Alvarenga got into a fight with some local thugs. They were associated with the mob. He feared for his life. So he fled, leaving his young baby daughter and girlfriend behind. He headed south into Mexico. There he learned to be a proficient fisherman. Eventually he was entrusted to rent out a boat and go on deep water fishing trips of his own.
Alvarenga found a spot almost 100 miles off the coast where there were lot of valuable fish. He and his first mate pulled in a haul that brought them a lot of money. A huge storm was approaching. Alvarenga wanted to make one more big score. But his first mate was delayed. So he hired a replacement.whose name was Cordoba.
They made it out to the spot where the fish were aplenty. They filled their nets to the brim and tried to head to shore. The storm overpowered them and their single motor failed. They did radio in to shore for help. But the storm was too powerful. Rescue attempts were unsuccessful. Cordoba and Alvarenga were swept out to sea.
Both of them learned to live off the sea. They had lots of plastic bottles they used to collect rainwater to drink. They fished for food, and later turned to capturing birds that landed on the ship. Cordoba got sick from some seafood he ate. He no longer wanted to eat it, thinking the other food was poisoned too. He lost the will to live and died at sea.
Alvarenga floated in the ocean for over a year. He had enough water and food. But his mind was going crazy. He did have some injuries that kept getting worse. Eventually he ran ashore. But they did not speak Spanish there. Lots of paparazzi harassed him. He had on mission left that drove him on while he was alone. He needed to return to meet a daughter he had not seen in over 10 years. And he needed to go report the demise of Cordoba to his mother.
