Seven-Hour Swim: Real-Life Jaws

25:41As dusk settles, twinkling beacons appear along the coast, the lights of the hotels and apartments that line Daytona's seafront. But these lights seem to be getting fainter. Tammy calls over to Daniel, her voice brittle with anxiety. I told him that we're going out farther and farther, and he was going, no, the currents are going this way, so we're going to be going back in. Und ich war, no, wir sind weiter. Die anderen sind nicht verstanden, aber Tammy ist sicher. Und wenn sie sich weiter ausdrücken, ist jetzt die Zeit zu tun. Tammy war auf sie high-school swim-team. Es hat schon lange seit sie competed, aber sie ist confident in die Wasser und sie volunteers zu schwimmen ein mile oder so zurück.

26:31Ich dachte, ich kann es. Und so es war Daniel, oder Randy, die dann endet up telling me that I can't go because dusk is when the sharks feed, they go closer to shore, you're going to be swimming in there and it's going to be feeding time. They were saying, just, you know, if we all stay together, stay on here, somebody's got to come at some point. Tammy agrees to stay put. The key here is to remain calm and rational and not do anything drastic. Surely, eventually, they'll be picked up.

27:06At some stage, it stops raining and the sky clears. Another few hours pass. And then, from the blackness above. The first thing we saw was the plane. That was hours and hours later. That was after it got really dark that we heard a plane, a small plane coming. And it had lights. It had a light shining on the water. So then we knew somebody's looking for us. The plane flies a looping figure eight above the water, the beam of its searchlight scouring the waves. It doesn't come close enough to spot the upturned catamaran, but its very presence is reassuring. Not long after the sighting of the plane, another welcome sound drifts through the darkness.

27:55Daniel recognizes it immediately. He knew it was like a Coast Guard cutter. He could hear the engine, even though it was miles from us. And so he goes, they must have sent a boat out for us. That confirms it. It's only a matter of time now before they're found. That's when we started it all hippie happy and everything's great. We're going to have a party. You know, we're going to get back to shore and everybody's going to be, you know, flipping out. And so we all said what we wanted. And somebody said strawberry daiquiri is the first thing I'm going to have. And somebody else said a cheeseburger.

28:29und dann, ich werde, ich werde, ich werde, ich werde, ich werde, ich werde, ich werde, ich werde, ich werde, ich werde, ich werde, und ich werde, und ich werde, und ich habe, weil wir sicher, dass alles war, was ich bin. Tammy listens, hopes soaring, als die boat schugs towards sie. Ich weiß nicht, wie lange es war, vielleicht ein paar oder so, bevor es got zu uns. Und es war so close. Somewhere in der darknessne, die boat cuts its engines. Tammy and the others start yelling and whistling, emptying their lungs into the night air. They wait, ears pricked, as the echoes of their voices drift away on the breeze.

29:08Until... We hear the engines start up and they go off a little bit further north and nothing happens. So that was the time we kind of realized how small we were, how small we were in the ocean. And even with the moon kind of reflecting and that, we just had that sinking feeling that we weren't going to be found. So we just kind of made that resolution that we're going to probably have to wait this out till day.

29:43It's around midnight. Tammy, Daniel, Christy, and Randy sit in single file on the pontoon. A subdued silence has settled over the group. Tammy, dressed only in her bikini, has started to shiver violently, making it even more difficult to keep her balance. The sea now laps around their waists as the foundering boat continues its slow, inexorable downward slide. Eventually, it will disappear from underneath them, dropping to the silty sediment of the seabed, leaving those on board to tread water on their own. All they can do is hope they get picked up before that happens. By now, the possibility that they might be drifting further out to sea has become an indisputable fact.

30:35All four of them look back towards land, where the bright lights along the coast gradually recede to tiny, flickering embers. The lights just kept getting dimmer and we could tell they weren't turning off. It wasn't that they were turning off, they were just getting dimmer and dimmer. And everyone saw that it looks like we're going further out. Tammy focuses intently on the dim, dwindling lights. But eventually, even that one small source of comfort is extinguished. So at some point, the lights completely disappeared. So we knew we were miles, miles out by that time. So we just basically tried to keep each other warm and then, you know, we're looking everywhere.

