How fortunate! Fisherman Scott Thompson fell from his boat. He swam in the ice-cold water for several hours – until a seal came to his aid.
Santa Barbara – Scott Thompson was going to be fishing for several hours when a tragedy struck him: he fell off his boat. The reason for his fall: He urgently needed to go to the toilet. But in small fishing boats these are usually not available. The young man fell overboard – and in a place where great white sharks, bull sharks and tiger sharks have their home: Santa Barbara. So a very dangerous situation in which he had gone. In an interview with KABC-TV , he remembered this terrible moment again – because he couldn’t go back to his ship: “I thought to myself: ‘Great, this is how I’m going to die. Today is the day I will die,” said the fisherman. But things turned out differently – because he was helped. And not by a human, but by a seal. A blessing in disguise.
Robbe saves Fischer’s life – he was miles from the coast
The fisherman only realized how serious the situation was hours later. He was in a state of shock – and miles from shore: “When I realized the seriousness of the situation, panic set in. I was probably seven or eight miles from shore and was just wearing a t-shirt and a pair of shorts,” says Scott Thompson. He thought of his children and his family – he was at the end of his strength. It was now midnight – and Thompson was still swimming around in the sea. He saw an oil platform from afar – but swimming there would have been far too far. Suddenly he heard a big splash next to him. Another shock moment for the fisherman. “When I heard that splash, my heart jumped out of my chest and I thought: ‘Crap, a shark!’ But it turned out to be another sea creature – a small seal. “She looked at me – and probably also thought: “What is he doing here?” he smiled. The seal swam alongside him all the time – on the way to the oil platform. When Scott Thompson started to falter, the seal gave him a little push, as he continued in the interview.
Fischermann and Robbe embark on an adventure together: “I sang songs”
It sounds like a fairy tale. The seal never left his side – at this point the sea creature was Scott Thompson’s best friend. “I kept telling him a few jokes and singing songs,” says the fisherman. Even when they reached the oil platform, the fisherman had to search for the ladder for a long time. Meanwhile he was being pulled down again and again by the waves and cut by some mussels. But he finally succeeded – he found a ladder and ran straight to an employee on the oil platform. Immediately Scott Thompson was wrapped in towels, took a shower and was given hot coffee. His boat was also found afterwards – five miles from Santa Cruz Island. When he thinks back to those moments, he himself cannot believe what actually happened to him. And whoever believes this story in particular: “I’ll tell you what. I believe there is a higher power now. I don’t know what it is – but there is a power greater than me. I was shown that and I will never doubt it for the rest of my life.” Thanks to this little seal. Baby seal Ronny also melts hearts at Munich Zoo Hellabrunn.
