Miracle in the North Atlantic | The Seal Man | 2

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0:15L 'Oye Frithurtson swims slowly through the ice-cold Atlantic Ocean. It's pitch black, and he can't see a yard in front of him. He just hopes he's heading towards land. Images of the last few hours flash through his mind. The dragnets that he and his colleagues lowered into the water from their fishing trawler. The jolt as the net snagged on the seabed. The gruesome noises the outriggers made as they bent and buckled. The sinking ship. The moment the lights went out. His shipmates. Varlur. Engelbert. Pater. Hiurter. All now dead. Lóie is all alone in the ocean. Miles away from his home, the Icelandic island of Hæmae.

1:03Beneath him are the watery depths of the ocean. Above him, the starry night sky. Slowly but surely, he moves forward with consistent strokes, but he has no idea if he's headed in the right direction. Suddenly, he sees light, and it's as if L 'Oye has been released from a trance. At first, he thinks he's imagining it, but there they are, orange and green streaks that dance across the sky, the northern lights. Toward their ends, the orange turns to red, and Loye is reminded of the glow of the lava when the volcano erupted on Heimei. That night, they had to leave their home. Loye was just 11 years old.

1:49He woke up and went to look out the window. He saw his neighbors moving quickly but calmly in the direction of the harbor. In that moment, it felt more like a festival or a celebration than an emergency, and Loye wondered if he was still dreaming. His mother came and led him away from the window. She helped him put on his rain boots and a thick jacket and then knelt down in front of him. We can't stay here, Loye. We need to get ready to leave. Can you do that for me? Loye remembers nodding. His mother smiled and took him by the hand and they left the house. Mama, where is Papa? His mother looked at him with a steady, unwavering gaze.

2:35Papa's going to protect the island. For how long? For as long as it takes. Loye turned around and saw men running in the direction of the volcano, and the glowing orange lava gushing out into the night, just like the northern lights floating through the sky above him right now, eleven years later. As long as it takes. Loyer thinks to himself, he'll keep swimming for as long as it takes.

3:13I heard a rumor that the CIA poisoned my granddad. Gordon Banks, the world's number one goalkeeper. It happened in Mexico, supposedly, at the World Cup in 1970. Sounds crazy? I'm an investigative journalist on the hunt for evidence. We needed to do some extraordinary things to counter the Soviets. This is Foul Play, an unbelievable tale of sports, spies and family secrets. Listen now wherever you get your podcasts or early and ad-free on Audible.

3:50From Wondery, I'm Mike Corey and this is Against the Odds.

4:02On March 11, 1984, an Icelandic fishing trawler sank more than three miles off the coast of the island of Hämé. Two of its five crewmen were lost in the wreck. Another two succumbed to exhaustion and hypothermia, then drowned. That left a lone survivor, Gudlöger Friddorsen, a burly 23-year-old known as Løyje. And he should have died too. But somehow, Loyer kept fighting. On the night of the wreck, the waters of the North Atlantic were just 41 degrees Fahrenheit. Only a handful of people have ever survived waters that cold for more than 75 minutes. But Loyer, a 6 '3 gentle giant, was built differently.

4:50This is Episode 2, The Seal Man.

5:02Loyer keeps swimming stoically. He has an endless night ahead of him in the ice-cold water. He can only think of one thing. Do not stop under any circumstances. Keep going. Whenever it gets to be too much, he pauses for a moment and turns to face the sky. He takes a deep breath, looks at the stars, and marvels at the northern lights. Then he swims backstroke for a while. He feels like he's swimming in place. His oilskin jacket keeps slipping under his chin and choking him, and he feels like the sea is pulling him down. Suddenly, it occurs to him. What an idiot! The oilskin jacket is no help to him here at all.

5:49Quite the opposite. It's just weighing him down. He tries to open the zipper with his frozen fingers, but he's lost all feeling in his fingertips, so it's hard to get a grip. Eventually, he gives up. He tries pulling the oilskin over his shoulders, but the thick, rubbery material is too stiff. He struggles with it for what feels like several minutes, panic rising in his chest. He's fixated on getting this jacket off. If he can't, it'll be the death of him.

