1. Steven Callahan was born on February 6,1952 and is an American author, naval architect, inventor, and sailor.
11 Facts About Steven Callahan
1. 2.
Steven Callahan holds three US patents: a drogue-like boat stability and directional-control device ; a folding rigid-inflatable boat ; and a folding rigid-bottom boat.
3.
Steven Callahan departed from Newport, Rhode Island, United States, in 1981 on the Napoleon Solo, a 6.5-metre sloop he designed and built himself, single-handedly sailed the boat to Bermuda, and continued the voyage to England with friend Chris Latchem.
4.
Steven Callahan had left Cornwall that fall, bound for Antigua as part of the Mini Transat 6.50 single-handed sailing race from Penzance, England, but dropped out of the race in La Coruna, Spain.
5.
Steven Callahan made repairs and continued voyaging down the coast of Spain and Portugal, out to Madeira and the Canaries.
6.
Steven Callahan departed from El Hierro in the Canary Islands on January 29,1982, still headed for Antigua.
7.
Unable to stay aboard Napoleon Solo as it filled with water and was overwhelmed by breaking seas, Steven Callahan escaped into a six-man Avon inflatable life raft, measuring about six feet across.
8.
Steven Callahan stood off in the raft, but managed to get back aboard several times to dive below and retrieve a piece of cushion, a sleeping bag, and an emergency kit containing, among other things, some food, navigation charts, a short spear gun, flares, torch, 3 solar stills for producing drinking water and a copy of Sea Survival, a survival manual written by Dougal Robertson, a fellow ocean survivor.
9.
Steven Callahan mainly ate mahi-mahi, as well as triggerfish, which he speared, along with flying fish, barnacles, and birds that he captured.
10.
Steven Callahan collected drinking water from two solar stills and various jury-rigged devices for collecting rainwater, which together produced on average just over a pint of water per day.
11.
Steven Callahan routinely exercised, navigated, prioritized problems, made repairs, fished, improved systems, and built food and water stocks for emergencies.