31:15We thought surely we're going to see something, a ship, some fishing boat, something, even though we were far out. But as the night goes on, those hopes fade. By now, Tammy and the others are submerged up to their chests. Maybe this is the moment to cut their losses and swim for land. After all, the longer they delay, The greater the distance back to shore. But now, in the pitch dark, it's impossible to tell east from west. They could just as easily be swimming further out to sea. Paddling off into the blackness is too terrifying. Whatever they decide to do next, they are going to have to wait until morning.

32:04Vielen Dank.

32:27Ich liebe ihre Performance Golf Quarter Zip, für eine gute Zeit für einen Abend mit Freunde. Wenn du noch an den gleichen Worn-Out-Basics hast, Quince macht es einfach zu upgrade. Sie haben premium denim und tailored Chinos von$60, mit der perfect fit, Struktur und high-quality Fabrieren von einem Luxury Designer-Brand. Alles, Quince, ist 50-80 % weniger als andere. They work directly with ethical factories and cut out the middlemen, so you're paying for high-quality, not brand markup. And it's not just clothing. Quince has become my go-to for everything from hotel-quality bedding and bath essentials to premium cookware and travel must-haves.

33:09So upgrade your everyday this fall. Download the Quince app for app-exclusive offers or go to quince.com slash survival stories. Get free shipping on your order and 365-day returns. Now available in Canada and the UK, too. That's Q-U-I-N-C-E dot com slash Survival Stories. Insurance isn't one size fits all, and shopping for it shouldn't feel like squeezing into something that just doesn't fit. That's why drivers have enjoyed Progressive's Name Your Price tool for years. With the Name Your Price tool, you tell them what you want to pay, and they show you options that fit your budget. Enough hunting for discounts, trying to calculate rates, and tinkering with coverages.

33:51Maybe you're picking out your very first policy Or maybe you're just looking for something that works better for you and your family Either way, they make it simple to see your options No guesswork, no surprises Ready to see how easy and fun shopping for car insurance can be? Visit Progressive.com and give the Name Your Price tool a try Take the stress out of shopping and find coverage that fits your life On your terms Progressive Casualty Insurance Company & Affiliates Price and coverage match limited by state law.

34:26It's about four hours later. Tammy sits pressed against the trembling body of the person in front. Her teeth chatter, and the bare skin of her legs chafes against the plastic of the pontoon. Aware of a slight easing of the darkness, she looks over her shoulder.

35:11Soon, the choice will be made for them. The pontoon feels moments away from sinking entirely, with the chilly Atlantic now lapping around their necks. There are some voices of dissent. Not everyone in the group is as strong a swimmer as Tammy, but eventually they all agree. Everybody's talked about it, and I think we even said, you know, you can stay on here if you want, but we're all going to die, so we might as well die trying. In the early hours of the morning, In der Nacht, sie pushen, der colden, stifferen Bodies entfernt und setztert, paddeln in der Richtung des Land. Für Tammy, eine steely Determination takes hold.

35:53All I have to do is swim. Und das war in meinem Geist. Nicht dass ich mich tired, nicht dass ich mich cold war, nicht dass ich mich thirsty oder wie lange es würde. Ich habe nichts. Ich habe alles, alles ich habe zu do ist, zu streichen. Und einfach swim. At first, they swim close together. But gradually, gaps open up between them. Tammy leads the way. Daniel, who is also a strong swimmer, brings up the rear, just behind Christy and Randy. They continue like this for a while, battling through the waves in a ragged procession. But after an hour or so, it becomes clear that Christy is struggling.

36:33Not wanting to get too far ahead of the others, Tammy stops and turns. And that's when their very worst fears are realized. I heard Christy screaming again, yelling this time to her boyfriend Randy to come help her. And, you know, she was screaming and that's when I saw just like in the movie Jaws, she went straight up in the air, straight back down. And then she went up again. I was close enough to her where I felt like I saw the blood leave her body because she was like a ghost. She was white all of a sudden. And then she went face down in the water. Tammy stares, horrified. She screams at the boys to stay away from the blood.

37:19I could see the water changed color, so I just kept yelling that, that, you know, don't go, don't go, it's a shark. Ignoring Tammy's frantic appeals, Daniel and Randy swim over to Christy. Tammy can only watch in dismay. Soon, more sharks will surely be attracted to the area. In this most appalling of situations, Tammy's survival instincts take over. I just said, I can't. This is not how I'm going to go. There wasn't a lot of thought of should I, could I. It was just, yeah, you saw that and you're like, there's no way. I was like, I can't. I can't do anything for them. You know, I have to swim and try and get help.

