Alain Bombard, who died in southern France on Tuesday aged 80, set off in 1952 to cross the Atlantic in a 15-ft inflatable dinghy equipped with a sextant, fishing apparatus, nylon filter, some books, a pair of oars and a single sail.
Bombard was inspired by Thor Heyerdhal's 1947 Kon Tiki expedition which had proved that it was possible to cross the oceans on a rudimentary raft, living on a diet of fish gathered en route. But Heyerdahl had not established whether it was possible to survive for long without supplies of fresh water, a common problem for sailors forced to abandon ship. Bombard, a physician with an interest in survival at sea, wanted to prove that shipwrecked sailors could live on what nature provides.
Sea water is known to cause diarrhoea and damage to the kidneys, and there were numerous stories of shipwrecked sailors dying in horrible pain after drinking salt water to quench their thirst. Bombard's theory was that, in many cases, these sailors had abstained from drinking as long as possible, dehydrating their systems. When, in desperation, they resorted to sea water, they absorbed too much and died. The human system, he suggested, could absorb sea water provided it was drunk in small quantities and taken continuously.
Bombard discovered that Polynesians knew how to get drinking water from the sea by taking large fish such as shark or tuna, making a V-shaped cut in them and drinking the liquid which formed at the base of the cut. In experiments with a home-made fish-pressing apparatus, he found that by mixing water from the fish with small quantities of sea water, it was possible to obtain "a very pleasant drink, not unlike Vichy water". Nor did he feel that there was any need for fresh fruit to ward off scurvy, as plankton is rich in vitamin C and, filtered from the sea with a special net, would contain all the nutrients required.
In August 1952 Bombard set off from Monaco with Jack Palmer, a British-born Panamanian navigator, aboard the Zodiac dinghy l'Hérétique. After Palmer dropped out at Tangier, Bombard went on alone, hoping to reach Barbados. During his 62-day voyage, he weathered heavy seas and his boat was holed by swordfish. Six times he nearly drowned.
For 53 days he survived on a diet of raw fish and plankton and drank rainwater and up to a pint-and-a-half of sea water a day. Twelve days before completing his voyage he went aboard the British steamer Arakaka and accepted a meal of an egg, an apple and some vegetables before soldiering on. He had a radio message sent to his wife in Paris saying that he was well, and asked the BBC to play one of Bach's Brandenburg Concertos for him on Christmas Day.
Bombard was written off in France as "Docteur Fou", for he got no support for his theories from doctors, and marine experts had little confidence in his boat's ability to weather the journey. When he finally arrived in Barbados on December 23 1952, he had lost 55 lb in weight and needed hospital treatment. Though admitting he did "not feel too well inside", he was confident that he had confounded his critics.
Alain Louis Bombard was born in Paris on October 27 1924 and attended medical school in the city. He began work in the cardiology department of a hospital at Boulogne-sur-Mer, where his interest in survival at sea was sparked by the recovery of the bodies of 21 sailors who had died after their trawler was shipwrecked.
In preparation for his transatlantic voyage, Bombard took part in a cross-channel swim in 1951, and the following year spent 15 days afloat in a dinghy in the Mediterranean.
A small, round-faced man with a quirky, enthusiastic manner, Bombard published several books about his experiences. He found a particularly warm reception in Britain, where the launch of an English translation of his account of his voyage, The Bombard Story, was hosted by Ernest Marples and attended by a galaxy of admirals. It was noted with approval that his ship-board library had included the works of Shakespeare along with those of Rabelais and Montaigne.
Bombard followed his original trip across the Atlantic with further research in the service of seamen. With the help of a group of supporters he equipped a small sailing vessel as a laboratory in which to study problems including sea-sickness.
] Já vi em vários programas de televisão que não se deve beber água do mar em circunstancia NENHUMA. Se estiveres completamente desidratado e a morrer à sede, a água do mar só te faz pior. Resseca-te muito mais dando-te inclusive muito mais sede! Além do mais, o teu corpo para se ver livre do sal, faz-te urinar muito mais, deixando-te ainda mais necessitado de àgua. Rematam ainda, dizendo que é um erro comum dos novatos que se aventuram no mar.
] ), fica bem patente o que coloquei sobre o consumo de água salgada enquanto um recurso de "água potável".
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