on, Francois attempted to send a distress signal by lighting a fire, but this also failed. Worse, his sailboat had a leak, so he needed to bail water every now and then.
There was no food aboard save for a bottle of ketchup, some garlic powder, and seasoning cubes. He ate these contents by mixing them up with some water just so his body could get some nutrients.
Finally, a plane spotted Francois' sailboat with the word "HELP" spelled out on the hull. He was 120 nautical miles away from Puerto Bolivar in Colombia.
A doctor assessed Francois' health immediately after his rescue on Jan. 15, 2023, and he was diagnosed to be in good health despite losing some weight as he had no proper food for 24 days. Since he did not need medical help, the Colombian Navy and the coast guard processed his return to Dominica.
"At some point, I lost hope and thought about my family, but I thank the coast guard," Francois said. "If it weren't for them I wouldn't be telling the story."
Francois had to abandon his dilapidated boat at sea after he was picked up by his rescuers. Since hearing of the incident, Heinz has been trying to get in touch with Francois by talking to the Colombian Navy and the Dominican government. However, the company received mostly impersonators claiming to be the man who was lost at sea.
Weeks after Heinz's plea for help to locate Francois, he appeared in a Facebook Live video post on Feb. 22, 2023. He admitted that it was hard to reach him because he didn't have a phone. Someone from Heinz saw the live video and posted a comment stating that they would get in touch with the people who filmed Francois so they could finally arrange the boat's delivery.
There's no actual confirmation of the brand of ketchup Francois ate to sustain his body. Regardless, Heinz remains determined to gift him with a new state-of-the-art sailboat.
Francois has not been back in the water since his rescue, but he said his experience has not made him afraid of the water. He’ll get to do this again once he has his gift.
apost.com
Elvis Francois must have lost all hope until his rescue! What do you think of Heinz's gesture to give him a new boat? Tell your friends and family about this wonderful story!