37:57und ich dann einfach этом

38:07Tami nicht so was sie so wie so

38:18und

38:23ich see anybody coming behind me. I was like, they're all going to die. There's, you know, all that blood in the water. I just, it's crazy. And then it was like right after that, you know, within 10 minutes or so, I don't know, that I felt a bump on my leg. Tammy's blood runs cold. Something big has just brushed up against her leg. A glancing, deliberate bump. She looks down into the murk of the water, heart crashing in her chest. So I looked down and it was a shark, but it had come at me like swimming sideways right beside me and it just kind of hit me on my thigh, not with his nose or anything, more like his body.

39:07Some sharks, great whites for instance, will typically nudge their prey before striking, a behavior known as a bump and bite attack. Tammy watches this dark shape lurking beneath the waves, apparently sizing her up. She turns back to the sky with a shudder. And yet, somehow, rather than panicking, Tammy manages to stay composed. It was like a nanosecond that, it was just in my head, it was the most horrible death ever. I'm not going to die this way. I'm just going to put myself in the mind of a fish like I belong in the ocean. Just keep stroking steady. Don't be scared. She focuses on keeping her movements relaxed and fluid.

39:50Soon enough, her heart rate slows. Her breathing returns to normal. She keeps swimming, and still the shark bite doesn't come. Minutes pass, then an hour. Tammy's strokes are as consistent as clockwork, sweeping her arms up over her shoulders and gently kicking her feet, smooth and steady. It was probably, I don't know, maybe three hours in the swim, somewhere around there. wo ich bin, ich konnte den shoreline sehen. Ich war es noch far, aber ich konnte endlich sehen, so ich wusste, ich bin, ich bin der richtige Weg. Tammy ist noch wahrscheinlich 4 oder 5 miles von shore, an immense distance zu cover, nach so vielen Stunden ohne Wasser zu verhauen.

40:40Aber sie schweigst nicht. 3 Stunden wird 4, dann 5, dann 6. Wälder lap insistent gegen sie her face. Die saltwater stinging her eyes. Her sun-scorched skin reddens and cracks open in her blistered lips. She swims through great swarms of jellyfish, their poisonous tentacles leaving raised welts along her face and arms. And still she plows on, undeterred. Eventually, exhaustion starts to loosen Tammy's grasp on reality. At one stage, the image of a pier materializes in the sky above her. So real-looking, it feels like she could spring from the ocean and step right onto it. But in my head I knew, okay, well, if I get on that pier, I know that's not really real.

41:36So if I get on that pier, it means I'm probably going to die. So I just, I said, no, you got to keep swimming. It was weird. It was almost like giving up. Wenn ich sage, ich tr confessionte zu Davis, wäre ich. Ich war nichtMI得 am Daode. Ich hatte auch, und schreibt es am Bou explanation. Jew glaube ich... Wir gehen hier noch ein paar Wochen. Aber ich habe dazu noch dribungen über sedan RTXpläte.

42:14Familienbabắp التonfor! that work harder. Their Performance Tech Shorts offer both form and function. Great for working out or working in the yard, getting your house fall ready. And I love their Performance Golf Quarter Zip. Great for an early tee time or a cool evening out with friends. If you're still hanging on to the same worn out basics, Quince makes it easy to upgrade. You know, they have premium denim and tailored chinos from just$60 with the kind of perfect fit structure and high quality fabrics you'd expect from a luxury designer brand. Everything at Quince is priced 50-80 % less than similar brands.

42:49They work directly with ethical factories and cut out the middlemen, so you're paying for high quality, not brand markup. And it's not just clothing. Quince has become my go-to for everything from hotel quality bedding and bath essentials to premium cookware and travel must-haves. So upgrade your everyday this fall. Download the Quince app for app-exclusive offers or go to quince.com slash survival stories. Get free shipping on your order and 365-day returns. Now available in Canada and the UK, too. That's Q-U-I-N-C-E dot com slash survival stories. Insurance isn't one size fits all. And shopping for it shouldn't feel like squeezing into something that just doesn't fit.

43:31That's why drivers have enjoyed Progressive's Name Your Price tool for years. With the Name Your Price tool, you tell them what you want to pay. And they show you options that fit your budget. Enough hunting for discounts, trying to calculate rates, and tinkering with coverages. Maybe you're picking out your very first policy. Or maybe you're just looking for something that works better for you and your family. Either way, they make it simple to see your options. No guesswork, no surprises. Ready to see how easy and fun shopping for car insurance can be? Visit Progressive.com and give the Name Your Price tool a try.

