A Caribbean man who survived nearly a month adrift at sea on little more than a bottle of ketchup is looking forward to a new and much-needed treasure courtesy of Heinz.
Elvis Francois, 47, was the focus of a viral social media campaign put on by the ketchup maker. The company wanted to track down Francois and help him celebrate his safe return home, after surviving nearly a month at sea on nothing but ketchup and seasonings, by gifting him a new boat. The company had trouble finding him until their viral Feb. 14 post helped track down the Dominica native.
Despite the worldwide search involving the Dominica government, the Colombian Navy and several Francois impersonators, the real Francois was found by Emo News reporter Emerline Anelm two weeks later.
“I didn’t have a phone at the moment, so I asked her to get in contact with them for me,” Francois explained.
Francois said he has had several meetings with Heinz representatives. He was a bit coy in revealing specific details of the meetings, but he confirmed a new boat with updated navigation features was in store.
“One similar to what I lost but more equipped,” Francois said of the new boat. He also hopes his new vessel contains solar panels for unlimited power and security cameras.
Francois has spent many years on boats, fishing and working on the water since he was 15 years old.
His 24 days adrift across the Caribbean Sea from Dominica in the Eastern Caribbean to roughly a thousand miles west near Colombia was a different kind of maritime experience for the 47-year-old.
He was with two other men the day his boat drifted away. Just prior to sailing away, Francois said the two other men went ashore as he continued making repairs on his sailboat. The boat was not tethered or anchored while near shore.
“We had no anchor so we could not anchor,” Francois said.
Francois said before knew he was adrift, he was a quarter mile from shore. The engine on the boat was…
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