Being lost at sea, adrift in the big wide ocean is a fear many people have, and one young man lived through it to tell the tale.
22-year-old Dylan Gartenmayer was spear hunting with friends when a quick moving current swept him away.
Dylan had spear-fished all his life and was very comfortable being in the ocean, they were at his favorite fishing spot that day.
The group of young men had decided they were done for the night and Dylan wanted to get in one last dive before they left.
He dove 30 feet to the ocean floor but before he knew what was happening, he was caught in an under current.
Dylan held his breath for around 2 minutes as the current dragged him farther and farther away from his friends.
When he was finally able to make it out of the current, he realized that he had been dragged over a mile away and could no longer see his friends or their boat.
In what must have been one of the most gut-wrenching phone calls of her life, Dylan’s mom Tabitha was told of what had happened.
After alerting the coast guard to the situation, Dylan’s friends immediately called his mother and let her know about the situation.
Tabitha then informed the rest of her family about what had happened and then they all piled into her father’s boat and set out looking for the young man.
For over 3 hours, the Gartenmayer family along with Dylan’s friends searched the ocean.
They knew Dylan’s favorite fishing spots and went to those areas immediately, hoping beyond hope that they would find him.
Meanwhile, Dylan had fashioned a make-shift floatation device by tying 2 buoys together and he could see the coast guard boats and helicopters looking for him.
Finally, just shortly after the sun had set, Dylan’s family found him.
As soon as he was spotted the entire boat erupted in shouts and cries of joy and relief.
His mother, who had been strong and stoic during the search, broke down sobbing as soon as her son was brought on board.
Cold and tired, the young man was pulled aboard his family’s boat and into his mother’s outstretched arms.
“We got the call from my ex-husband,” Tabitha explained, “Tab, something’s wrong with Dylan. They haven’t seen him in an hour. From that moment on this feeling came over me… I couldn’t breathe, I couldn’t talk.”
Surely the feeling of having her son back in her arms, knowing he is safe and sound, is something Tabitha will never forget.
Despite this experience, Dylan says he will definitely be back in the water spearfishing again sometime soon.
Luckily, though the experience was surely scary and somewhat traumatic, it will not stop Dylan from doing something he loves, something his whole family love.
Hopefully it will just inspire him to be more cautious and conscientious during his future dives.
See the family’s emotional reunion in the video linked below.
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