“From men like these one could forge nails – none stronger could be found in all the world.” The Ballad of Nails

Alain Bombard was a French biologist who became convinced that many shipwreck victims died not from the immediate lack of food or water, but from fear, despair and the belief that survival was impossible.

His starting point was the observation that many castaways perished within the first three days after a shipwreck – far too soon, he believed, for starvation alone to explain it.

On 19 October 1952, Alain Bombard left Gran Canaria in his 4.5-metre inflatable boat, “L’Hérétique”, heading west across the Atlantic. Bombard set out with almost nothing in the usual seaman’s sense: he relied on the sea itself for survival, carrying only a sextant and primitive fishing gear for the voyage.

He lived mainly on raw fish, surface plankton, limited amounts of seawater and liquid pressed from fish.

There was emergency food and water in a locker, sealed by a notary, which he never opened – a fact central to Bombard’s claim that he had crossed the Atlantic without using his reserve provisions.

The crossing lasted 65 days. He reached Barbados on 23 December 1952, having lost around 25 kilograms and suffered significant effects on his health.

Here is the story in his own words.

“From men like these one could forge nails”