Will Fransen, 61, a resident of New Zealand, was carried away by sea currents after falling overboard from his boat. He managed to stay afloat for almost a day, and even had an encounter with a shark. Eventually, the man in distress was spotted by fishermen thanks to his watch.
This was reported by UNN, with reference to The New Zealand Herald.
Details
The New Zealand fisherman's independent journey turned into a grueling struggle during the day and an attempt to cover tens of kilometers to reach the shore.
Will Fransen, 61, of Cambridge, said he lost his footing in his boat after catching and trying to retrieve a marlin. Thus, the fisherman was overboard, about 55 kilometers from the North Island, near the Alderman Islands of New Zealand.
As the man tried to stay afloat, his boat began to rapidly drift away beyond the space he could see. Fransen tried to swim, but he was losing his strength, and he was carried away by the sea currents.
In the cold darkness of the ocean, he not only faced exhaustion, but also had an alarming encounter with a shark, which at one point swam toward him.
Fortunately, she decided that she was not interested in me. She was only a few meters away, so she could have easily killed me
Fransen tried to stay on the water all night - he didn't sleep, drifting many kilometers south until he found himself near the island of Tuhua (Mayor).
The waves were hitting him. Eventually he swallowed seawater and shivered from the low temperatures.
When I went into the water, I knew that the chances of anyone even knowing I was in the water were very slim. I was quite pessimistic from the beginning
Police reported that the man was rescued by three fishermen, identified in the report as Taylor, Mike and James.
They noticed an unusual flash on the ocean surface and decided to find out what it could be.
Землетрус у Японії: понад 80 загиблих, близько 80 зниклих безвісти04.01.24, 11:00
Fransen himself describes it as follows:
From time to time he thought he saw a boat, so he came up with the idea of trying to use his watch to catch the glint of the sun and shine it on the boat.
When I tried to raise my hand, I just went underwater. So that boat moved away properly. Then something changed. The wind died down, the sea calmed down a bit
During the day, the man had hallucinations and often saw boats where there were none.
Finally, Fransen saw three young men fishing nearby, and this time they noticed the light he was reflecting from his watch.
They found the victim and pulled him out of the water, wrapping him in whatever they could find to raise his temperature, and then headed for the shore.
Fransen's face was burned by the sun's glare from the water, and his legs, arms and joints were in pain, but he miraculously managed to walk to the waiting ambulance when they arrived in the New Zealand city of Wangamata, the New Zealand Herald reports.
The fishermen did a great job and undoubtedly saved this man's life