Testing the theory
To put doubters to rest, a group of expert oceanographers put together an experiment in which they would simulate the weather conditions, ocean currents, and usual behavior of similar fishing crafts, to work out what had really happened in those 14 months out at sea.
Using buoys, the scientists discovered that they in fact drifted from Mexico to the Marshall Islands, taking roughly the same amount of time as Alvarenga and his craft had to get there. The commercial fisherman that reporters such as Jonathan Franklin talked to confirmed that Alvarenga’s version of events was plausible.