6:21Loyer takes a deep breath, trying to stay calm. It's only a zipper. He can do this. Inch by inch, he manages to open the zipper until it's about halfway down. Then he rips the jacket open the rest of the way down and eases himself out of the sleeves. Oh, free at last. For a moment, he wonders whether he should take his sweater off too. But if he does make it to land, he'll need at least some protection from the cold. and he can move a lot better now that he's rid of the jacket. Loyer decides to keep his sweater on for now, but his work boots, they can go as long as he's able to take them off. It proves easier than expected.

7:06He slips off his boots and lets them sink down into the ocean. A good decision. He definitely feels lighter than he did before. He can use his feet more easily and his arms are much freer. L 'Ollier looks up and sees a lone seagull circling overhead, silhouetted against the northern lights. Having fun, are we? Truth is, he can't stand seagulls. They always circle the trawlers whenever the nets are brought in and swoop down to steal fish as the crew sort through their catch. But at this moment, the seagull is all he has. And maybe its presence is a sign that he's not far from land. Loye takes heart and follows the bird's occasional screeches.

8:02Loye has to admit, it's nice to have company, even if it's just a seagull. It keeps him awake and focused. Loye has started chatting to the gull. He tells it all the reasons why he can't die now. His parents, his friends, the annual festival on the island of Hema 'e, the arrival of the Atlantic puffins on the island, in a few weeks' time. And besides all that, I haven't paid off my moped yet. I mean it. The dealer, he's a great guy. I don't want to cause him any grief. Loyer likes the gull. In fact, he almost feels bad for all the other gulls he's been mean to. These birds are subject to many maritime legends.

8:48Some people believe that the gulls are lost souls of dead seafarers that never made it to heaven. For a moment, Loyer wonders if this seagull is one of his fellow fishermen. But he quickly pushes that thought aside. Besides, seagulls aren't just looking for heaven. They're also heading for dry land. And this gull could save his life. The seagull seems to have a good sense of humor. Maybe it wants to hear a joke. Okay, how about this one? On his first day of work, a new sailor asked the captain, do ships sink often? The captain thinks about it, and he says no. I'm pretty sure they only ever sink once.

9:35The seagull doesn't laugh. Maybe it's heard the joke before, or maybe its sense of humor isn't so good after all. Then Loyer realizes it's been a while since he's heard the gull screeching. Has it flown away? Come on, the joke wasn't that bad. He scans the night sky, but he sees nothing. Then, off in the distance, something catches his eye. But it's not a seagull. It's something much better. A light. It flashed briefly between the waves before disappearing. Loyer squints, and he sees it again. It's bobbing on the waves and can't be far away. It's a ship. Hey! Hey! Hey! It must be a rescue crew out looking for him.

10:28He tries to gauge how far away they are. 100 yards? Maybe 200? Hey! Hey! Over here! I'm over here! It's too far away for them to hear his cries. Soon, Loye is devastated to see the ship moving away from him at some speed. But the mere existence of the seagull and the ship give him renewed hope. He is not alone.

11:00Loye needs to make sure he doesn't wear himself out. It's been about half an hour since he saw the ship, and several times since, he thought he heard another one. Is he going mad? He searches the darkness frantically, looking for some sign of the coastline. The sky is full of stars. His gaze is drawn to a particularly bright one on the horizon, which keeps coming and going. Loye can't tell if the waves are blocking his view or if it's not a star at all. Maybe it's a flashing satellite. No. Lighthouse. Captain Hiortor said he thought that they were three or four miles from the island's southern peninsula after the trawler sank.

11:48And there is a lighthouse there. Hiortor must have been right. Loye swims with a surge of confidence. At last he has a reference point. As he has so often during the last few hours, he thinks back to the volcanic eruption that struck the island 11 years ago. He remembers rushing down to the harbor with his mother and how calm and orderly everything was as they prepared to evacuate. The inhabitants of Hemae are famous in all of Iceland for their calm temperament, and they proved it on that night. When he and his mother arrived at the harbor, Loye turned back to look behind him. To this day, he can still remember the glowing mass of lava as it rumbled towards the village, and how tiny all the buildings looked, almost like dollhouses.

12:41Loye and his mother stood in one of the lines of people that formed at the pier. One by one, the residents were loaded onto ships. A short while later, Loye and his mother were on board. The boat lifted anchor and the island got smaller and smaller. The fiery glow from the lava was the last thing Loye could see. He remembers that he turned to his mother. When will we see Papa again? When he's got the volcano under control. His mother seemed to sense his anxiety and she looked at him and asked. Remember what we always say, Loye? Thetar Redast Everything will be okay Everything will be okay Loya doesn't know if it's his imagination But it feels like the lighthouse is quickly getting closer and closer And just below it Is that the silhouette of the coastline?

