Hole in the Ocean: Into the Vortex

25:47The stern has vanished back beneath the surface. And so it seems, is the captain. Johnny frantically scans the water, his eyes roaming over the dancing waves. And then I saw him in the water. He was holding on to a cushion on one of the bench seats on the bridge. It didn't have much buoyancy to it at all, but it was something to hang on to.

26:33do. Anything, anything that could increase their odds of making it through this. So I had a discussion with Eric and he said, all right, go ahead, buddy. And so I started traveling down that line. Johnny begins paddling again, balanced awkwardly on the broken surfboard, drifting down the scatter of debris. Familiar items float past. The juicy steak fillets they'd packed that morning, still in their plastic bag. Fishing rods. chunks of the shattered hull. At one point the main debris trail splits into two separate lines. Johnny picks a lane and follows it, eyes fixed on every scrap. When he reaches the end empty-handed, he doubles back on himself and tries the other line.

27:23He paddles right to the end, where the wreckage finishes and an endless ocean takes over. But again, he finds nothing that can help. The E-Purb radio beacon and the life raft haven't surfaced. Or if they have, they're not here. It's a major blow. Mission failure, and my captain gave me an order, and I couldn't accomplish it. The thoughts were starting to come to my head of being a failure, being a loser. I was part of that decision to not put this E-Purb and life raft in the cockpit. Cursing his own past decisions, Johnny battles through the water on his broken surfboard. eventually returning to Eric.

28:08When he gets there, the captain has better news for him. More debris has surfaced right next to him. Among the scraps of stern and bow, he's managed to salvage some valuable items. He holds up two life jackets. These are the lightweight sort designed for inland fishing trips rather than an extended stay in the ocean, but they're better than nothing. and perhaps even better still Eric has found the canister of flares if a boat happens to pass by they'll at least have a way of trying to draw its attention now all they can do is wait so Eric he had his sunglasses on when we went down so he gave me his sunglasses and he had his ball cap on so he would kind of watch the horizon and I would look up in the sky and it's funny the one thing that we did not want to do was look down because when you look down, you just see it's like an endless depth and then you start remembering that you're part of the food chain.

29:07For a while, they simply bob on the surface of the ocean, trying not to allow fear to take hold. In fact, despite their desperate situation, Johnny still manages to appreciate the wonder of what's around. The water was absolutely beautiful. I mean, it was like that purpley-blue Gulf Stream, deep Caribbean water. It was funny that we did take the time to smell the roses and lift each other up.

30:02Seeing the plane was so super excited. It's like, you know, here we go, here's our rescue. But the plane was up there pretty high. I imagine they were probably flying to Cancun. Rapidly, they open the flare kit and ignite one. A vivid red plume of smoke hisses and billows skyward as the plane inches closer. Surely the pilot, or a bored passenger gazing out of the window, must see the bright crimson mist rising from the ocean. But the aircraft doesn't slow down. It doesn't change its course. It passes over and simply vanishes into the distance. The smoke is carried off on the wind, and soon Johnny and Eric are back to square one.

30:45I watched the plane go over the horizon. Then it was another one of those lows. and feeling pretty crushed because, you know, putting so much hope into that being what was going to save us. That being our salvation.

31:04They resume their positions, floating, stubbornly not looking down. However, there is less conversation now. It seems like conditions around them are starting to mirror their darker mood, too. The sky, once a canvas of soft blue and wispy clouds, is fast becoming a blanket of gray. The wind strengthens. The sea, as calm as glass just moments before, begins to churn. White, foamy crests break around them. What we did not know was at 9 o 'clock, there was a call that had gone from Cancun to Key West. and that call was this, don't send any boats, it's getting bad. So that's a big deal. Typically, they give us the conditions and the captain's your decision, what you're going to do, you're going to come or not.

31:59That's your call. But for them to say don't send any boats means it's very, very bad. So that storm would develop and that storm was en route to us. Jostled by the waves, sticking together becomes an enormous challenge.

32:15And then, in the middle of the afternoon, Eric shouts through the fierce wind. He sees something on the horizon amid the chaos of the heaving water. Seeing that white speck on the horizon, there was such a unique train of thoughts that went along with that because knowing it was a ship, well first of all, it's like which way is it? Which direction is it traveling? Is it going away from us? and then to watch that shape grow and grow and grow, we knew that it was getting closer. They watch intense silence as the ship sails towards them. Soon they can make out markings on the hull. It's a cruise ship, an enormous one.

