Boater who fell into the ocean off Santa Barbara coast swam FIVE HOURS to an oil rig nudged along by 'an angel' harbor seal
- Scott Thompson fell into the Santa Barbara Channel off the coast of California
- He was only wearing shorts and a T-shirt at the time, in the middle of the night
- As his boat sped away he had the choice to either swim to land or a nearby rig
- Thompson said he was helped by a life-saving seal that nudged him along
- With not even moonlight to guide him, it took him five hours to reach the oil rig
- Crew on platform rescued him from the water and gave him medical attention
- He was taken by the Coast Guard to hospital, where he was treated for hypothermia
By JAMES GORDON FOR DAILYMAIL.COM
A California boater who ended up falling into the open ocean in the middle of the night believed he was going to die until he managed to swim to a nearby oil rig thanks to the help of a seal who pushed him along.
Scott Thompson accidentally toppled overboard from his boat while out in the Pacific, several miles off the coast of Santa Barbara earlier this month.
Wearing only shorts and a T-shirt, he was convinced that he was done for as his motor boat continued to sail on without him.
It took him five hours to reach the rig, which was still closer than if he'd have chosen to swim back to land - but it was thanks to an 'angel' seal that he was able to push through.
Scott Thompson, pictured, fell into the Santa Barbara Channel off the coast of California He was only wearing shorts and a T-shirt at the time, in the middle of the night.
As his boat sped away he had the choice to either swim to land or a nearby oil rig, pictured
Thompson fell into the waters off the coast of Santa Barbara, several miles out from shore.
'I thought to myself, great, this is how I'm going to die,' Thompson told ABC7. 'Today is the day I'm going to die.'
Thompson was in an area known as the Santa Barbara Channel, in between the California coast and the Channel Islands. He began to swim after his boat but it was futile.
'That's when I realized, like, okay, we got problems,' Thompson said.
'And I just started swimming as hard as I could, toward the boat, and it really didn't take too long to realize like, it's getting farther, I'm not getting closer.'
Thompson, who claims to be a strong swimmer and experienced diver, said he felt the chill of the ocean setting in. It was pitch black with not even the light of the moon to guide him.
Thompson said he was helped by a life-saving seal that nudged him along (file photo, not actual helpful seal)
'The panic set in, it was like, wow, this is a pretty heavy situation,' he said.
Knowing land was too far away for him to make it alive, Thompson said that he spotted a nearby oil rig. He set off for it, pushed on by thoughts of his family for whom he was determined to survive.
'Just keep swimming, you gotta get home to your family.' Thompson told himself.
'I was devastating myself, through my mind, just picturing my girls and my son growing up without me, and my wife, you know, not having a husband to support her... I wasn't thinking about sharks or anything like that, until I hear this splash?'
The splash was a seal that Thompson described as 'an angel' that came to help him.
'It was a medium-sized harbor seal,' Thompson said.
'The seal would go under water and he came up and nudged me, like a dog comes up and nudges your leg.
'Even putting on a wet suit, being prepared, getting in that water, and swimming to the platform was horrendous,' Channel Watch Marine Paul Amaral, said. 'I can't imagine being in the water with shorts and a T-shirt at night. There was no moon, I mean it was pitch black.'
'Did it know, like hey, this human is in trouble, hey keep going dude?' he pondered.
After being pushed along by the seal, Thompson said he felt motivated to reach the oil platform
'You gotta make it to the platform because you have no choice,' Thompson said.
'It started getting brighter and I'm just like, I'm crying. And I'm like, shouting at the sky,' he said.
Thompson said the nudging from the seal felt like 'an angel summoned to help him' (file pic)
Crews onboard the rig heard him and were able to give him medical attention while the Coast Guard was summoned.
Thompson was airlifted to a hospital and treated for hypothermia. His boat was ultimately recovered by a tow boat crew.
'Even putting on a wet suit, being prepared, getting in that water, and swimming to the platform was horrendous,' Channel Watch Marine Paul Amaral said.
'I can't imagine being in the water with shorts and a T-shirt at night. There was no moon, I mean it was pitch black.'
