25-year-old Charles Gregory went missing on the high seas, the young man went fishing early in the morning and disappeared.
His family contacted the authorities after the young man did not return home and more than a day had passed. A rescue operation was launched immediately. Some time later, the US Coast Guard announced that they had found and rescued the guy. He stayed at sea for about 35 hours.
The boat drifted 12 miles off the coast of Florida. A search party from the plane spotted the man sitting in a small, flat-bottomed fishing boat and contacted the Coast Guard. Rescuers on a boat arrived at the indicated point and took the guy away.
His father, Raymond Gregory, later told CNN that a wave had overwhelmed his son’s boat and it was drifting away from the shore. At the same time, the unfortunate fisherman lost his life jacket, mobile phone, and he himself ended up in a half-flooded boat, waist-deep in water. According to Charles, he saw sharks and was stung by a jellyfish. The young man said he was “very afraid. And in those 30+ hours he had more conversations with God than in his entire life.”
Recall that in 2018 a similar story happened in Greece. After 21 hours, the Russian woman was found on the high seas (her air mattress was blown away from the shore). A cardiologist by profession, 55-year-old Olga Kuldo vacationed with her whole family in Crete. However, during the vacation, a terrible thing happened to her – the woman spent more than 20 hours on the high seas until she was rescued. The Russian woman still remembers the experience with horror.
Kuldo almost despaired and already thought that she would “become a terrible death” when she saw a boat with rescuers. A tourist holding on to an air mattress was spotted by a Frontex search plane thanks to its colorful colors.
In the afternoon, the Russian woman went to the beach, ignoring the weather warning. In addition, she did not say anything to her husband and daughter, who thought she was at the spa.
Olga Kuldo says: “I went into the sea and lay down on an air mattress. Literally immediately, it was picked up by the wind, and strong waves contributed to the rapid removal from the coast. After some time, I was at a fairly large depth and did not reach the bottom with my feet. I can’t swim, so I just had to hold on to the mattress. I thought that in this way I could get to the shore. On the contrary, the waves and the wind carried me farther and farther out to sea. Then I started calling for help and waving my arms, but no one saw me from the shore.”
When the woman realized that no one would come to the rescue, “gloomy thoughts” began to come to her mind. For example, it began to seem that a shark might appear, or birds that circled overhead could accidentally pierce the mattress. In addition, she constantly had to move her arms and legs in the water so as not to fall asleep. At night, she almost lost consciousness from hypothermia, and during the day – from overheating.
“I constantly thought about Oleg and Yulia, and all my relatives. I thought how traumatized they would be by the news of my death. It made me keep fighting the elements. I realized that I must survive at all costs. And I gave myself the installation to discard all doubts and remove bad thoughts from my head. Sometimes I felt like something was touching my feet in the water, but I tried not to react. I assured myself that it was only seaweed and nothing dangerous … Stubbornly continuing to believe that the wind would certainly change and carry the mattress back to the shore. At 19 pm, Olga’s relatives became worried about the long absence of her mother and wife. And at this time, the Russian woman had been at sea for 4 hours already.
Not finding her at the spa, the husband and daughter went to the beach, where they found things and a wallet. “It was the beginning of a nightmare,” says Yulia, the daughter of a Russian woman. We turned to the authorities for help. Police and volunteers began searching. But, according to them, it is impossible to use boats during a storm.”
Security officials said they would activate the plane, but only the next morning. Julia was in a panic. “They told us to wait, to calm down,” the girl shares her feelings. “And I tormented them with questions all the time … For example, how often do they find people who have disappeared at sea, and what do they do in cases where searches are inconclusive …”.
“The statistics did not cause optimism. As I was told, 10-20 tourists die in the sea every year in Crete,” says Yulia. Husband and daughter had a hard sleepless night. Nighttime searches were abandoned. “No one thought that she would survive in such conditions,” Olga’s relatives say.
However, the Russian woman managed to survive the storm, being on the high seas for more than 20 hours. A Frontex aircraft found her the next morning 7 miles offshore and immediately called for a rescue boat. In the hospital where the victim was taken, doctors diagnosed hypothermia and dehydration, and the skin on her back was badly burned.
The family was planning a day trip to Santorini as a birthday present for Olga. However, as a result, the family had to return home to Russia. “We are recovering from everything we have experienced,” says Yulia, writing on her page in the social. networks: “Happenings Happen” (Miracles still happen).
Kuldo almost despaired and already thought that she would “become a terrible death” when she saw a boat with rescuers. A tourist holding on to an air mattress was spotted by a Frontex search plane thanks to its colorful colors.
In the afternoon, the Russian woman went to the beach, ignoring the weather warning. In addition, she did not say anything to her husband and daughter, who thought she was at the spa.
Olga Kuldo says: “I went into the sea and lay down on an air mattress. Literally immediately, it was picked up by the wind, and strong waves contributed to the rapid removal from the coast. After some time, I was at a fairly large depth and did not reach the bottom with my feet. I can’t swim, so I just had to hold on to the mattress. I thought that in this way I could get to the shore. On the contrary, the waves and the wind carried me farther and farther out to sea. Then I started calling for help and waving my arms, but no one saw me from the shore.”
When the woman realized that no one would come to the rescue, “gloomy thoughts” began to come to her mind. For example, it began to seem that a shark might appear, or birds that circled overhead could accidentally pierce the mattress. In addition, she constantly had to move her arms and legs in the water so as not to fall asleep. At night, she almost lost consciousness from hypothermia, and during the day – from overheating.
“I constantly thought about Oleg and Yulia, and all my relatives. I thought how traumatized they would be by the news of my death. It made me keep fighting the elements. I realized that I must survive at all costs. And I gave myself the installation to discard all doubts and remove bad thoughts from my head. Sometimes I felt like something was touching my feet in the water, but I tried not to react. I assured myself that it was only seaweed and nothing dangerous … Stubbornly continuing to believe that the wind would certainly change and carry the mattress back to the shore. At 19 pm, Olga’s relatives became worried about the long absence of her mother and wife. And at this time, the Russian woman had been at sea for 4 hours already.
Not finding her at the spa, the husband and daughter went to the beach, where they found things and a wallet. “It was the beginning of a nightmare,” says Yulia, the daughter of a Russian woman. We turned to the authorities for help. Police and volunteers began searching. But, according to them, it is impossible to use boats during a storm.”
Security officials said they would activate the plane, but only the next morning. Julia was in a panic. “They told us to wait, to calm down,” the girl shares her feelings. “And I tormented them with questions all the time … For example, how often do they find people who have disappeared at sea, and what do they do in cases where searches are inconclusive …”.
“The statistics did not cause optimism. As I was told, 10-20 tourists die in the sea every year in Crete,” says Yulia. Husband and daughter had a hard sleepless night. Nighttime searches were abandoned. “No one thought that she would survive in such conditions,” Olga’s relatives say.
However, the Russian woman managed to survive the storm, being on the high seas for more than 20 hours. A Frontex aircraft found her the next morning 7 miles offshore and immediately called for a rescue boat. In the hospital where the victim was taken, doctors diagnosed hypothermia and dehydration, and the skin on her back was badly burned.
The family was planning a day trip to Santorini as a birthday present for Olga. However, as a result, the family had to return home to Russia. “We are recovering from everything we have experienced,” says Yulia, writing on her page in the social. networks: “Happenings Happen” (Miracles still happen).
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