32:55This is good news. A ship that size means people, hundreds, maybe thousands. All it takes is one person at the railing, One child with binoculars, one crew member doing a scan of the deteriorating surroundings. There's always people looking off the back of the ship. Somebody's got to see us. Johnny waits for the perfect moment until the ship is within range. As he crests a wave, he strikes the flare. Eric lights one too. Crimson smoke once more curls into the gray sky. Someone must be looking their way, able to see the two drowning men in the middle of the gulf. But the ship sails on. Johnny and Eric watch as their salvation once again passes them by.

33:46Its vast outline begins to shrink until it's imperceptible through the storm.

33:56That was the beginning of the darkness. That's when it was, you know, you're going to die out here, and just the thoughts begin to manifest. You're a loser, you're a failure. You're going to either get eaten by a shark or you're going to drown. I knew it was only a matter of time. Rescue now will surely only happen if the men take matters into their own hands. Flares aren't working. the life jackets are soaked through and starting to tear. Conditions are quickly becoming unmanageable. Worse still, Eric is losing feeling in his lower half as hypothermia sets in. It's impossible to know how much time he has left.

34:36One thing is clear. They have to act. That was the first time Eric and I had a discussion that wasn't, I want to say, totally uplifting, because it was a conversation that was, if we don't find the E-Purb and life raft, we're going to die out here. Eric gives an order. Johnny needs to go and search the debris field again for the E-Purb or the life raft, for anything that can help them. It may seem like Eric is forcing Johnny to do all the hard work, but there is probably a selflessness in the captain's orders. I think it was a situation where he was trying to save me. Because if I found the life raft, I never would have been able to get it back to him against that wind and that current and the seas.

35:18But I think it was, I truly think he was sending me out to save myself. I knew that if I found the E-Purb, they were going to home in on my position and not his position. Just there was like, even though it was an act that hadn't been performed yet, there was still like such an extreme thought of the guilt of, we're a team, you know, we're a crew. We're brothers and you don't leave a brother behind. Whatever Eric's intentions, he's given an order. an order Johnny, as mate, is obliged to follow, no matter how difficult. Once more, he points the battered surfboard towards the debris and begins paddling into the swells.

35:59The tone of that search was totally different than the initial search. Inertial search, it was calm. Now we've got some seas that have built, probably blowing, you know, getting closer to 20 knots of wind, which is pretty rough, especially when you have a situation where you have the wind and the swell going in different directions. Makes it like a washing machine. And knowing that that line that was there would soon be going away. The debris is no longer in a manageable trail. It is scattered in a vast field, carried this way and that in the swell. Finding the EPUB and the life raft is like searching for a needle in a constantly moving haystack.

36:37Johnny battles through the Whitecaps for as long as he can, but it soon becomes clear that finding the life-saving equipment is not going to happen. Broken and exhausted, he makes a fateful decision. So I just kind of gave up and just stopped and just floated. I was a long way out and that's when there was just the manifestation of you're going to die, you're going to die, you're going to die, you're a loser.

37:01And then I finally had made a decision and that decision was I wasn't going to eat by a shark. We pretty much knew the bull sharks were going to rip us to pieces. So I made my plan to drown myself.

37:15Mind made up, Johnny utters a final desperate prayer, begging for forgiveness. He unbuckles his life jacket and shrugs it off, letting it fall into the sea. He looks skyward one last time, and then at the ocean, at the vast stretch of blue that he has adored his whole life. A wave builds, and he follows its progress. It's coming right for him. Rather than try to avoid it, he closes his eyes and lets it hit.

37:53He tumbles from the surfboard. For a moment, he is caught in the froth of the wave, and then he is gone.

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39:13Well, I'm letting go of the worry that I wouldn't get my new contacts in time for this class. I got them delivered free from 1-800-CONTACTS. Oh my gosh, they're so fast. And breathe. Oh, sorry. I almost couldn't breathe when I saw the discount they gave me on my first order. Oh, sorry. Namaste. Visit 1-800-CONTACTS.com today to save on your first order. 1-800-CONTACTS The tumbling wave consumes Johnny. The salt water blinds him. It floods his ears and fills his lungs with fire. His body is tossed around as if he's nothing more than a piece of driftwood. He has no sense of up or down, only the relentless spinning of the ocean as it swallows him whole.

