A Russian man who drifted on the seas aboard his knockabout for over 9,260km and ended up off the coast of Tamsui several days ago, returned safely to Russia Thursday, Coast Guard Administration (CGA) sources reported yesterday.
Alexander Rudnev, a real estate manager from Siberia, never imagined that his sailing journey, originally scheduled for 16 days, would end up being a one-month ordeal of drifting on the high seas. His course took him from Vladivostok to South Korea, Japan and down to Taiwan.
Rudnev was found drifting aboard his unpowered single-mast sailing boat Falco off Tamsui on the night of Oct. 16. When he was found, Rudnev was in bad shape and had no idea of his location. Arrangements were made for him to stay at the CGA's Tamsui operations center.
The CGA Tamsui officials notified the Moscow-Taipei Economic and Cultural Coordination Commission about Rudnev's situation. They also hired a Taiwanese Russian-language student from Tamkang University in Tamsui to act as an interpreter, since Rudnev speaks no English or Chinese.
After five days of rest, Rudnev departed Taipei for home Thursday, this time aboard a Northwest Airlines flight. He expressed his sincere gratitude to Taiwan and said that he will take his wife and children to Taiwan on a future visit, "by airplane of course," to say thank you again and tour the country.
According to Rudnev, he departed from his home in New Siberia City Sept. 12. After a six day train journey on the "Red Train," he reached the far eastern Russian city of Vladivostok, from where he sailed off alone aboard the Falco for South Korea.
After sailing for about 1,852km, Rudnev reached Pusan, South Korea, Sept. 26 as planned and went ashore for a four-day backpacking trip.
He set off from Pusan for home on Sept. 30 but was soon met with a storm. Having no other option, Rudnev lowered his mast and drifted. Four days later, he found himself beached ashore at a fishing village in northwest Japan. With the assistance of the Russian embassy in Japan, he obtained his visa and took a sightseeing trip in Japan for seven days.
On Oct. 10, he departed Japan for home and was immediately met with strong northeast trade winds. Like a small leaf, his boat drifted for about one week in high waves before it was pushed southward.
Rudnev's situation turned for the worse when Typhoon Tokage, the deadliest typhoon to hit Japan in two decades, swept the region with gusty winds, downpours and a record-large radius of 500km.
During the typhoon's onslaught, Rudnev on at least two occasions felt certain he would not survive. But after drifting further southward he was met by Taiwanese patrol officers who brought him to safety in Tamsui.
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