Michigan Man Survives 7 Hours in Atlantic Ocean, Swims to Puerto Rico

After being thrown from his boat, the Michigan man decided not to give up.

Montones Beach in Isabela, Puerto Rico, where David Thompson, a retired engineer from Kalamazoo, Michigan, managed to swim after being thrown from his boat, is shown on Wednesday, March 16, 2014. Thompson managed to swim seven hours through rough water to reach land in Montones Beach after being tossed overboard on Sunday, March 13, 2016, from his sailboat en route to South Florida. He is being treated for dehydration and is expected to be hospitalized for at least four days. AP Photo/Danica Coto

A man from Kalamazoo, Michigan, swam seven hours to the shores of after being stranded in the Atlantic Ocean. 

David Thompson, a retired engineer, was bringing the Enthalpy II, his 49-foot sailboat, back to Florida from St. Maarten. Thompson, however, did not complete the more-than-1,000-mile journey. 

During rough conditions—20-knot winds and 10-foot swells—Thompson was knocked off his boat just northwest of Puerto Rico. Tethered to the boat by his life jacket, Thompson says he successfully climbed aboard again, only to be knocked back into the sea. The water ripped off his lifejacket and most of his clothes, leaving him nude save his shirt.

I have a wife and a nice life. I didn't want to die.

— David Thompson