Two fishermen off the coast of Newport Beach, California, were in the right place at the right time when they spotted and saved a man who had been treading water in the Pacific Ocean for nine hours.
Sean Norton and Grant Garrett were heading home from a morning fishing trip near Catalina Island when they spotted the man nearly 20 miles off the coast. Sean and Grant quickly hauled the man aboard – and learned that he was a cruise ship piano player. The man had fallen overboard in the middle of the night and was able to stay afloat until the fishermen intervened.
While the piano player endured a terrifying adventure, he caught a few lucky breaks. Being spotted by Sean and Grant was a big one. And so was the water temperature. Luckily, the ocean water wasn’t dangerously cold. The man avoided hypothermia and was taken to a nearby hospital in stable condition to recover and rest up.