the incredible voyage of the kandukaree

The story is about the fishermen from Sri Lanka that that was shipwrecked and drifted a thousand miles away from their country in four months. How they survived? And that's my story for today Sunel Adambarage, 24, Cyril Hendavitharana,.19, Nimal Guneratne, 17 were young fishermen in their village. One day they sailed for their livelihood but they were conked out in the middle of the ocean. They try to seek help from other fisherman but of no avail. They shouted until their throats ached, but still no one heard them and they soon find they were alone, adrift into their 28ft, open wooden boat, the Kandukaree.

It grew dark and and as the evening breeze sweeps it leads them that it might carry them back to land and they slept. But they awoke in surprise for they could not see even a glimmer from the lighthouse, they were carried far away from their land. Their families waited for them to come back, they searched all the shores in the land, seek help from authorities. Many people helped in the search and rescue for the three cousins but they did not find them until they concluded that the Kandukaree had sunked. Many days past and in order for them to know how many days past, they carved on the boat's rail to keep track of the days. There are time that they almost get rescued by a ship but the ship steamed on and disappeared, and it was so discouraging for them to survive. They manage to survive, they ate raw fish and come to a point were they drink their own urine because of scarcity of rainfall. Weeks past, they began blaming one another that one of them had a bad karma and that may cause them to suffer. They even think of losing their life by jumping unto the sea but Nimal the youngest, don't want to die until they agreed to stick to the boat until the end.

Months passed and their bodies weaken especially the youngest and caused him to die.

Sunel was about to carve 102 into the rail, he saw on the horizon a palm-fringed island an he screamed and shouted until they were rescued by a foreign fishing boat. From Sri Lanka to Indonesia, that was the incredible voyage of Kandukaree for almost four months of sailing. At last they have a joyful reunion with their families.