Cruise ship pianist rescued after drifting nine hours in Pacific
Two fishermen found the 37 year old man near Santa Catalina Island, where warm El Niño waters likely aided his survival.
By Marina Weber ·
A 37 year old pianist working aboard a cruise ship was pulled from the Pacific Ocean on Friday after spending nine hours at sea. The rescue took place approximately 30 kilometers off the coast of California.
The man fell overboard from the Ovation of the Seas, a Royal Caribbean vessel that was traveling toward Mexico. His identity has not been made public. The U.S. Coast Guard confirmed he was taken to a hospital, where his condition is stable.
Two commercial fishermen, Grant Garrett and Sean Norton, discovered the survivor while returning from a marlin fishing trip near Santa Catalina Island in Los Angeles County. Garrett told CBS News he stopped the boat immediately upon seeing a person in the water. Norton, his partner, grabbed the pianist by each arm to pull him onto the vessel.
Norton described the man as being in a state of absolute shock. The pianist spoke only once during the rescue, thanking his rescuers and saying he believed he was going to die. Norton attributed the survival to the unusually warm water temperatures caused by the current El Niño climate pattern.
The fishermen noted that the water conditions were exceptional. Norton stated that in a typical year, the pianist likely would not have survived the nine hours in the ocean.
