Firm to gift new boat to man who survived on its ketchup while stranded at sea

Ketchup maker Heinz will give a new boat to a man who consumed the brand's iconic condiment to survive when stranded at sea for over a month, said a report by the Guardian.After launching a successful social media campaign with the hashtag #FindtheKetchupBoatGuy, the Pittsburgh-based Heinz food business has been in touch with Elvis François, the sailor, about purchasing him a new boat. When he was ultimately saved, François had left his old boat behind.

“We received thousands of likes, shares and messages of kindness in our search to find Elvis François,” a statement on Heinz’sInstagram pagesaid on Monday. “It was an incredible group effort across six continents that led to the hundreds of articles and leads and our eventual contact with Elvis.”

Heinz issued a separate statement to the Guardian on Tuesday that said the company and François “are working out the logistical details of [getting] him his new boat” but didn’t elaborate further.

Add WION as a Preferred Source

Heinz representatives spoke with the sailor via a Zoom conference call two days ago, according to a brief Facebook post on Sunday by Emo News, a Dominican media source.

ALSO READ |Himalayan Lynx or Cougar? Video shows rare animal spotted in Ladakh, netizens in awe. Watch!

The #FindtheKetchupBoatGuy campaign has acted as something of a coda to a survival story that started in December when François' sailboat was washed away by Caribbean currents while he was making repairs to it off the Dutch Antilles island of Sint Maarten. François resides on Saint Maarten.

Later, François informed authorities that he tried to use his smartphone to call his friends and let them know where he was, but the signal wasn't strong enough for him to do so.

He lived off a bottle of Heinz ketchup, garlic salt, Maggi soup cubes, and rainwater that he gathered with a cloth. On the boat's deck, he also inscribed the word "help" in English.

After that, according to François, "there was nothing else to do but sit and wait".

François said he was at sea for a total of 24 days, draining water from the boat to keep it from sinking and making vain attempts to kindle fire as a distress signal.

ALSO READ |#TwitterDown trends with funny memes as microblogging site not accessible to thousands of users

Ultimately, he flagged down a passing aircraft with a mirror when its pilot saw him 120 nautical miles northwest of Colombia's Guajira coast.

François was picked up by a cargo ship and left his sailboat at sea. Heinz set out to find him and provide him with a new boat after realising that he had managed to survive because of three daily dosages from one of the ketchup bottles produced by the food manufacturer.

However, it took some time to locate him, so Heinz posted a request on Instagram asking others to aid in the search for François.

This appeal, made through the #FindtheKetchupBoatGuy campaign, was seen by approximately 5 million people and received a record number of likes for Heinz, according to the company's statement to the Guardian. François was introduced to the campaign by Dominica's Emo News, who also contacted him.

(With inputs from agencies)

WATCH WION LIVE HERE: