Coast Guard Rescues Cruise Ship Jumper

March 16, 2007 — -- Coast Guard rescuers say his survival is nothing short of a miracle. Michael Mankamyer -- suffering from hypothermia and a collapsed lung -- was transported this morning to a Miami hospital after spending eight hours in the ocean.

"He was pretty lucky," said Michael White, chief of response at the U.S. Coast Guard in Miami. "Eight hours is a long time in the water. It was pretty remarkable."

Mankamyer, 35, was a passenger aboard a Carnival Cruise Lines ship, Carnival Glory, headed to the Bahamas from Port Canaveral in Florida as part of a seven-day cruise.

At around 12:45 a.m., a witness saw Mankamyer jump from the ship's port side, dropping 60 feet into the sea, and somehow avoiding being swept under the ship or into its propellers. A witness said Mankamyer, who was reportedly intoxicated, was left to tread water and float until morning.

Once the ship's crew confirmed he was overboard, they alerted the Coast Guard, and then stayed in the area to assist with the search. The command center in Miami has a brand new search and rescue operational planning computer system, which used information about the ocean's currents to help pinpoint Mankamyer's location.

The Coast Guard deployed cutter ships and helicopters -- dispatched from Miami and Clearwater -- to join the cruise ship in the search.

Mankamyer was finally located at 8:45 Friday morning, spotted by the Coast Guard cutter Chandeluer. He was waving his hands at the crew while the vessel remained alongside of him. A smaller craft was launched from the stern, retrieved Mankamyer and brought him onto the cutter's desk, where he was placed in a basket and pulled up by a helicopter.

The Coast Guard released an audiotape of the rescue mission's radio communications. "We have a person in the water," the rescuers said. "Man is located off my port bow. Request that you alter course ... Man is located off my port bow, waving. He is waving at me right now. We are throwing a life ring in."

Very few people survive after falling from a cruise ship. Rescuers said the warm waters in the gulf stream and his ability to tread water throughout the night made Mankamyer such a fortunate exception.