44:06Take the stress out of shopping and find coverage that fits your life on your terms. Progressive Casualty Insurance Company & Affiliates. Price and coverage match limited by state law. It's early afternoon. Nine hours since she started swimming, Tammy is fending. Her body, pushed to its limits, is on the brink. Then, hearing waves crash somewhere behind her, she turns. There, maybe a mile away, partially concealed behind a wall of rolling breakers, Also ist der Kampf, die Rennieher hinweg, die von ihnenварbeln Katzen Bogd das Er prouste, wie Erwerso anonym wird. Und jetzt ist sie noch weit nahe, durch die WurDING quase zu erreichen.

44:58bzw. Schleifror kann sie wiederーい魅 sich 1938 auf die Arbeit gestually um Kontrollen Sarahle.

45:23She battles against the surge of water flowing against her She kicks and flails her arms but she can't overcome the force of the undertone She is being pushed back out to sea Yet once again, when presented with a horrifying scenario Tammy manages to remain pragmatic I remembered to go sideways If you can cut through sideways in a rip current It's a lot easier just to go north oder wie es geht, und dann du plötzlich cut across. Und so das ist was ich, und ich habe über den surfgelegt. Ich habe mich, wenn ich über den surfgelegt habe, das ist wenn er mich sah. Als Tammy tumbles durch die Whitewater, sie catchen sight of the lifeguard, jumping off his chair und running down the beach.

46:09Wenn er ist close genug, the lifeguard throws a Plastik Lifebuoy. Tammy reaches out mit exhausted arms und grabs it. Moments später, She said, she's staggering onto the beach. The lifeguard starts berating her, demanding to know what she was doing swimming so far out. She could have gotten herself killed. I just looked at him and I said, I just probably swam about 6, 7, 8 miles to shore. I said, there's a capsized catamaran out there. And my friend was attacked by a shark while she was out there. And he just looked at me like I was full of BS. And I said, yeah, you got to get a helicopter or something because there's two other guys out there.

46:48Wyatt weiß es, ein se suister Nummer als ப.

47:19Both were young men.

47:24Once Tammy's fluids have been restored and her internal body temperature has been stabilized, she asks the doctors if she can be discharged. They wanted me to stay overnight because I was really dehydrated, but I just said, I don't feel bad. I just want to go home. Over the course of the next few days, as the press picks up the story, Tammy is interviewed by a slew of reporters. But she assumes they're only interested in the shark attack and not her personal experience. I just thought they wanted to know what happened to Christy. And so I didn't even feel like I was part of the accident. And I didn't want sympathy or anything, but I just took myself out of it.

48:02It's like, yeah, it's terrible, you know, for Christy. But I think because I repeated that story, it didn't traumatize me as much. A kind of dissonance emerges between Tami's experience in the ocean and the way that the story is being told und perceives. Ist sie ein Survivor oder ein Spectator? A Victim oder ein Witness? Das disconnect ist nur noch weiter wenn sie geht zu visiten Randy in der hospital und hört die Geschichte von seinem Perspektive, von wie er und Daniel über die Christi, aber letztendlich, tragisch, nicht mehr sie verhindert. Er hat sie gett zu ihr und Daniel kam also zu ihr und er hat sie versucht,

48:57A paar Wochen später, Tammy moves to Atlanta. Arriving in a new city where nobody knows her or her connection to what happened, The whole thing feels even further removed Like a bad dream Six months later, Tammy is in a bar Chatting with a new co-worker When all of a sudden, a strange sensation comes over her The bartender, a bright-eyed, fair-haired young woman Looks just like Christy As Tammy falls silent Her colleague asks if she's okay I was just stunned So when she looked at me, she said You look like you saw a ghost And, you know, I said I kind of did. And that's when I started. I said, I guess I'll tell you a story now.

49:45I don't usually tell people, and then I started in on the story. And it wasn't five minutes into it, not even ten minutes. She knew what the story was and just looked at me and said, oh, my God, you're that girl. And I said, what girl? And she said, you're that girl in a sailboat accident. She said, you're the one that survived. Tammy has still barely shared her side of the story. The press were more interested in other, more lurid aspects. Tammy didn't even tell her parents about what had happened until her brother insisted. Still, she nods and confirms to her co-worker that yes, she is that girl.

