The story of American James Michael Grimes has gone around the world. The 28-year-old man stayed alive for 20 hours in the open sea after falling overboard from a cruise ship in the Gulf of Mexico.
The events occurred on December 3, when the man, originally from Alabama, was aboard the Carnival Valor in the company of 18 members of his family, on Thanksgiving vacation.
As detailed by ‘CNN’, the man was in the bar, chatting with his sister and other people on board. Suddenly, he decided to go to the bathroom and disappeared. Although the man claims he does not remember how he fell into the water, it is believed that he passed out.
“The next thing I know, I’ve regained consciousness. She was in the water with no boat in sight”, he commented for the medium ‘Abc News’. Despite being in a more than daunting situation, Grimes did not want to give up and began to swim and float in the middle of the waves. “I wanted to see my family and I was determined to get out of there. I never accepted that that was it,” he commented.
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His determination allowed him to swim for 20 straight hours amidst sharks, jellyfish and tides, until he was rescued by the crew of the Jayhawk after the US Coast Guard team began the search. According to local media, his sister was the one who reported his disappearance.
Although Grimes has claimed that he does not remember when he fell into the water, the Coast Guard insisted, through a press release, that the man may have jumped the safety barriers of the boat.
“Cruise ships have safety barriers in all public areas that are regulated by US Coast Guard standards that prevent a guest from falling (…) Guests should never ride the rails. The only way to go overboard is to climb over the barriers on purposethey wrote.
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On the great feat he achieved, Grimes told ‘Abc News’: “Now, I know for sure that I am destined to do something on this Earth. And, you know, I don’t know. It was just that the Lord was out there helping me, giving me strength and helping me stay afloat.”
When the man was asked if he was willing to embark on a cruise again, he He assured that he did not rule out the possibility. At the moment, it is known that he plans a trip to New Orleans, in order to meet the crew that rescued him, according to ‘CNN’.
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