A man from Sidcup has reunited with the “saviour” surfer who saved his life when he nearly drowned in South Africa 13 years ago.
Last month, 74-year-old Mike Percival went back to Plettenburg Bay in South Africa with his son Rob, to meet the man, also Mike, whose “quick thinking” saved him from drowning.
The incident happened in 2009, when Mike Percival and his wife Pat travelled to South Africa, for the “holiday of a lifetime”.
While driving along South Africa’s south coast - The Garden Route - on August 25, 2009, the happy couple passed a surfing bay near Plettenburg Bay.
Mike and Pat made a pit stop to the bay, and as Pat sat back and looked after the belongings, Mike went for a swim before finding himself in a dice with death.
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Mike told the News Shopper: “I am not a strong swimmer, but after a few minutes, I found myself about half a mile out from the shore.
“I started shouting for help but realised no-one could hear me because of the distance and noise from the surf waves.
“I tried swimming on my back, thinking it was a good idea for the air, but I soon found I was just swallowing lots of sea water.
“So, I just continued swimming breast stroke towards the shore without getting noticeably nearer.”
As Mike battled with the South African waters, he spotted two surfers, who then approached him and pulled him onto one of the surfboards.
When the ex-school teacher was catching his breath, two motorised dinghies approached and bounced him back to the shoreline.
Mike said: “On the beach, a team of men gave me oxygen and checked me over.
“I felt okay but was tired.
“My wife, meanwhile, was wondering what all the commotion was about and where her husband was.
“As the ambulance took me to the hospital, my wife tried to follow behind in our hire car, but as her hands were too shaky, one of the rescue teams drove it.”
Mike had to stay overnight in a hospital because of “secondary drowning” – which is when someone inhales water due to a near drowning or struggle in the water.
Mike said: “One of the rescuers was an estate agent so Pat stayed in one of his plush houses.
“After the incident, she even suggested I stay another night in hospital so she could enjoy the luxury again.”
Mike told the News Shopper that he was “very lucky” to be alive, as he says the warning alarms were sounding for 13 minutes, and people have previously died if the alarm sounds for 10 minutes or more.
He added: “Apparently, the previous year the river had changed course, and it was the river that took me out.”
“Whilst I was in hospital, the UK ambassador to South Africa telephoned my wife to see how I was.
“Before we left the country, we went round to the local newspaper and expressed my gratitude and thanks to the rescue volunteers.
“All of this happened within 24 hours, and things could have been so different.
“Life can have such unintended consequences.”
So, Mike and his son returned back to what was once a terrifying moment in life and decided to search for the surfer who saved him in the water.
After googling the incident, Mike found an article from South Africa’s news platform, News 24, about his near drowning experience.
Mike added: “The article said my saviours name was Michael ‘Mike’ McCarthy, and I emailed the rescue team who soon put me into contact with him.
“Rob and I drove to meet my saviour at Whale Tail Lookout Point - the very place from where he saw me 13 years earlier out at sea.
“We went for a pint at a bar down at the same beach.
“He explained that he just happened to be there, saw me, and made the wise assessment that I was probably in difficulty and rang the rescue services.
“He shouted to two surfers, but they thought he was saying I was a shark and they hurried back to the beach.
“All the story needed was some irony, and it came during their unlikely chat over a beer 13 years later.
“Among many other things, Mike told me that he and his wife were thinking of moving to Sevenoaks - 20 minutes from me where I live in Sidcup.”
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