An Australian man recently shared his harrowing experience of surviving a boat capsizing incident that left him adrift in the ocean for several days.
Elliot Foote, from Sydney, was on a surfing trip with his girlfriend and friends in Indonesia in August 2023 when disaster struck. He, his girlfriend Steph Weisse, and friends Will Teagle and Jordan Shortand boarded a small wooden longboat headed from Nias Island to the Pinang Surf resort in the Banyak Islands, situated off the western coast of Indonesia’s mainland.
Two days later, Elliot found himself alone in the vast ocean, dehydrated and hallucinating, uncertain if he would ever reach land again. The boat had overturned during a severe storm, resulting in one fatality and leaving the survivors struggling for 37 hours. Elliot recalled feeling uneasy about the journey even before the boat capsized.
The vessel was small enough for the 6ft 1 inch Elliot to touch both sides, and he felt it was unsuitable for the 60km journey they were making. “It’s just one of those things where you don’t want to believe it’s happening until it’s go-time almost. So you’re just kind of at the mercy of the guides and the captain and nature itself,” he recounted in a conversation.
During the crossing, a storm erupted near Pinang Island, located off Aceh in northwest Sumatra. Reflecting on the ordeal, Elliot, who resides in Brunswick Heads in New South Wales, described the chaotic experience of navigating through waves hitting from every direction, with the boat violently rocking as it moved.
He explained that, as the boat slowly filled with water over an hour and a half, the situation reached a critical point. “Then the boat just slowly starts filling up with water and bit by bit, over the space of about an hour-and-a-half, it gets to a point where the water level on the outside of the boat is almost in line with the bottom of the window of the boat – and then when that’s happening, it’s game over pretty much,” he explained.
Anticipating the inevitable, the group prepared by drinking water, consuming honey, and putting on warmer clothing. When the boat began to sink, they made their escape.
“We all just systematically dove out the window, and then yeah hit the water. Then within about a minute of us exiting the boat, we’d managed to pull out three board bags with about four surfboards in each, and then the boat had completely flipped upside down,” Elliot stated.
All seven people onboard exited the boat and remained together, clinging to board bags and a rope attached to the wreckage. The first night was spent in darkness, with only the storm and bioluminescent algae providing any light.
As daylight came, the group decided to attempt paddling to land after losing the rope to the capsized boat. The Australians set off, while the Indonesian crew stayed with the vessel. Soon, the group split, and Elliot would never see the young captain, Fifan Satria, again. Tragically, Fifan’s body was never recovered.
Elliot and his group fought against the elements, with no food and just a small amount of water. “We had no food – no food at all, but to be honest, we weren’t even feeling hungry. You’re just thirsty the whole time, but in terms of water, we had about two sips each from a water bottle Steph had with her,” he shared.
As their situation grew dire, Elliot decided to swim alone toward land, unsure if a search party was even looking for them. By the second night, he was isolated and experiencing vivid hallucinations, coinciding with a significant meteor shower.
“On that exact night – August 14, 2023 – was the most amount of meteor activity, so the sky’s falling all around me. Like in reality, there’s bioluminescent algae in the water – so it’s just glowing in the water,” Elliot described his surroundings, which fueled his hallucinations.
After nearly two days adrift, a fishing boat appeared, rescuing him from the water. “The crew had no idea anyone was missing,” Elliot recounted. “They just stumbled on me. They literally pulled a ghost out of the water.”
Upon his rescue, Elliot was relieved to learn that his friends had also been found alive, though one Indonesian crew member had drifted alone for days before being swept to the same area where the Australians were rescued. Sadly, Fifan was the only person who did not return.