You might know the movie Cast Away starring Tom Hanks, but do you know what it really means to be a castaway? It’s someone stranded, often after a shipwreck, left to survive alone in an unforgiving place. In the film, Hanks was on an island. In reality, Poon Lim had it much worse—adrift in the open ocean with no land in sight.
Being lost at sea is terrifying enough, but what if you weren’t even a strong swimmer? That was Poon Lim’s reality in 1942.
How do you survive when your food runs out, and no one hears your cries for help? This is the story of a man who endured 133 days on the ocean, fought off a shark, and lived to tell the tale.
A Young Man’s Journey to the SS Benlomond
Poon Lim was born in 1918 on the Chinese island of Hainan. During the 1930s, as Japan advanced into China, his father feared he would be drafted into the army. Seeking a different future, Lim joined the British Merchant Navy as a cabin boy, following in his brother’s footsteps.
Life at sea offered escape from war, but it wasn’t easy. Asian crew members, including Lim, endured harsh treatment from European officers. Tired of the abuse, he left the Merchant Navy in 1937 and moved to Hong Kong, where he found work as a mechanic.
But war was closing in again. By 1941, Japan was preparing to attack Hong Kong. Seeing an opportunity to escape, Lim rejoined the British Merchant Navy as a steward aboard the SS Benlomond, a cargo ship transporting supplies during World War II.
Torpedoed in the South Atlantic
By 1942, Lim was serving as Second Mess Steward on the Benlomond, which was traveling from Suez to New York with stops in Cape Town and Paramaribo. The ship, manned mostly by Chinese crew under British officers, had minimal defenses and no escort.
On Nov 23, 1942, disaster struck. The German U-boat U-172 fired two torpedoes at Benlomond, sending it to the ocean floor within minutes.
Lim, in his cabin at the time, barely had time to react. Grabbing a life jacket, he ran toward the lifeboats, where he saw officers and a seaman struggling to launch one. Before he could board, a massive force threw him into the water.
The ship vanished beneath the waves. Lim surfaced, gasping for air, surrounded by debris. Clinging to a wooden plank, he floated for two hours before spotting a life raft.
133 Days Fighting to Survive
The raft had a few supplies: water, hardtack, chocolate, and pemmican. It was enough for a short time, but Lim knew it wouldn’t last. He had to adapt.
He crafted a canopy for shade and collected rainwater to drink. As food ran low, he began fishing, fashioning hooks from a flashlight spring and a nail pulled from the raft. Using hardtack crumbs as bait, he caught small fish, which he used to reel in larger ones. When seabirds landed on the raft, he caught them, preserved the meat in seawater, and dried it into jerky.
But the ocean held more dangers. Sharks circled the raft, a constant threat. Determined to survive, Lim set a trap. He used bird remains as bait, strengthened his fishing line, and prepared for battle. When a shark took the bait, he pulled it onto the raft and fought for his life, using a water container to beat it to death. Then, in a desperate bid for hydration, he drank the shark’s blood.
Could you imagine being so thirsty that you had to drink a shark’s blood? Some would give up at the sight of a shark. Lim fought back. His will to live was stronger than his fear.
Ignored and Abandoned
Drifting through the ocean, Lim saw passing ships and planes. He called for help—only to be ignored. Some sailors even laughed at him. Lim believed his race played a role in why he wasn’t rescued sooner.
How would you feel, stranded in the ocean, begging for help while people mocked your suffering? Many would have lost hope. Lim didn’t.
Rescue After 133 Days
Finally, in Apr 1943, three Brazilian fishermen spotted Lim’s raft, nine nautical miles off the coast of Pará. He was too weak to stand, having lost 20 pounds. The fishermen pulled him aboard and brought him to shore.
It took three days before he could tell his story. He soon learned he was the only survivor of the Benlomond. The captain, eight gunners, and 43 officers and crew had all perished.
After 14 days in a Brazilian hospital, Lim regained enough strength to travel. He was sent to Britain, where he recovered further.
Life After Survival
For his incredible endurance, Lim was awarded the British Empire Medal. His survival story became so legendary that the U.S. made an exception to its immigration laws, granting him citizenship despite the Chinese immigrant quota being full.
You’d think after months adrift, he’d want nothing to do with the sea. But Lim applied to join the U.S. Navy. Despite surviving against all odds, he was rejected—for having flat feet.
A man who beat a shark with his bare hands was deemed unfit to serve.
Poon Lim lived to be 72, passing away in 1991. He still holds the record for the longest time a single person has survived lost at sea on a life raft.
And he hoped no one would ever have to break it.
