Riddle of the British Crusoe cast adrift on Crocodile Island
I’m staying put, pensioner lost at sea in canoe tells rescuers
A BRITISH pensioner who was feared dead when he went missing on a canoe trip in Thailand has emerged as a real-life Robinson Crusoe after he was found alive on a desert island – which he then refused to leave.
Rescuers said Michael Smith, 74, who was using his blanket as a makeshift tent, was enjoying the peaceful lifestyle so much he wanted to stay longer.
With the light fading they were forced to return to the mainland and let the adventurer fend for himself on notorious Crocodile Island, seven miles off the Thai coast in treacherous waters that have wrecked several local fishing boats.
That was on Wednesday evening – and although the search party intended to return after Mr Smith agreed to leave with them the next day, it was still unclear last night if he had left the island yet or what he has to eat and drink.
Friends of the pensioner alerted police when he failed to return after going out to sea for his first ever paddle in a plastic stic canoe in Chumphon province on Tuesday. ay. A huge search operation was launched, with coastguards and scuba divers scouring the coast for nearly two days. He was finally tracked down on Wednesday evening on the
‘Happy and comfortable’
beach of Ko Chorakhe which means Crocodile Island and is socalled because of its shape. The small uninhabited island – which has dense trees in the middle and two beaches – is feared for the rough waters and dangerous rocks that surround it.
However, to the rescuers’ surprise, the pensioner informed them he was ‘happy and comfortable’, according to the head of the province’s marine rescue service.
Pictures show the white-bearded pensioner, wearing a backwards white cap, a long shirt and green trousers, seemingly relaxed as he chats to rescuers on the rocky beach under the shelter of a tree.
Surrounded by his belongings in waterproof bags, he had hung up his clothes to dry and had fashioned a tent by tying his blanket to a tree. The lightweight green canoe lay on large sharp rocks further along the beach.
After he insisted he wanted to spend more time on the island, rescuers decided it was too risky for them to stay any longer and were forced to leave him to the mercy of nature as they returned to the safety of the mainland. They asked local fisherman to keep a look out for him and intended to return on Thursday to try again to persuade him to leave. But it is not known if they succeeded.
Marine rescue chief Watcharin Suwipis said: ‘The island is small and rocks make it uninhabitable. Usually nobody dares to stay there, and during storms the wrecks of fishing boats have been found floating there. Mr Michael said he was happy and felt comfortable. He was determined to go to sleep on the island.’ Mr Suwipis said rescuers felt that trying to evacuate Mr Smith against his will at night was too risky.
He added: ‘The man promised that he would return in the morning so we let him stay on the island as he desired.’