Lost overboard at night in a storm, no one saw him fall, and no one heard him shout – that’s the story of South African surfer, Brett Archibald who redefined the narrative through his epic tale of survival. In 2013, Archibald was on a surfing trip to Indonesia along with his friends. They were in the middle of the Indian Ocean, on the deck of a hired yacht. It was night and was raining heavily with a storm in tow, and no one saw Archibald go into the sea. What happened next was the sight of unprecedented water and a fateful surfing mishap.

On 17th April 2013, Archibald was on a holiday with nine friends but had fallen sick from food poisoning during a 10-hour-long journey along the water stretch called Mentawai Strait in Inodnesia’s West Sumatra province. He had gone to the side of the deck in order to get some air. However, he passed out and fell into the water. When he woke up, he was alone in the ocean and the boat became a mirage to his eyes. So how did he survive?

A harrowing surfing mishap that almost killed Brett Archibald

In 2019, the South African surfer appeared in an interview with 60 Minutes Australia, where he talked about the life-threatening episode he fell prey to. Per the source, after falling into the water, he found himself all alone in the middle of the Indian Ocean, where he had no one in his proximity who could listen to his pleas for help. More so, while reminiscing about the fateful night, he also opened up about his encounters with seagulls, sharks, and jellyfish. Sharing his brush with the shark, the surfer thought, “this thing is going to eat me quickly and it’ll be over”.

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He further mentioned, “Suddenly out of nowhere these two seagulls attacked me….they came for my eyes and my ears”. Though he survived the ferocious attacks of seagulls, he was rendered in utter shock following the continuous attacks from sea predators and seagulls. As the boat continues to move farther from his reach, he remembers staring at the sky, praying for some miracle to save him from the vicious water. 

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He even had a mirage of his boat coming for him to save him. “The worst hallucinations I had were I would see the back of our boat and every single one of my mates would come down these stairs and put their hands out and say ‘Come on Brett, we’re here’ and I’d swim and swim”. But, how did he make it through the dangerous mishap?

What saved Archibald from the ferocious episode – a miracle or his determination to stay alive?

Instead of giving up on his fate, Archibald fought back with all his might and managed to stay afloat in the water for more than 28 hours, longer than medical experts suggest is possible. He was stubborn enough not to succumb to the perils residing beneath the turquoise water. After the 28-hour-long ordeal, his friends finally managed to track him with the help of the Indonesian coastguard and rescue team.

Archibald then credited his coping mechanism to his wife and children. “I kept thinking I’ve only had 10 years with this woman it’s not enough and my two little kids, they are too little to be without a dad”. Nonetheless, in 2016, Brett Archibald documented the most terrifying chapter of his life in a book called, ‘Alone: Lost Overboard in the Indian Ocean’. Now, through his heroic tale of survival, Archibald became an epitome of hope and moxie for millions across the continents. 

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