He holds the Guiness World Record for longest time adrift at sea—alone. When told of the record, he said, “ I hope no one will ever have to break it.”
Lim was a 25-year-old seaman from the south coast of China when he hopped on a British merchant ship in 1942. Shortly after leaving Cape Town, the ship was torpedoed by a German U-boat. As the ship was sinking, Poon put on a life jacket and managed to swim to a raft that was stocked with fresh water, biscuits, an electric torch and some flares. He estimated there was enough supplies onboard to survive for a month.
In the first month, Poon came in to contact with a freighter, U.S. Navy Patrol and another German U-boat; they all ignored his frantic calls for her help. Poon later recalled that these moments were the hardest to overcome mentally. However, he did not give up. He took matters into his own hands and decided he could not rely on others. He focused on what he could control and that was to stay alive until he drifted onto land.
In order to keep his body in shape, Poon began swimming twice a day in shark infested waters. He lost weight but retained most of his muscles. When he ran out of water, he used the canvas covering his life jacket to capture rainwater. He used the last few pieces of his biscuit as bait on a fish hook he made using the wires in the electric torch. For every fish he caught, he would save the remains to use as bait for his next meal.
During a long stretch of days with no rain, Poon collected seaweed from the bottom of his raft and shaped it to resemble a bird's nest. He added fish remains into the seaweed nest and placed them above his raft. The rotting stench of the fish attracted seagulls which he would catch with his barehands. He would drink their blood to quench his thirst. He once used bird remains to fish for a shark, which attacked him when he pulled it onboard. He used a water jug as a club to subdue the thrashing shark.
Source: lostinhistorypics
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