Man rescued from sea after 24 hours in water using watch to signal for help
A man who used the reflection of his watch to signal for help was saved after nearly 24 hours in the water and enduring the terror of being circled by sharks.
Fishermen found the unnamed man who got into difficulties in the sea off the New Zealand coast after falling overboard. His reported first words when found were: “Glad to see you.”
He had gone off on a solo fishing trip on January 2 when the accident happened on his 12 metre boat, said Whangamata Police Sergeant Will Hamilton. He was by the Alderman Islands, around 34 miles off the coast of North Island, when he lost balance hooking what he believed to have been a marlin.
The man claims that a shark had a “sniff” of him before leaving him alone as he tried but failed to catch his boat that drifted away from him and he then attempted to swim to the Alderman Islands. "He endured a cold night in the ocean, too exhausted to keep swimming," police said in a statement.
But fortune was on his side when around 2pm the following day, three fishermen near Mayor Island saw an unusual reflection in the water. And when they investigated they discovered the man who had been desperately trying to signal their attention by using the reflection from his watch.
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The fishermen took him from the water and contacted police before heading to the shore. “One of my mates saw a glimmer of what ended up being his watch,” said Max White, captain of the boat that came to the rescue. He told the New Zealand Herald how he thought it was a human in the water but that they others on board didn’t believe him.
“He was super cold, severely dehydrated,” he continued, and they gave him some cranberry juice. “He was able to recall his story. It was a bit eye-opening for us. He recalled I guess his night in terms of being circled by a shark for a while there. He had been awake for nearly two days, I guess you don’t want to be sleeping if you’re trying to keep yourself afloat."
Police said that it was a "miracle" that the man was alive and praised the quick actions of the fishermen while also stating that the rescued man would like to thank them.
The statement read: "It is an absolute miracle the fisherman is still alive after the ordeal. Without the quick actions of the three gentlemen that retrieved him, this certainly would have had a tragic outcome. The man was hypothermic and exhausted when he was returned to land, where a St John ambulance crew was waiting to treat him. The boaties did an absolute stellar job and without a doubt saved this man’s life.
"In a note to police, the man said he wanted to go on record to thank Mike, Tyler and James for rescuing him, along with all the emergency services involved. It’s not known where the man’s boat has ended up. The Rescue Co-ordination Centre has been advised of the last-known direction, fuel on board and speed, so navigation warnings can be issued. Boaties are asked to report any sightings of empty powered vessels.
"Few stories end the way this one did, and police cannot thank the eagle-eyed trio enough for making the call to investigate something that looked out of the ordinary. The boat may be missing, but the fisherman still has his watch."
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