Sailor Alex Bond Saves Pacific Islanders from Starving to Death

On a yacht journey from England to Australia, Alex Bond made a chance stopover on Kanton Island, and rescued the islanders from starvation.

By Kathryn Hawkins. Posted on May 11 2010

Creative Commons image by Mr. Usaji

British sailor Alex Bond, who is traveling in his yacht all the way from the coast of England to Australia, docked his boat on a remote island in the Pacific, called Kanton Island. He’d only intended to stop briefly for a rest—but his stopover soon turned into a life-saving rescue mission.

When Bond and his fellow travelers began exploring the island, they came across 10 native islander adults and their 14 children. The native people had eaten little food for weeks, and were emaciated.

“We were greeted by the islanders who were in a right state,” Bond told The Guardian. “It was the kids who were really bad.”

The islanders relied on shipments of food products to sustain their diet, but the boat was now months late. For over three months, they’d been living off of nothing but the coconuts that grew on the island, and any fish that they could catch.

Luckily, Bond had some extra food on board his ship, and quickly doled out anything he could spare to the hungry islanders. Then he used his radio to contact the local Coast Guard to organize a drop-off of supplies to Kanton Island. Soon, the islanders will receive a bulk load of cooking supplies including rice, sugar, and flour.

Although Bond hadn’t expected to turn his holiday into a rescue mission, saving lives is nothing new for the sailor: his day job is with ShelterBox, a non-profit that provides emergency supplies to people in need. Somehow we don’t think he minded working on an off-day.

Filed under: Heroes,

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