Man overboard!!

We were awakened at 3:30 AM by the CD, announcing an emergency: man overboard. We were asked to check that our cabin mates were present and report any missing individual. There were various crew announcements for a while and then periodic reports from the bridge. The US Coast Guard helicopters and ships arrived. We had to remain on station and wait. About 7:20 AM the Captain yelled Evacuation Station NOW! and all the folks on the starboard side could see a man in the water, waving his arms and yelling HELP! A flare was thrown near him and the helicopter circled in and droped a frogman into the water and the guest was picked up. What great SS staff and crew work and support from the USCG!! Needless to say, it is going to be a &*&%^&^ of a day - we are late going into Ft L to debark this group and pick up the new guests. There are 120 early boarders by 12N!! We will not get it all together until about 1 or 2 PM...stay tuned. There are about 12-14 of us in transit and the ship is full coming and going! Talk about tired crew! Bless them all.

Duct Tape, thanks for the timely first person account, glad the man was

recovered..kudos to SS crew and the CG.

was he a passenger ?

WOW, unbelievable; thanks for the report DT! I'm sure that's a first for you (would be for me). Keep us posted!

We showed up to board at 10:30 and were told not to return until 3:00. The Silversea staff at the pier were not helpful and gave us no reaon why we were not able to board. We got back to the hyatt and will wait until later to board.

Thanks DT for the correct info, Joe

Thanks for sharing duct tape,

It is extraordinary that this individual was found. Awesome work by our USCG and SS!!!

Look forward to hearing the details.

If the man overboard was from the ship, and if the staff was aware right away It took nearly 4 hours to locate the man--nearly 4 hours in the dark in the water must have been a real thrill!!! Sure glad they found him! Don

Thanks so very much for posting this.

I am happy that this had a happy ending. Amazing to have been in the water for all that time.

A very lucky passenger and wonderful work by the crew and the coast guard.

Keith

Wow, that's amazing! Any idea how he ended up in the water?

Sure glad this gentleman was rescued, and that he had the stamina to withstand over four hours in the water. The news article says the crew lowered a lifeboat shortly after the man was reported missing and he clung to the lifeboat until the Coast guard got there about 7:45 am. Several comments on this news article questioned why it took the Coast Guard over four hours to reach the ship if it was only 20 miles from Miami. And, if the man was clinging to a lifeboat, he would have been easy to find. Good questions -- if the news report is accurate.

We also arived at the pier at 10:30 but the staff was very helpful. They told us to go to the Embassy Suites. They are set up here to handle everyone. They have drinks and light food here for those waiting

There are several inconsistencies in the news reports which are not unexpected in a "breaking" story.

If the crew lowered a lifeboat, why were there no crew members in it who could have hoisted him into it? My guess is that they did not lower a lifeboat but rather launched either a life ring or an inflatable life raft, neither of which could have accommodated crew members.

The news reports said that he was traveling alone which makes it even more a miracle that someone either saw or heard him go overboard and sounded an alarm. It's pretty hard to fall overboard, so I'm sure there will be much more to this story.

No matter, thanks to the fast work of the Shadow crew and the USCG, he was able to survive.

Now if SS could just handle delayed boarding situations better. They have only one opportunity to make a good first impression, and in my experience they rarely do it well.

Bon Voyage to all the CC'ers on board.

Wow, that's amazing! Any idea how he ended up in the water?

maybe he was trying to hail a cab after last call at THE BAR !:rolleyes:

Looks like someone changed their mind. It will be interesting to hear the story. And since DT will stay onboard, we have a pretty good chance at getting the details.

maybe he was trying to hail a cab after last call at THE BAR !:rolleyes:

Maybe the guy was trying to commit suicide.It is very hard to fall off of the ship.

latest story here:

http://www.miamiherald.com/news/breaking-news/story/1346556.html#Comments_Container

Mr. Shulman is back on board according to his article.

There are several inconsistencies in the news reports which are not unexpected in a "breaking" story.

 

If the crew lowered a lifeboat, why were there no crew members in it who could have hoisted him into it? My guess is that they did not lower a lifeboat but rather launched either a life ring or an inflatable life raft, neither of which could have accommodated crew members.

 

The news reports said that he was traveling alone which makes it even more a miracle that someone either saw or heard him go overboard and sounded an alarm. It's pretty hard to fall overboard, so I'm sure there will be much more to this story.

 

No matter, thanks to the fast work of the Shadow crew and the USCG, he was able to survive.

 

Now if SS could just handle delayed boarding situations better. They have only one opportunity to make a good first impression, and in my experience they rarely do it well.

 

Bon Voyage to all the CC'ers on board.

There do seem to be inconsistencies in the story. Probably fast work by the Shadow crew, but was it fast work by the USCG? Four hours to travel 20 miles from Miami and spot someone not far from the ship who was clinging to a raft, life ring or boat? However, DuctTape didn't say he saw the man clinging to something, so perhaps that wasn't the case and the man wasn't easy to see. (If that's the case, it's amazing that he was able to swim or tread water for that long--maybe a strong person). Still -- four hours for the Coast Gaurd to spot him sounds surprising. I hope we'll be able to find out more about what happened.

Very lucky man to have survived this.

let's all wait until the whole story comes out before we start blaming the coast guard or personnel on board !

Wow, what a story, hope to hear some clarification on what actually happened and how it happened.

Just a thought on why he was in the water for 4 hours. Sunrise was about 640 am that day. So by the time daylight rolled around he was not in the water that long, only about an hour after they could really start searching.

Here is some additional information from Cruise Critic. And it provide the most details that I have seen so far. Exccellent research by Cruise Critic.

http://www.cruisecritic.com/news/news.cfm?ID=3562

Keith

Double Post.

Keith

Here's a photo of the ship as she arrived in Port Everglades today just after 10am

Sure glad this gentleman was rescued, and that he had the stamina to withstand over four hours in the water. The news article says the crew lowered a lifeboat shortly after the man was reported missing and he clung to the lifeboat until the Coast guard got there about 7:45 am. Several comments on this news article questioned why it took the Coast Guard over four hours to reach the ship if it was only 20 miles from Miami. And, if the man was clinging to a lifeboat, he would have been easy to find. Good questions -- if the news report is accurate.

I was on the ship. It took 3.5 hours to find him. Once he was found it took about 20 minutes to reel him in. He was unbelievably lucky to be found and to be alive.

I'd love to know how he ended up in the water.