[imagesource: AP]

One day in 2016, 23-year-old Christopher Rivas looked up at the clear skies and decided it would the perfect day to explore the seas and go fishing.

Little did he know that he would end up stumbling upon a mysterious and unsettling discovery.

While he and his friend were fishing about 64 kilometres offshore from the town of Barobo in the Philippines, a bedraggled yacht appeared out of nowhere like a “ghost” ship, noted All Things Interesting.

The 12-metre yacht had the name ‘Sayo’ on the side, and it was on its last legs, with a broken mast and partially sunken hull:

Image: Barobo Police Station

Rivas boarded the vessel and descended into its bowels, only to discover the mummified corpse of a German sailor named Manfred Fritz Bajorat:

Image: Barobo Police Station

Bajorat was identified by the papers lying around the cabin, and an autopsy later revealed that the 59-year-old had died of a heart attack while sailing out at sea.

It is said that he had drifted at sea for around a week while the salty ocean air preserved his body in a “macabre fashion”:

“The cause of death is acute myocardial infarction based on the autopsy by regional crime laboratory,” said national police spokesman Chief Superintendent Wilben Mayor. “The German national is estimated to have been dead for more or less seven days.”

“The air, heat, and saltiness of the sea are all very conducive to mummification,” said Peter Vanezis, forensic pathology professor at Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry. “It starts within two to three weeks. The fingers and other extremities … dry quickly, and in a month or two they are well gone.”

At the time, the incident gained widespread media attention, with people wondering why the poor man was alone for so long.

Some clues found on the ship suggested the sailor did have a family and a reasonably happy life once:

The ship itself contained a trove of family photos depicting an overjoyed Bajorat with his wife and daughter. From snapshots at Notre Dame and cafes in Paris to photos of picnics, the albums suggested a wholesome family unit.

A photo of Bajorat holding a baby was captioned: “Our first time with our little Button on the sea.”

This is one of the many photos found on Bajorat’s sailboat. He’s on the right, with his daughter Nina to the left of him:

Image: Barobo Police Station

Among the documents and photographs was also a sad note that Bajorat had apparently left behind:

“Thirty years we’ve been together on the same path. Then the power of the demons was stronger than the will to live. You’re gone. May your soul find its peace. Your Manfred.”

After the discovery, authorities reached out to his family and learned that his ex-wife had died of cancer in 2010:

After flying his daughter Nina out to identify the body, authorities learned that Bajorat had been sailing the seas alone for years — perhaps reacting to the dissolution of his family.

At some point along his journey, he even sailed across the equator from Singapore to Durban.

The lonesome seafarer was apparently last seen in 2009 and seems to have sought a life in isolation – just him, the salt, and his fading memories.

[source:allthingsinteresting]