40:00But despite all this, something strange begins to happen.

40:07It was in that process of rolling under that my body filled with a sense of warmth and strength. It scared me to tell you the truth. It freaked me out like, whoa, what the world's going on here? Maybe it's adrenaline. Maybe it's something more. Whatever it is, it drives him upwards. Kicking hard, Johnny breaks through the surface. Gasping in lungfuls of the open air, he retrieves his life jacket, rides a wave, and then hauls himself back onto the surfboard. As he wipes the salt water from his eyes, he hears something. I heard a voice over my shoulder. John, you spend a lot of time out here Pick your line and paddle it It was a raging ocean A raging sea With just that sound of the waves And the wind consume everything But it was soft And it penetrated through it And I was able to find a line And see it And paddle He does as the voice says Trying to find a path through the chaos But it's not easy Wind shrieks across the water And the waves rear up like beasts Fighting those seas, getting knocked off the surfboard Trying to climb back on it And continuing to go, just knock down, get back up Knock down, get back up And sometimes, like, they would come out of nowhere And I remember just, like, doing my best to get a gasp of air Before getting rolled Again and again, he is struck down Again and again, he rises Finally, he sees a shape in the distance.

41:53Eric. He paddles hard. And as he draws closer, he notices something floating near his captain. As I made it back to him, I saw something kind of whitish floating. So I kind of diverted to that, and actually it was the master stateroom mattress. It was like, you know, one of those mindsets of, man, tonight we can get up on top of that thing, and it'll keep our stuff from hanging down when it's feeding time for the sharks. Eric has a surprise in store for Johnny too. While he was away, something else resurfaced. Johnny's rucksack. Inside are some wetsuits, another miracle. Johnny hands Eric the thickest one.

42:36Given the creeping hypothermia, this added warmth could mean the difference between life and death. If Eric can retain what's left of his core temperature, then maybe he still has a shot. Maybe they both do. I didn't really talk to Eric about what had happened out there, but there was optimism. We knew we were going to make it. I didn't know how this was going to happen, but we were going to make it. We were going to live through this. And that just reinforced a sense of resiliency.

43:05They decide to tie themselves together with the leash from the surfboard's bag to create a lifeline. Now, when the waves pull them under, They can right each other. But it's not just the water they have to contend with. As dusk begins to fall, the ocean seems to fill with wildlife. Most are beautiful fish, their colorful bodies flitting this way and that beneath the surface. At first, their eyes are peeled for sharks. The telltale movement of a large shadow or a sinister fin poking above the waves. But then they spot another creature. One that poses a different kind of deadly threat. The Portuguese man of war.

43:51If you don't know what that is, that's a jellyfish on steroids. We knew that if we got wrapped up in one of those, that it would take too much out of us with all the stings. And so when we'd see one come in, we would dodge left or right. Just the teamwork out there was just amazing. With as much calm and composure as they can muster, the men weave around the siphonophore's enormous, sprawling tendrils. The leash is working well, keeping them together. It's only when Johnny spots something on a nearby wave that he suggests unhooking himself. I remember looking over and seeing a flare flight, and I told Captain Eric, I was like, you know what, that might be a good flare, but I think I need to go get it.

44:29Eric agrees. All the other flares have been used up or washed away. This could be their last chance of attracting attention should a boat or plane pass by. Detaching himself, Johnny pushes away from his captain and battles against the waves. Eventually, he reaches it and quickly checks if it's operational. It seems to be. I was so excited. I'm like, it's good, Eric. It's good. It's good. And as I was screaming that it's good, I could tell he started screaming. But I couldn't make out the words because of the wind. So at that moment, that's when I just started digging into him as hard as I could, swimming towards him.

45:05I thought he was getting attacked by sharks. the sight of eric screaming and thrashing in the water acts like a starting pistol johnny's worst fears it seems are now being realized using every last dreg of energy he surges forward towards his captain in a matter of minutes he's close enough to eric to hear what he is shouting these are not cries of pain but elation as i got closer to him that's why i you know scream it's a fish boat it's a fish boat it's a fish boat a 50-foot vessel cuts through the water ahead of them its white hull shining like a beacon johnny has one chance to get the boat's attention one chance to get it right he tears open the last remaining flare his eyes never leaving the boat he waits for the rise of a wave and then sets it off red smoke pours into the sky Time stands still.

