Watch crystal reflection saves man after 23 hours lost at sea
Borna BošnjakThough there are watches specially made to emit all sorts of satellite signals in case of emergencies, pinging your exact location to the rescue crews. But the features of the SMS, SOS, and GPS-equipped O-Boy nor the classic Breitling Emergency were the saving grace for Kiwi fisherman Will Fransen. Pulled overboard by a marlin he’d hooked, he found himself in the ocean, with his boat speeding away from him, unable to catch up.
“I grabbed the line with the marlin attached and started pulling the line out. I tried pulling my way towards the boat only to have the line slip out of my hand, which is pretty gutting, because next thing my boat’s idling over the horizon and I’m treading water.”, he said, recalling his harrowing experience to The New Zealand Herald. Treading water while looking at the sunset, he realised he wasn’t alone, either, with a luckily disinterested shark appearing at some point, too.
In a stunning display of physical and mental resilience, Fransen realised that he wouldn’t be able to fight the current to get to the nearby Alderman Islands, instead persevering and clutching to his harness, trying to signal nearby boats by reflecting the sun with his watch crystal. Despite frequent hallucinations, his efforts paid off, as he was spotted by a trio of young fishermen that came to his rescue. Dehydrated and freezing, Fransen was also incredibly lucky. After making a full recovery, he stated that he’ll go out in search of his missing boat, though I have no doubt that even if he doesn’t find it, the watch that saved him will forever remain a reminder of the event. As to the exact watch Fransen was wearing – that detail doesn’t seem to have been reported anywhere – but that’s okay, it’s somehow the least important takeaway from this story, which you can read in full here.