50:27And she said, oh my god, oh my god, when this happened, I read about it up here and I wrote my mom in Naples and I said, please send me everything you can. and I couldn't believe this girl who survived and all that. And yeah, that kind of showed me up. So yeah, we became good friends. 45 years on, Tammy is recently retired with two grown-up kids. Looking back on what happened in August of 1981, she recalls how the experience cast things in a new light. And despite the traumas she experienced, und sie sagt sie mittlerweileadoresst ich erheben. Ich bin nicht in der Mitte deruerlichen, aber es war damit szerבה, meinsell continuit und aber встретieren uns linked, und irgendwann etwas miss improved.

51:16Als ich heute habe, eine weiße bisd засchütze, einfachaa alles sich einfach nur partie drauf ist. Die gradualen sind beleza, und dass 거지 das bacteriaanan ist, und ich denke, ich bin das Erleisbar. Ich bin wirklich was. Ich habe genug, Usingen nursing據 e Mutたい, Juliaх seasons, all the type of stuff...ôi Bis alles niemals hat neue B Мы diversen hiermit.

51:42Vieleук대 Bear Matters sind Daug traditionsque und Chance Res можете 먹을 die если geh development Putzine an und den L giàstens Pretty... tevejakte deine Chance vor demاف 출 streams im Leben.

52:00Next time on Real Survival Stories, we meet 62-year-old amateur mountaineer Dan Wenker. In June 2022, Dan is part of a small group taking on the Grand Teton in Wyoming, when adverse weather conditions force Dan and his buddy Jim to abandon plans for the summit and head back down the mountain. Having hiked a fair way, the pair decide to slide down a snowy stretch of slope. As Dan skids towards his friend, he loses control and plunges into a deep, glacial ravine, carved by a waterfall and known as an ice moat. Plummeting into icy darkness, survival from here will be miraculous. And when Dan comes to and takes in his surroundings, it's clear the fall was just the start.

52:45It's pitch black. There's a raging waterfall on the right of me. I can feel an ice wall behind me. This sheer rock wall is in front of me. und als ich sah, ich sah ein kleiner dot, die ist in der Sonne. Und da ist keinemun, ich bin aus dem Weg. Das ist eine Stunde auf Real Survival Stories. Listen heute, ohne zu warten, und ohne zu ads, bei der Noiser Plus zu erinnern. Starting oder growing your own business kann man beintimidating und lonely at times. Your to-do list may feel endless mit neuen Tasks, und lists kann man schnell beginnen zu überrun. So finding the right tool that not only helps you out, but simplifies everything as a built-in business partner can be a game changer.

53:29For millions of businesses, that tool is Shopify. Shopify is the commerce platform behind millions of businesses around the world and 10 % of all e-commerce in the US, from household names like Gymshark, Rare Beauty, and Heinz, to brands just getting started. Shopify has hundreds of ready-to-use templates that can help you build a beautiful online store that matches your brand's style. Und du kannst alle die wichtigsten Tasks in einem Ort, von Inventory, zu Payments, zu Analytics und mehr. No need zu save multiple Websites oder zu figurenter was, was die Plattform du hast, die Tool du brauchst.

54:04Und wenn Leute nicht gehört haben, du kannst die Wort aus, wie du hast ein Marketing Team behindest. Mit easy-to-run e-mail und social media campaigns zu reach customers, wherever sie scrolling oder strolling. Start your business today mit der Industrie's best business partner, Shopify, und start hearing... Sign up for your$1 per month trial today at shopify.com slash realm. Go to shopify.com slash realm. That's shopify.com slash realm. Insurance isn't one size fits all. And shopping for it shouldn't feel like squeezing into something that just doesn't fit. That's why drivers have enjoyed Progressive's Name Your Price tool for years.

54:48With the Name Your Price tool, you tell them what you want to pay. And they show you options that fit your budget. Enough hunting for discounts, trying to calculate rates, and tinkering with coverages. Maybe you're picking out your very first policy. Or maybe you're just looking for something that works better for you and your family. Either way, they make it simple to see your options. No guesswork, no surprises. Ready to see how easy and fun shopping for car insurance can be? Visit Progressive.com and give the Name Your Price tool a try. Take the stress out of shopping and find coverage that fits your life.

55:22On your terms. Progressive Casualty Insurance Company & Affiliates. Price and coverage match limited by state law.