Cruise Ship Pianist Rescued After Going Overboard, Prompting US Coast Guard Investigation

Two fishermen stumbled upon a cruise ship passenger about 20 miles off the coast of Southern California on Friday, according to multiple reports.

The two men from Newport Beach had been marlin fishing near Catalina Island and were returning home when they saw the passenger treading water around Noon.

The rescued man was a Royal Caribbean cruise ship employee, reportedly a piano player. He told the fishermen that he was a pianist on Ovation of the Seas and that he had been treading water about 10 hours. The fishermen immediately put out an emergency call and Newport Beach lifeguards responded.

The U.S. Coast Guard is investigating the incident as well as how the man went overboard. The employee is expected to survive and is currently hospitalized. The relatively warm water in that part of the ocean, as well as the current El Nino situation, is believed to have contributed to his survival.

Ovation of the Seas left Los Angeles on November 6th on a three-night Mexico cruise, with a planned stop in Ensenada, Mexico on the 7th, cruising at sea on the 8th and arrival back in Los Angeles expected on the 9^th. 

One of the rescuers said that the rescued man told them that that he “thought I was gonna die.”

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