For explorers, the ocean is a realm of magical wonders. But for those who get lost, it can turn into a harrowing void. When Jacob Childs, a scuba instructor, found himself stranded 30 miles off the coast of Queensland, Australia, he lost all hope. Believing these were his final moments, he mustered just enough courage to capture them on his GoPro camera. Against all odds, he survived, reported ABC News.
The chilling footage shows Jacob, also known as “Jakey,” stranded in the vast ocean, wearing snorkeling goggles and a thick wetsuit. He is the only figure in the endless expanse of churning waters, with a sunset in the background. In a moment of hopelessness and despair, the diver utters, “That’s a wrap on old Jakey.”
On July 5, 2016, Jacob joined a diving group for a trip to the Althea Wreck, around 30 miles northeast of Bundaberg. He was the first to dive into the water. These ocean waters were his playground. “Then we started to descend down the line. One person was up the top, so I went to swap hands and I missed the rope… so I surfaced alongside the boat,” he recalled.
“There was no tagline out the back for me to grab on to … by the time the skipper had thrown it out I was already past it,” he added, remembering that after getting separated from the crew, he kept “fighting the current” in the ocean but the missing rope led him to believe that there was no hope. He could also see boats streaming nearby and helicopters whizzing in the sky, but none seemed to notice him, which battered his spirits all the more.
Speaking about his appalling experience, he told Inside Edition, “Even though the water was cold, I was warm in my wetsuit,” and that hard wetsuit lining prevented him from hypothermia during the six long hours he spent in the waters. He further said that his sangfroid attitude helped him stay in control despite the frightening situation. “Being hysterical wasn’t going to help myself or anybody else,” he said. “I wouldn’t say I was scared. I was thirsty,” he said.
Thankfully, an orange marker attached to his suit acted as a flotation device, allowing the water police to track him down and bring him back to safety. He was finally out of the water by 6:00 pm, just after sunset. “It’s a long time to spend by yourself,” he told ABC. “I was nice and warm in my wetsuit … I wasn’t overly tired as I was floating. I just wanted a drink of water and a cup of tea,” he recollected. He added that the thought of having to spend the night dipped in the ocean waters did not worry him, “I think it’s just one of those things … if you’ve got to do it, you’ve got to do it.”
However, his narrow escape from the edge of doom didn’t make him lose his penchant for diving. “I’ll be in the water tomorrow probably,” he declared. And, the next day, the brave Australian diver was back in the waters exploring its depths and teaching others to do the same.
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