'El Niño saved the day' for cruise ship pianist who spent 9 hours in Pacific Ocean

Brian Rokos, The Orange County Register on Nov 9, 2026

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LOS ANGELES — After a cruise ship employee plunged into the Pacific Ocean to his likely death, the pianist experienced a series of incredible reversals of fortune — and suddenly became one of the luckiest people on the high seas.

The man survived about nine hours treading water before fishermen reeled him in about halfway between Newport Beach and Catalina Island around midday on Friday, Nov. 6. He appeared to be in shock but was expected to survive.

According to a study commissioned by the Cruise Lines International Association, 170 people — 117 passengers and 53 crewmembers — went overboard from 2009 to 2019. Only 48, or 28%, were rescued.

But this man beat the odds because everything went right — from the historic warm ocean temperature right down to the type of fish a pair of Newport Beach men were chasing.

“Every condition he was exposed to was optimal for survival,” said Newport Beach lifeguard Battalion Chief Mike Ure, who has been on the job for 40 years.

The Royal Caribbean ship Ovation of the Seas was headed from San Pedro to Ensenada when the man, whose name has not been announced, somehow went overboard from the 16-deck vessel about 1:30 a.m. Friday.

National Weather Service meteorologist Kyle Wheeler, speaking on Monday, Nov. 9, said that historically, the average ocean temperature for that date in the area where the man was rescued is 63 degrees.

Hypothermia can set in at almost any water temperature, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, but it becomes more of a threat below 70 degrees. Hypothermia causes your body to lose heat faster than it is produced. Lengthy exposure uses up your body’s stored energy and can lead to impaired thinking and body movements.

But Monday, at the Ellen Browning Scripps Memorial Pier in La Jolla, the water temperature was 75 degrees.

“This time of year, that’s pretty astounding,” Wheeler said. “Not only that, but prior to this year, at this point in the season, we have never seen temperatures even at this point. Most of November has never seen sea surface temperatures over 70 in La Jolla.”

The El Niño condition sent giant pools of warm water — known as Kelvin Waves — from the Equator, up the coast of Central America and to the coast off Southern California.

In these temperatures, Ure said, “depending on how many calories you are burning, you could last an hour to seven hours. If you were super dialed in, you could probably last 24 hours.

“El Niño saved the day for this guy.”

There was more good weather fortune: The sky was sunny, visibility was excellent and the seas were calm. Ure said even mild swells can drain a person’s energy as he fights the waves to stay afloat.

“Out here,” Ure said, “you could float. These were glassy seas.”

And that helped fishermen Sean Norton and Grant Garrett spot the man.

They had been hunting swordfish, Ure said, which meant that they had to keep their eyes on the ocean.

“You are basically driving around looking at the sea surface and looking for fins,” Ure said. “The same as if you are looking for a person.”

The men were returning from a fishing trip on Friday when they spotted a person in the water about 20 miles off the mainland, they told KABC/7.

“I saw his head out of the water, flailing his hands just a little bit and his feet just a little bit, just to keep his head above water so he could breathe,” Garrett told the television newscast. “We acted as quick as we could to go try to get him out of the water.”

They pulled the man aboard the sportfishing boat.

“He could not stop shaking, and he could not talk, and it was clear to us that he was near death,” Norton told the TV station.

The fishermen radioed the Coast Guard, and a Newport Beach lifeguard dispatcher monitoring the emergency frequency heard the call, Ure said.

Lifeguards out on patrol heard the distress call as well.

“They started hauling out at full speed,” Ure said.

They rendezvoused with the fishermen within 15 minutes. The victim was conscious, breathing and hypothermic, Ure said. Lifeguards stabilized him and took the man to the Orange County Sheriff’s Office dock in Newport Harbor, where paramedics met them.

The Coast Guard is investigating how the man wound up in the ocean.

Royal Caribbean did not respond to an emailed request for comment.

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