Two California fishermen rescued a Royal Caribbean International crew member from the Pacific Ocean on November 6, 2026, after the pianist spent nearly nine hours treading water roughly 20 miles offshore.
At Sea Off Catalina Island
Sean Norton and Grant Garrett of Newport Beach were returning from a morning marlin fishing trip near Catalina Island when their boat’s captain spotted a person in the water around noon, according to CBS LA. The rescue occurred about 15 to 20 miles out in the Pacific Ocean, Newport Beach Lifeguard Battalion Chief Adam Yacenda stated, according to Theguardian.
“I’m like, ‘Yeah, it’s a human being. Stop the boat; let’s get all of our lines in,” Garrett recalled to The Guardian. Norton and Garrett hauled the man aboard. Grant and I each got an arm and lifted him up,
Norton told The Daily Beast, adding that the crew member was in total shock.
When the man regained his composure, he identified himself as a pianist working aboard Royal Caribbean’s 14-deck cruise ship, the Ovation of the Seas. The only thing he said to me was, ‘Thank you.
Ovation of the Seas Arrives in Los Angeles After Investigation Begins
The Ovation of the Seas arrived at the Port of Los Angeles on November 6, 2026, after a four-night cruise that included stops in Santa Catalina Island and Ensenada, Mexico, Cruise Hive reported. Passengers disembarked at 7:00 a.m. without reported disruption.
The pianist was hospitalized and is expected to survive, according to the U.S. Coast Guard, which launched an investigation into the incident.
Authorities estimate that the man went overboard at approximately 2:30 a.m., roughly nine hours before he was rescued.
Norton attributed the employee’s survival partly to warm ocean temperatures linked to El Niño conditions. You have this crazy super El Niño year.
This guy was in the water for probably 10 hours, but the water’s 76 degrees, Norton said. A different year, no way he makes it.
Prior incidents involving passengers going overboard include a September case on the Carnival Panorama where a 56-year-old computer programmer named Thomas Gigler disappeared while sailing from Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, to Long Beach.
