A pianist employed on Royal Caribbean's Ovation of the Seas cruise ship was rescued by two fishermen after spending approximately nine hours treading water in the Pacific Ocean off the California coast on Friday, November 6, 2026.
The 37-year-old man, whose identity has not been released, was found about 20 miles (32 kilometers) offshore near Catalina Island by Newport Beach fishermen Grant Garrett and Sean Norton, who were returning from a marlin fishing trip around midday.
"I'm like, 'Yeah, it's a human being. Stop the boat; let's get all of our lines in,'" Garrett recalled to CBS News, describing the moment he and Norton spotted the man in the water. "Grant and I each got an arm and lifted him up," Norton said. "He was in total shock."
According to the U.S. Coast Guard, authorities believe the man fell overboard from the 14-deck cruise ship around 2:30 a.m. local time. The vessel was traveling from Long Beach toward Ensenada, Mexico, when the incident occurred. The circumstances of how he went overboard remain under investigation.
Once aboard the fishermen's boat, the man identified himself as a pianist working on the Ovation of the Seas. "The only thing he said to me was, 'Thank you. I thought I was gonna die,'" Norton told CBS News.
The fishermen immediately called for emergency assistance, and lifeguards from Newport Beach responded to transfer the man to medical care. He was transported to a hospital in stable condition and is expected to survive.
One of the rescuers attributed the man's survival to unusually warm ocean temperatures caused by the El Niño weather phenomenon. Water temperatures in the region were approximately 24 degrees Celsius (75 degrees Fahrenheit), significantly warmer than typical November conditions. "You've got this crazy super-El Niño year. The guy was probably in the water for ten hours, but the water is 24 degrees. In any other year, he wouldn't have had a chance," Norton explained.
The U.S. Coast Guard is continuing its investigation into the incident. Royal Caribbean confirmed that the rescued individual is an employee of the company and stated they are providing support and assistance, though they declined to release additional details about the man's identity or the circumstances of his fall.