Man survives 20 hours in the ocean: "I wasn't ready to give up"

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James Michael Grimes in the ABC interview: "I just didn't accept that my life should end here"

Photo: AP

Shortly before having the "experience of a lifetime," James Michael Grimes had won an air guitar competition.

In a bar on the "Carnival Valor", a cruise ship that has space for almost 3000 passengers.

That's what the 28-year-old from Alabama tells on the ABC television show Good Morning America.

But then the boisterous evening took a turn: Grimes actually just wanted to go to the toilet, he had told his sister around 11 p.m.

But he didn't come back.

What happened borders on a miracle: Grimes went overboard for reasons unknown.

He survived the fall into the sea and then endured a night in the waters of the Gulf of Mexico.

Rescue came almost 20 hours later, according to US media.

The Coast Guard had searched Grimes for a missing person report - and finally found him 20 miles off the Louisiana coast.

Totally exhausted but alive.

Hunger, sharks and hope

How did Grimes manage that?

"I just didn't accept that my life should end here," he said in the television interview.

His chances really didn't look good.

The spot where he stayed in the water for an entire night and day is believed to be an area where sharks feed.

It's quite possible that Grimes was even in physical contact with one - although he can't say for sure.

"It had a fairly flat snout," is how Grimes describes the animal in an interview.

It touched one leg and he kicked it with the other.

"I was scared because I didn't know what it was."

But he kept his composure and decided to keep stepping into the water and thinking positively.

His faith in God helped him to overcome the unfortunate situation.

And against his hunger?

He ate what the sea gave.

When a stick drifted past him, he grabbed it.

"It looked like bamboo," says Grimes.

"I wouldn't say it tasted good, but it brought a taste to my mouth that was different from the salt water."

"You will find me"

For hours, Grimes swam through the darkness, surrounded by nothing but water and occasional schools of jellyfish.

He explains why he held out for so long: In a way, it was precisely the improbability of surviving that would have spurred him on.

"It felt like I had a chance," says Grimes, as if there was a reason he was alive.

"The fall from the ship didn't kill me, sea creatures didn't eat me - I should just get through this." All he had to do was swim and survive.

He just hoped: "They'll look for me, they'll find me."

He couldn't remember falling into the sea.

He woke up from unconsciousness only in the water, "no ship in sight".

Grimes says he's actually not good at "floating" on water even when he's conscious.

But miraculously, his body would have made it that night.

"I wasn't ready to give up," says Grimes, at no point that night.

"I wanted to keep swimming until my arms and legs would no longer support my body."

Grimes describes himself as an “average guy” who likes to go fishing and hunting.

He likes to be outside.

But what happened to him on his cruise vacation – which included 18 other family members – must have exceeded his outdoor needs after all.

Were there moments when he doubted that he would get out of it in one piece?

Yes, says Grimes.

When, after a night and a day in the sea, it started to get dark again as the water got colder, he would have been scared.

Ever cruise again?

But then he saw a light.

It was a Coast Guard helicopter, scanning the ocean for Grimes.

He waved and waved his arms, as can be seen in video sequences.

With the last energy he felt, he drew attention to himself.

At some point he heard someone shout: "We've got him!"

When Coast Guard Richard Clark Hoefle swam towards him and tied the life-saving noose around his body, Grimes practically collapsed.

"He had nothing left," says Hoefle.

However, Grimes was not completely discouraged by the experience.

He can also imagine going on a cruise again.

"After all, I missed this one." But he didn't want to approach a railing again so quickly.

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