Seal Helps Man Who Fell Into Ocean Complete 5-Hour Swim to Safety
A man who found himself stranded in the ocean in the dark of night has credited a seal with helping him to swim to safety.
Thompson said that the harbor seal gave him a nudge whenever he started treading water instead of swimming.
© Clinton Harris/iStock
Thompson said that the harbor seal gave him a nudge whenever he started treading water instead of swimming.
Sea urchin diver Scott Thompson fell from his boat into the Santa Barbara Channel, between Santa Cruz Island and the California coast, after sunset in January.
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The waters of the Santa Barbara Channel are home to predators including great white sharks, bull sharks and tiger sharks.
He had to swim for several hours to save himself, and he said that a seal helped to nudge him along when his strength started failing him.
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Thompson had FAILED to take safety precautions as he relieved himself off the side of the boat, and fell overboard after a powerful wave rocked the vessel and knocked him off balance. He was only wearing shorts and a t-shirt in the cold waters, and could only watch as his boat, which he had left in gear, sailed into the distance without him.
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"I just started swimming as hard as I could towards the boat, and it really didn't take too long to realize that it's getting farther, I'm not getting closer," he told ABC on Tuesday. He decided to swim towards Platform Gail, an offshore oil rig that was closer to him than any landmass was, but little did he know that the exhausting journey would take him around five hours.
He said that he was driven by thoughts of his wife, daughters and son having to support themselves without him.
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CONTINUE READING HERE: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/seal-helps-man-who-fell-into-ocean-complete-5-hour-swim-to-safety/ar-AATT2rA?ocid=uxbndlbing
I LOVE seals and see them all the time here in NorCal
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