Three Australian men lost at sea for more than three weeks survived on
raw squid and rainwater, and called for help by cellphone, police said
Wednesday.

John Tabo, 38, his son John, 20, and nephew Tom Tabo, 16, were rescued
on Tuesday after being adrift in a five-metre fibreglass boat since
April 17, when they set off from Murray Island for a neighbouring
island 70 kilometres away.

They said they became disoriented when winds from cyclone Monica
whipped up the waters. They ran out of fuel and began to drift.

The storm hampered efforts to find the men, but provided them with
lots of rain for drinking water.

They had one squid to eat, used jerry cans as makeshift paddles and
wore metal buckets over their heads to keep the sun off them, police
said.

The men also conserved the batteries in their cellphones by keeping
them turned off until they had a strong enough signal to send text
messages to family.

Authorities found them several kilometres from Murray Island, and sent
a helicopter to winch them up on Tuesday.

They were treated at a clinic on their island and sent home with
little damage other than a significant loss of weight – as much as 20
kilograms.
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