13:37Is the tide helping to carry him to shore? Loya knows he needs to preserve his energy But in his excitement He can't help kicking his legs a little harder

13:54L 'Oye raises an arm to protect his face. Waves are crashing around him. He can't see much, but he can hear them strike against rocks and break against the cliffs. L 'Oye knows this part of the coastline well. The rock formations are from old lava flows, still razor sharp in places, and he's come too far to be smashed to smithereens against them now. But even though these cliffs are dangerous, he's got to risk it. There are rip currents here close to the shore that could pull him back out to sea. Loye may be a strong man, but he can't swim forever. So when a wave lifts him up and pushes him towards the shoreline, he takes his chance.

14:35He reaches out for the rough volcanic rocks, and he tries to grab hold. But he can't hang on. At least not this time. He'll have to try again. The current drags him back out before throwing him against the rocks again. Loya reaches out again, and this time he manages to grab hold of a rocky protrusion. The water pulls at his body and tries to yank him back out once more, but Loya clings to the rock with steely determination. His hands are hurting and feel strangely warm. He looks down and isn't surprised to see them bleeding. With great effort, Loya pulls himself along the rock face. he searches for the bottom of the sea with his feet.

15:19Whenever a wave breaks against him, he pauses for a moment and holds his breath. Then he resumes the task at hand. At one point, his ankle slams against a stone under the surface, and his eyes fill with tears of pain. But then he takes another step and realizes he's made it to land.

15:45Loie starts laughing uncontrollably. He can't believe it. He may be lying in the dark on ice-cold gravel surrounded by rocks, but he's finally on solid ground. He's suddenly overwhelmed by an immense desire to go to sleep. But then a wave breaks over him and brings him back to reality. He knows he's still a long way from home. Somehow, he's made it to the coast and on to land, but the temperatures are so cold that if he stays here, he'll freeze to death. His sodden clothes are already developing a layer of ice, and his jeans crunch when he moves. He needs to keep going. Loyer tries to get a sense of his surroundings.

16:31His eyes have gotten used to the darkness a little, but there isn't a lot to see. There's no way inland from here, or if there is, Loyer can't see it. He's in a small, half-moon bay surrounded by sharp rocks. He could just stay here and stick it out until daybreak, but there's no guarantee that anyone will find him. And if he doesn't keep moving, he'll succumb to hypothermia eventually. He looks up at the steep cliffs of volcanic rock and wonders if he could climb them. He decides that's worth a shot. But it doesn't take much climbing to realize that he's got no chance. The cliff face is just as rough and sharp as the rocks being battered by the waves below.

17:18And if he loses his grip and falls, he'll be done for. Loyer clamors back down with a sinking feeling. There's only one option left, and he doesn't like it one bit. He's got to swim along the shore and find another inlet. Hopefully, the rocks won't be as steep, and he can find a path that will lead him further inland. Loye nods and gives himself a pep talk. He can hardly believe it, but he's about to go back into the icy sea.

18:00The End

18:30His lips are chapped and cracked. The winds are calmer here, but the cold still pierces him through his sodden clothes like a thousand needles. He is covered in frost, and yet he's not even shivering. You can do this. Take it slow and steady. As he starts to clamber across the rocks, he immediately wishes he hadn't thrown away his work boots. The rocks are climbable, but when the sharp edges cut into his bare feet, he winces in pain. He can hardly bear to put his weight on them, so instead he tries to shuffle over the rocks using the side of his body for support. It's hard work, but he is making progress.

19:14He finally reaches the top of the lava rock cliffs and scans the terrain ahead of him. In the pale glow of the starlight, he can make out a snow-covered field. It looks relatively flat. He takes his first step forward. Immediately, pain shoots out from the sole of his foot. Hidden beneath the snow are jagged pieces of igneous rock, which cut into his bare feet like razor blades. Loyer tries to figure out if there's another easier route, but under all the snow, it's impossible to tell. And then it begins to snow some more. Loyer is unmoved. He's made it this far, and he'll keep going until he collapses or reaches a house.

19:59He grits his teeth, and he takes another step.

