A cruise ship pianist who went overboard from a Royal Caribbean vessel was pulled alive from the Pacific Ocean on Friday after two fishermen found him treading water nearly 20 miles off the coast of Southern California. Authorities believe the man had been in the ocean for roughly nine hours before he was spotted, and he was taken to a hospital after the rescue, according to the US Coast Guard.
The man, who has not been identified, is expected to survive, the Guardian reported. The Coast Guard is now investigating how he ended up in the water.
Fishermen spot the cruise ship pianist 20 miles offshore
Sean Norton and Grant Garrett had spent Friday morning fishing for marlin near Catalina Island and were on their way back when they came across something in the swells roughly 20 miles from shore. Garrett described the moment the boat’s captain realized what he was looking at.
“I’m like, ‘Yeah, it’s a human being. Stop the boat; let’s get all of our lines in,'” Garrett told CBS News.
By noon, the two men had hauled the stranded swimmer out of the water. Speaking to CNN affiliate KCBS/KCAL, Norton called the episode “surreal.”
“Grant and I each got an arm and lifted him up,” Norton said. “He was in total shock.”
Norton said the man managed only a few words about what he had just been through. “The only thing he said to me was, ‘Thank you. I thought I was gonna die,'” Norton said.
A crew member from the Ovation of the Seas
Once he had regained his composure, Garrett said, the man identified himself as a pianist working aboard Royal Caribbean’s 14-deck ship the Ovation of the Seas. According to CNN, which cited KCBS/KCAL, Newport County officials believe he went overboard about nine hours before the fishermen found him. The Guardian attributed the same nine-hour estimate to authorities.
After pulling him aboard, the fishing crew issued an emergency maritime call. Newport Beach lifeguards responded and assisted. Battalion chief Adam Yacenda said the man was found approximately 15 to 20 miles offshore, according to CBS, or “pretty much in the middle of the ocean.”
CNN said it had contacted the US Coast Guard and Newport County lifeguards for comment. More coverage of incidents at sea is collected in our News section.
Warm water in a “super El Niño year”
Norton, one of the two rescuers, believes unusually warm ocean temperatures were central to the survival of the cruise ship pianist.
“You have this crazy super El Niño year. This guy was in the water for probably 10 hours, but the water’s 76 degrees,” Norton said. “A different year, no way he makes it.”
CNN described El Niño as a weather phenomenon associated with higher water temperatures in the Pacific Ocean.
Royal Caribbean says it is supporting its employee
Royal Caribbean Group acknowledged the incident and said it is assisting the crew member. A company spokesperson gave the same statement to both CBS and CNN:
“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.”
The company has not released the pianist’s name, his condition beyond the expectation that he will survive, or any account of how he left the ship.
Coast Guard investigating how he went overboard
The circumstances of the fall remain under investigation by the US Coast Guard, according to the Guardian. No cause has been announced, and authorities have not said whether the ship or its crew were aware the pianist was missing before the fishermen found him.
What is established so far is narrow: the man went into the Pacific Ocean from the Ovation of the Seas; authorities put the time in the water at about nine hours; two Newport Beach fishermen returning from a marlin trip near Catalina Island found him at around noon on Friday, roughly 15 to 20 miles from shore; lifeguards responded after an emergency maritime call; and he was hospitalized and is expected to live.
A rescue that turned on a chance sighting
For Garrett and Norton, the discovery hinged on a glance across open water on the ride home. Their account to KCBS/KCAL and CBS News describes a pair of anglers stopping the boat, clearing their fishing lines and reaching over the side to lift a stranger out of the Pacific by the arms before calling for help.
The cruise ship pianist’s only recorded words from the moment, as Norton relayed them, were thanks and the conviction that he had been about to die. Royal Caribbean, citing his privacy, has declined to say anything further about him, and the Coast Guard’s inquiry into how he went overboard is continuing. Follow NarwhalTV for updates as the investigation proceeds.
