Maximo Napa Castro, a humble 61-year-old Peruvian fisherman known to his friends as Gatón, has been a lover of the sea since the age of 13. On December 7, 2024, he departed from the southern port of Marcona for what was intended to be a routine 2-week solo fishing trip after calling his mother to ask for her prayers — a lifelong ritual of faith before any voyage. Gatón found immediate, staggering success, hauling in seven sacks of flying fish roe, valued at several thousand dollars. He imagined this bounty would provide a secure future for his mother and his newborn granddaughter.
The drift begins
The transition from triumph to tragedy began 10 days into his journey when a severe sea storm blew his small 3-ton vessel off course as the weather cleared. A critical mechanical failure left Gatón stranded in the middle of the Pacific Ocean; his engine refused to start, and soon his satellite radio and communication equipment failed, though he had a GPS that allowed him to watch the shore recede mile by mile.
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