This was by far Ozzie's longest continuous flight. And now he was struggling. Low over the waves he had to flap continuously, an energy sapping process. At twenty-five minutes to seven the light was failing, dusk had arrived. Ozzie noticed a small freighter coming up on his left hand side. Ozzie changed course and began to head towards it. To Ozzie it wasn't a ship but an island. One where he could perch and rest. Ozzie had to judge a point ahead where their paths would cross. He swept up over the starboard side narrowly avoiding crashing into some cables and superstructure. Crossing over the freighter to the port side he swung back across the back of the ship towards the bridge. It was now or never. He half crashed, half landed on some cabin roofs before gripping some ropes adorning a lifeboat and finally scrabbling on board. And that's exactly what it was for the exhausted Ozzie, a lifeboat.

At seven thirty on the morning of 17th September Ozzie and the freighter were out of sight of land off the north-eastern tip of Spain. During the night the wind had changed to a moderate westerly, overcast with some rain. Ozzie had slept fitfully and was now dividing his time between preening and dozing.
Just around dawn some small birds had come round the ships lights and for over an hour now a Wheatear had been sheltering behind some pipework just a few yards away from Ozzie.

Ozzie spent the whole day on board. On two occasions a  member of the crew walked along the deck, passing within twenty metres of Ozzie. Ozzie didn't move and the crewman didn't notice him. On the second occasion the Wheatear was disturbed and flew over the superstructure and disappeared.
In the evening Ozzie began stretching his wings. He was rested and anxious to continue his journey. In the light drizzle he made a short flight out from the ship but quickly returned to his lifeboat. He had no way of knowing where he was or which way to go. Instead he settled down for a second night as a stowaway. The morning of the 18th September broke much as the day before, but as the morning progressed the skies began to clear. The crew became more active on deck in the sunny weather, and at around 11am one of the crew walked past and spotted Ozzie. Clearly interested, he was back in a few minutes with two other crew members and a camera. Ozzie became alert as the crewman edged closer, taking photos. The crewman pushed his luck too far and Ozzie took flight. He circled the freighter twice, getting a feeling for his position, and trying to decide whether to stay or leave. Finally he struck off to the south-east, glad to be going again.