Fishermen Rescue Royal Caribbean Employee Treading Water Off Coast
Two Newport Beach fishermen rescued a Royal Caribbean cruise ship employee who had been treading water nearly 20 miles off the Pacific coast on Friday.
Sean Norton and Grant Garrett spotted the 37-year-old man in the morning while returning home from a marlin fishing trip near Catalina Island, cbsnews.com reported. By noon, the fishermen had pulled the man aboard their boat. Grant Garrett recalled the moment their captain spotted the swimmer in an interview with CBS Los Angeles, stating they immediately stopped the boat and brought in their fishing lines.
I’m like, ‘Yeah, it’s a human being. Stop the boat; let’s get all of our lines in,
Garrett said. Norton added that he and Garrett each grabbed an arm to lift the man, noting the swimmer was in total shock.
The rescued man told the fishermen he worked as a pianist on the 14-deck Royal Caribbean cruise ship named the Ovation of the Seas, which was traveling from Long Beach to Ensenada, Mexico. The only thing he said to me was, ‘Thank you. I thought I was gonna die,’
Norton recounted to CBS Los Angeles.
Local authorities believe the crew member went overboard roughly nine hours before his rescue, at approximately 2:30 a.m. Newport Beach Lifeguard Battalion Chief Adam Yacenda told CBS Los Angeles that the rescue took place roughly 15 to 20 miles offshore in the middle of the open ocean. After pulling the man from the water, the fishermen issued an emergency maritime call, prompting a response from Newport Beach lifeguards.
The U.S. Coast Guard confirmed to The Independent that a conscious individual was pulled from the water and subsequently hospitalized. According to the Coast Guard, the man is in stable condition while authorities investigate the incident and the circumstances of how he went overboard.
Norton noted that unseasonably warm ocean conditions during the current super El Niño weather pattern helped the survivor. You have this crazy super El Niño year. This guy was in the water for probably 10 hours, but the water’s 76 degrees. A different year, no way he makes it,
Norton told cbsnews.com.
The Independent also reported that the rescue occurred during a particularly strong El Niño this fall that is keeping the Pacific Ocean warm off the coast of California.
A spokesperson for Royal Caribbean addressed the incident in a statement provided to CBS Los Angeles and The Independent, noting, We are providing support and assistance to our crew member during this difficult time. To respect the privacy of our employee, we have no additional details to share.
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