Heinz gives boat to man who survived on ketchup for 24 days at sea
US ketchup manufacturer Heinz has successfully concluded its attempts to get in touch with a man who survived on the company’s famous condiment during a harrowing 24 days at sea.
The food company launched a social-media campaign titled #FindtheKetchupBoatGuy to track down Elvis François of Dominica, after the story of his rescue by the Colombian navy went viral in January 2023.
François was swept out to sea while making repairs to his sailboat near the island of Sint-Maarten in the Netherlands Antilles. During his near-month-long ordeal at sea, François survived by eating ketchup, garlic powder and cubes of the Maggi brand of soup – the supplies he had onboard – and collecting rainwater with a cloth.
François says he was adrift for 24 days. He was repairing the boat last December when he was swept out to sea by a current. He tried to go back to port, but couldn’t, and he tried to call friends but lost service.
Officials say François, 47, had scrawled ‘help’ on the boat’s hull. After the boat was spotted 120 nautical miles northwest of La Guajira peninsula, he was taken to the port city of Cartagena by a passing container ship, with the support of a Columbian naval vessel.
“We received thousands of likes, shares and messages of kindness in our search to find Elvis François,” a statement on Heinz’s Instagram page says. “It was an incredible group effort across six continents that led to the hundreds of articles and leads and our eventual contact with Elvis.”
I found the Ketchup Boat Guy in Dominica! This is Elvis Francois, the Dominica sailor who survived 24 days lost at sea eating ketchup, garlic & Maggi powder. What a story of perseverance and determination. #findtheketchupboatguy #Ifoundtheketchupboatguy #Dominica pic.twitter.com/Hla44s6zBg
— Jerry Grymek (@jerrythegry) March 1, 2023
Heinz says it now intends to gift François with a brand-new boat, as he had to leave his sailboat behind when he was rescued.
The #FindtheKetchupBoatGuy campaign has been a marketing boon — it reached nearly 5 million users and garnered more than 4,000 likes, a record for Heinz, the company said in a statement to the Guardian.
In an interview he granted to Dominica’s Emo News, François said he “didn’t know what to think” about Heinz’s efforts to get him a new boat, but was seemingly pleased at the prospect.
“I lost all that I had on the boat,” he told Emo News.
In mid-January, an Australian couple survived three days after their paddleboard was caught in a strong current that took them out to sea. The pair were found 55km from North West Island, Queensland, where they had been enjoying a wilderness experience before the incident occurred.
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