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Indonesia’s ‘Pi Patel’ wants to stay on land
After weeks lost at sea, 18-year-old Aldi is in search of a safer job.
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Aldi Novel Adilang, accompanied by his parents and sister, shows off his passport and travel document in a recent photo taken at his home in North Minahasa, North Sulawesi. (JP/Eva Aruperes)
Eighteen-year-old Aldi Novel Adilang made headlines this week after he spent 48 days adrift in open waters, in a remarkable tale of survival reminiscent of the titular character in the Booker Prize-winning novel Life of Pi.
But Aldi, who was employed to live on and maintain a rompong, a floating fish trap, off the coast of North Minahasa, North Sulawesi, says he now wants to abandon the seafaring life in exchange for the safety of land.
Out at sea for six months at a time, Aldi would be contracted by the rompong owner to power up the lamps around his floating abode with a generator every night to attract fish. Once a week, the owner would send someone to harvest the fish from the trap and to give Aldi a week worth of supplies: food, gas for cooking, clean water and fuel for the generator.
“This was the third time I’ve been adrift,” Aldi said recently at his home in Lansa village in Wori, North Minahasa. “The first time, I was adrift for a week, and I was rescued by the romping owner’s boat. The second time was for two days, and I was rescued again by the rompong owner’s boat. This third time was for one month and 18 days.”
A strong wind on July 14 blew him to Guam waters, thousands of kilometers away from home.
“It was around 7 [a.m. local time], and my rope was cut off after my fish trap rubbed against my friend’s. Unfortunately, my friend was still asleep, so he didn’t realize that I was adrift,” he said.
Aldi was trying to get help, to no avail. He spent days floating around while reading the Bible and chanting religious songs to keep his spirit high. Aldi continued praying for his safety and to reunite with his parents. Desperation hit Aldi at one point, when he contemplated drowning himself, but he had second thoughts and continued to cling onto hope.
He had to cope not only with loneliness but also hunger, thirst and fear, until the Panama-flagged Arpeggio rescued him on Aug. 31.
Read also: Indonesian teenager survives 49 days adrift in Guam waters
The experience has put Aldi off the idea of going back to sea. The junior high school graduate is now in search of a safer job.
He said the rompong had no safety or survival facilities, such as a GPS, compass or life vest, and the only safety training he had received was a weeklong briefing by his uncle on how to take care of himself on a rompong. He did not even know how to swim. The pay was meager considering the dangers involved.
“I was contracted for a year and paid Rp 2 million (US$133) a month,” he said.
His parents had encouraged him to do the job, because they thought the pay could support the whole family. Now they do not expect Aldi, the youngest child, to continue the life-threatening job.
Aldi’s mother, Net Kahiking, 53, said she had had a bad feeling before the incident happened. She had a dream about Aldi almost drowning while cooking.
“I really thank God he is safe,” she said. (kmt/swd)