46:07And then all of a sudden I just heard this, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. And turn around and look to see the bow. So it's kind of funny because initially it was like, we're rescued. Then it was like, oh, no, I hope he sees us because now he's going to chop us up. The boat looms perilously close, but it stops short and swings around. A mate runs onto the deck and pushes open the tuna doors at the back. Usually used when hauling in prized fish, Johnny approaches. And then, after hours of torment, the ocean finally gives him a helping hand. The mate had opened that door in a white cap pit, and it kind of washed me in.

46:52And I felt so guilty for getting in before my captain. Johnny scrambles to his feet and shoves past the mate. He kneels by the tuna doors and reaches for Eric, wrestling him on board. The doors close behind him, and the two men collapse onto the deck, breathing heavily. They're finally safe. The mate offers a steadying shot of rum, but all they want is water. Dehydrated and shaking, they gulp it down. The mate then offers towels and dry clothes for the men. The cobbled-together jumper and trousers don't quite fit the six-foot-tall Johnny, but this helps break the tension as laughter rings around the cabin at his appearance.

47:38When the captain arrives to check on his guests, a look of recognition spreads across his face. Incredibly, he and Eric go way back. After hearing their story, the captain explains his extremely lucky presence in the area. He had just missed the dire weather warnings from earlier that day, the ones instructing boats not to leave the harbor. They had pulled out just before 9 o 'clock, just before that call. With that timing, they missed that notice that came in from Cancun that said don't send any boats. That was the first miracle. The second was them finding each other in incredibly tempestuous seas and powerful currents.

48:22Eric and Johnny thank their rescuers profusely. It's time to get back to dry land. The boat continues to Cancun, where it docks safely. Johnny calls home and offers a tearful report of his harrowing day. He also discusses a problem with his mother. With his passport, wallet, and any other documentation lost at the bottom of the sea, getting back into the U.S. isn't going to be straightforward. My mom was incredible. She was on the phone with our local senators and just like, hey, get my kid back. And so the American consulate in Cancun actually came to the marinas to bring us letters to get us back into the United States.

49:09The next day, wearing borrowed clothes and carrying bin bags of salvaged gear, Johnny and Eric board a flight home. Despite suffering from the beginnings of hyperthermia, both men go on to make a full recovery. But psychologically, coming to terms with what happened takes more time. Rogue waves are so rare and so deadly that there's no one Johnny can turn to who truly understands. Survivors are almost unheard of. There are no meetings he can attend, no shared experiences. Instead, he finds solace in an unlikely place. One of the documentaries that I watched was a BBC Horizon episode about rogue waves.

49:53And I wish I could tell the guy that wrote that or produced it or whoever came up with that concept of that video, thank you. Because they've really helped to give me a lot of healing. It was so informative to learn this stuff and to know that I wasn't alone. On reflection, Johnny says he credits his survival to two things. The first is years of experience at sea, which gave him the mental preparation he needed when disaster struck. Preparation is huge, and what we do with our time is really big. So all these years fishing out of Virginia Beach, those were slower back then, so it was like a three-hour run.

50:33I had a choice. I could sleep the whole time, or I could just think and try to make myself better in some way. And so what I would do is I would kind of review in my head, if this happened, what would I do? I would run the drills. So the day that it did happen, I was prepared. And Johnny believes the second key component to his survival was faith. A steadfast belief in a higher power. And in the importance of struggle as a means to bettering ourselves. Things are bigger than us. Learn as you go through the challenges in life. Because we don't know the purpose. If we cut the struggle short sometimes, we're cutting the lesson short.

51:37has mountaineering in her blood. But during a solo trip up Mount Logan, a once-in-a-generation phenomenon will see her face her greatest challenge yet. Over the course of several days, Natalia will encounter a multitude of natural disasters. Time and time again, she'll have to call on all her grit and experience to keep struggling on as she locks horns with the immense power of Mother Nature.

52:05That's next time on Real Survival Stories. Listen right now without ads by joining Noisa Plus. Stitch Fix. Stop shopping. Get styled. Not today, sweatpants. Somebody's wearing jeans that fit. Wow! No photos, please. I'm just a regular dad who happens to have a stylist. I really look my best when someone else makes the decisions. Hey, we can all see you two-way mirrors. Just share your size, style, and budget, and your stylist sends personalized looks right to your door. Stitch Fix. Get started today at stitchfix.com. I want to hug you. I'm gonna hug you. I'm coming in for a hug.