20:10L 'Oye squints into the darkness, but all he sees ahead is more snow. This lava field seems to go on forever. He can't be sure, but he thinks he must have been walking for around two hours. His clothes are frozen onto his skin, and every now and then he loses all sensation in his feet. Occasionally, he finds a more or less flat surface to walk on, but then there will be another shard of lava that digs into his bare feet without warning. On this ice-cold night, it's hard to imagine that these sharp-edged stones were once molten lava from some long-forgotten eruption. Loye's mind goes back to that night, 11 years ago, when another eruption on the other side of the island destroyed everything in its path, including the village where he had lived his whole life.

21:08Fountains of molten lava shot up a hundred yards into the night sky from a fissure over a mile long Nothing was safe Loyer could feel the heat miles away on his evacuation ship For months, Loyer's father and other volunteers stayed behind while the rest of the islanders evacuated Scientists proposed pumping as much seawater as possible to fight the rivers of lava So that's what they did. In the end, the islanders saved the harbor and roughly half of the town. Many houses had been destroyed, but people helped each other to rebuild. The town was covered in 1.5 million tons of ash, and the residents used it to construct streets and a new runway for the airport.

21:56They used the heat of the volcano to warm their homes. A new lava rock formation made the entrance to the port smaller, but it was now better protected from the wind and waves. Loye remembers the words his mother told him back then when he asked how long his father would stay and fight the lava. As long as it takes. As long as it takes. As long. He stops, startled. The ground beneath his feet suddenly feels soft. He takes another step and realizes he's no longer walking on sharp volcanic rocks. He's reached a meadow, and that means it can't be long until he reaches someone's house.

22:51L 'Oye is finding it harder and harder to put one foot in front of the other. He stares in the direction of what he hopes is a village. He's walking, but it doesn't feel like he's making any progress. Every step takes a huge effort. He is more exhausted than he's been ever in his entire life, but there is something inside of him that won't let him stop. His eyes burn when he closes them. His mouth, it's bone dry. He must be incredibly dehydrated. He's swallowed so much salt water. How long has it been since he last took a drink? Four, five, six, six, six hours. Is that even possible? Has he been on the move for six hours?

23:43Loya can't quite believe what he's gone through. How can he still be alive? Maybe he's dead and he just doesn't know it. But if he is dead, then it doesn't matter anyway. He may as well keep going and see what happens. Or maybe he should just lie down and... His foot bumps into something big and heavy. Loye bends down and feels around for an object in the dark. It's cold with a flat top and curved sides. It's made of metal. It feels like a bathtub. But what would a bathtub be doing in the middle of a field? Then Loye realizes it's a water trough for cows. He feels around inside the tub. He feels ice.

24:29Maybe it's not frozen all the way to the bottom. He summons up his energy and punches the sheet of ice with his bare fist. If there is water in there, he needs to get to it. He tries again and again to break through the layer of ice. It crunches and cracks. The surface crumples a little with every punch until... L 'Ouye's hand breaks through, and he feels ice-cold water below the frozen layer. He scoops up a handful and slurps it down greedily. It's so cold it hurts his throat, but his thirst is stronger than his pain. He gulps down mouthful after mouthful from the trough before pausing breathlessly.

25:11His spirits are coming back to him. L 'Ouye looks around, scanning the environment. He sees a light in the distance. It's not flickering. It's not in the sky. And it's not moving. It must be a house.

25:32Loyer struggles to keep his eyes open. The house he saw an hour earlier is getting closer, but he can feel himself swaying like a drunkard from side to side. At one point, he almost collapses backwards in a heap, but no matter how much he's stumbling, he's still moving forward. L 'Oye sees the eruption from 11 years ago before his eyes again. He's being reunited with his father. For weeks and months, they had exchanged letters. Now they're running toward each other and falling into one another's arms. L 'Oye, you must never give up. You must never lose hope. What do we always say? Fetar, Redasts.

26:13It'll all be okay. It'll all be okay. Loya stumbles up the porch steps of the house. He falls against the front door, pulls himself up a little, then bangs on the door with his open palm. There is a small window in the middle of the door. Loya can see someone turning a light on in the hallway, then another light on the porch. Loya leans on the door and looks back at the path he's traveled. He can see bloody footprints in the snow. He hears a key in the lock, and the door opens. Loye can no longer hold himself up and falls into the house. What the hell is going on? Had too much to drink, have we?