He fell overboard from a cruise ship, swam among jellyfish and sharks, and survived to tell the tale.

James Michael Grimes saw death up close. The 28-year-old, originally from Alabama, wanted to celebrate the start of Thanksgiving in late November. For this purpose Boarded the Carnival Whaler cruise ship in New Orleans, heading to Cozumel, Mexico. I didn’t think about it then He would have to fight for his life and would be stranded in the middle of the Gulf of Mexico for 20 hours..

In an interview Good Morning Americaof ABC NewsThe young man recounted his incredible experience of being classified by the Coast Guard “Thanksgiving Miracle”. At a time that is still inexplicable, his vacation was going on normally. Fell overboard from cruise ship. In the middle, unable to ask for help, He waited almost a whole day to be rescuedWhile encountering the jellyfish, he also noted that several sharks swam close to him.

James was enjoying his stay at Carnival Valor. It was his first day and he watched the shows with his family. By his account, he wasn’t drunk and had only had a few drinks when he told his sister he was going to bed. At that time, the clock said 11:00 PM.

His memory of what happened next is hazy. “The next thing I knew, I was in the water without a boat.”He shared in the interview that he had no idea how he ended up in the wild waters of the ocean.

The next day her sister I found outOr it’s nowhere She was immediately reported missing from the cruise ship. The officials came to know about this and started searching for him. Carnival Valor returned to its original route and notified the Coast Guard.

With that surgery loaded, Grimes fought to survive to see his family again. His mind tried to visualize the goal. I thought I was “too young to die.”, so he tried to stay positive. He took that approach and, as he swam, faced the force of the water and saw the sea animals go by: “I felt like I was given a second chance at that point.”Came to know.

The US Coast Guard told him ABC News That The only way to fall overboard is to climb over the safety barrier All cruise ships have it. He assured that all these boats have public areas controlled by strict safety standards, so the mystery grows, it is still not known how James got into the water.

Although experienced, There were no serious injuries. Once he was recovered, he was airlifted to a hospital for medical attention. Those hours changed his life. After this “miracle,” as he describes it, now There is a belief that “He must do something in this world.”.

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