Stranded in the Pacific waters alone on his damaged catamaran with nowhere to dock, and with a satellite phone his only means of contacting his family, a Singaporean sailor's three-year expedition went awry just six weeks after he set sail in February.
But the 59-year-old, who wanted to be known only as Mr Wong, told The Sunday Times he felt he did not have the option of panicking.
"When you're in the ocean, how to be scared? There's no point," he said in an phone interview yesterday.
The sailor was eventually led ashore to Fiji by a Fijian navy patrol boat on April 29, after more than a month out at sea.
His predicament was highlighted last Thursday in a Facebook post by Minister for Foreign Affairs Vivian Balakrishnan, who thanked the Fijian government for its assistance and "going out of their way to help" the Singaporean sailor, who had been turned away by a number of countries that closed their borders due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Mr Wong, who was put under observation at a Fijian hospital for two days and has been discharged, told ST he is feeling fine and healthy. He is able to return to his yacht, named Ximula, but is barred from leaving Fiji for at least another month due to the island-nation's lockdown measures. Mr Wong, who owns a furnishing manufacturing company in Singapore, had set sail on Feb 2 with two friends.
Inspired by another friend who had sailed from the United States to Polynesia, he intended to sail to the latter over four months and then spend the next "two or three years cruising" around the picturesque region.
But with the pandemic worsening and nations shutting borders, he soon ran into trouble.
After leaving the Indonesian coastal city of Jayapura on March 19 alone - his two companions had left the yacht as scheduled because of work commitments - he later learnt that his destination, neighbouring Papua New Guinea, had shut its borders.
He tried to dock at the Solomon Islands, some 2,000km away, but was also turned away. He attempted to reach Tuvalu, another 2,000km away, but was told he could not dock even before he reached its port on April 21.
"By then, I had been out at sea for almost a month and my diesel and food supplies were running low," said Mr Wong, who managed to convince the Tuvalu authorities to let him buy some supplies. He spent US$1,400 (S$1,980) on 1,000 litres of diesel and some food, and went on his way, unsure of where else he could go.
Worse, his ability to steer safely was compromised as his yacht's rudder was damaged after hitting a coral reef. His yacht's autopilot device was also faulty.
"In those waters, it is difficult to sail alone without the autopilot, especially when I need to use the toilet, cook or sleep," he explained.
With few options, he called his daughter with the satellite phone to seek assistance from Singapore's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA).
Mr Wong's 31-year-old daughter, who asked not to be named, told ST: "Our family was already concerned when he started getting turned away by some countries, and we panicked but my dad was calm, as he usually is.
"The fact he called and said we should call MFA meant the situation was quite urgent."
She also reached out to her constituency's MP, and received a swift assurance from MFA that the matter was being urgently dealt with.
Despite the unfortunate turn of events, Mr Wong is still keen on continuing his planned expedition.
An adventure-seeker, he often sails the seas to explore littleknown islands inhabited by "10 or 20 families", where he says he is humbled by the hospitality of the islanders. In return, he snaps pictures of them and prints the photos on his mini-printer for the families as keepsakes.
His wife, daughter and son were due to join him in Tahiti next month, but they might now head to Fiji instead.
"For now, I will stay here, spend the time to repair my yacht, and explore the Fiji mainland," said Mr Wong, adding that this was his first time there.
"I'm just very thankful to everyone who has helped me, from the MFA in Singapore to the Fijian government."
