Manfred Fritz Bajorat
Day before yesterday, we posted about the body of Manfred Fritz Bajorat, 59, a German sailor, who had been found adrift on his yacht off the Philippines. The body was a dusty grey in color and the sailor was widely reported to have been “mummified.” We were not quite as convinced, so we referred to the remains as “at least partially mummified in the heat and salt air.” Even that proved to be an exaggeration. Likewise early reports said that the sailor has not been seen in seven years. Another report said that the sailor had posted on Facebook a year ago. So how long ago did Bajorat die and what killed him? An autopsy has revealed that Bajorat had only been dead for about a week when his body was found and that he had died of a heart attack. Click here for a photograph of the corpse. (May be disturbing to some.) Thanks for Alaric Bond for contributing to the post.
Having battled mildew and corrosion on boats I’m puzzled about the condition of the vessel in question versus the short time claimed since the skipper’s death. Furnishings and stores were clearly in a fairly advanced state of decay, judging from photos. As well there was a lot of water on the wrong side, the craft was dismasted and the hull is showing a lot of growth.
All this, in a week? Hmm. Was the fellow adrift, not under command and helpless for a time? Yet the nav desk is richly supplied with equipment and the boat sports ample solar generation capacity*, suggesting means and energy to communicate even if things were not going exactly according to plan.
*Enough to run radios in daytime with no batteries at all.
It is puzzling. Of course, it can be hard to tell from the photographs, but the boat clearly suffered a knockdown or something to bring down the mast, which did not happen in the last week.
Its still in the news.
Here is another article and photo that shows his leg, mid-thigh to just below his knee.
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2016/mar/01/how-long-was-mummified-german-sailor-adrift
Anyway, it’s a macabre endorsement of a kind for Jeanneau. “Outlives the crew,” along the lines of the old Timex watch ad campaign (my favorite was the one with the watch attached to the prop of an outboard engine).
I suspect Jeanneau will not be exploiting this unique opportunity.
The autopsy may be wrong. This same yacht was spotted near Guam, in January, boarded and next of kin were at that point said to have been notified.
http://clipperroundtheworld.com/news/article/race-8-day-3–fleet-blasting-up-waves-the-size-of-houses
Very interesting, Brian. Thanks.
That is interesting, Brian. I’m no expert, but man, I look at that picture and I just can’t believe that’s only a week’s worth of decay.