Mast snapped, fuel gone: American man rescued after drifting in Pacific for over a month

An American man who set out to sail solo across the Pacific Ocean was rescued by a container ship bound for Hawaii after drifting for more than a month.

Kai Sato, 39, left Catalina Island, California, on June 7 heading for Hawaii when his voyage went adrift, according to the New York Post, Hawaii News Now and other media outlets.

Two weeks into the journey, the mast of his yacht snapped. His fuel and cellphone battery ran out, and the vessel drifted off course, pushed south by ocean currents.

"I cried for a whole week. I was miserable just drifting further and further south," Sato told media outlets, describing his situation as being like "a sitting duck."

His only food was leftover oatmeal and fish and squid that jumped onto the deck. For water, he collected condensation from seawater he kept in a bucket, surviving by licking the droplets.

Sato fashioned a makeshift mast from PVC pipe and a kayak paddle and spent nearly a month working his way back to the shipping lane between California and Hawaii. A vessel heading to Hawaii spotted him Tuesday.

"It was absolutely euphoric," he said of the rescue. "I was crying, I was so happy, and the crew brought me fruit and water. They were so good to me."

Sato is currently staying with relatives in Hawaii. He said he is already planning his next voyage — a trip to the Philippines on a larger boat.

Long-term Pacific drifts ending in rescue are not without precedent. In 2023, Australian Tim Shaddock was rescued by a Mexican tuna fishing vessel after drifting for more than two months with his dog. In 2017, two women from Hawaii were rescued by the US Navy after drifting far off course for five months while sailing to Tahiti.