After falling out of his boat while fishing, an Australian sailor survived a 17-kilometer swim for his life through shark-infested waters.
On Wednesday night, John Deer was trapped alone and without a life jacket off the coast of Panama at an area known to locals as’shark point.’
Mr Deer, from Victoria, sold everything he possessed in 2019 to go on a once-in-a-lifetime journey around the world.
He slid off the back of his yacht, which was on autopilot with both sails up and the motor going, near the end of a 30-hour journey from Columbia to Panama.
Mr Deer had just caught a small tuna and was redeploying the lure when he lost his footing and slipped down the back of the boat.
Mr Deer got his emotions under control and tried to get an idea of his progress by using another trick of holding his arm out in front of him to measure how far the land appeared.
‘I held my arm out and the land fully covered my hand at first,’ he said.
‘I checked again at what I thought was about an hour later and I could see a bit of the mountain on either side of my hand.
‘Then next time I checked I saw about 30 per cent of land either side of my hand and I started to think I can do this, I can do this.’
Mr Deer then recalled the moment he finally reached some rocks and knew he had made it.
‘When I got to the rocks I was so relieved but then I almost slipped and thought OK I need to just lay here for a bit, imagine going out like that after managing to make it to shore,’ he said.
‘I got up on these sharp jagged rocks and laid my shirt down to lay on. As the adrenaline stopped my body completely shut down.
‘I passed out and I woke up every hour or so as the rocks were so sharp but I was just so exhausted.
‘At first light I found a log and made a signal flag. The first boat I tried to signal didn’t hear me, the second waved and then kept going but then third time lucky and the boat stopped.
‘They gave me a ride and took me back to civilisation.’
‘I just remember hitting the water and as I saw my boat sail off I just thought, this is it, I’m done, I’m going to die,’ he said.
‘It happened so quick. I put my foot in the wrong place and suddenly I am in the water watching my boat sail away and completely helpless.
‘I don’t know if it was panic as much as denial in the beginning. I just started screaming “no, no no!”.’
After realising he had no other option but to swim for his life, Mr Deer started towards land with only about an hour of sunlight left.
He said his survival instincts kicked in and he remembered a trick to figure out which piece of land was the closest.
‘You can tell which part of the land is closest by what appears darkest,’ he said.
‘So while I could see my boat going in one direction I knew that the land to my side was closer.
‘I knew I went overboard at about 5pm so daylight was limited. I memorised the shape of the mountains and then after the sun went down I just followed the darkest part.’
Mr Deer started alternating breaststroke and survival stroke as he headed towards land.
Because he was moving so slowly he started to wonder if he was making any progress.
‘I didn’t know if or how I would get there and I was trying not to be put off the task at hand and just kept reminding myself I could do it,’ he said.
‘I kept telling myself out loud, I’m getting closer, I’ve got this, I can do this. I was just being positive to keep my mind strong.’
However, as night fell Mr Deer felt something bite his foot, setting him off into a wild panic.
‘Fearing it was a shark I went into a frenzy. I started screaming, kicking and punching in every direction to scare it off,’ he said.
‘I just knew I had limited energy, I was getting so tired so I decided to keep swimming.
‘I soon realised it was fish that were nibbling at me. They just wouldn’t leave me alone, they were about the size of my forearm and just kept biting my body and legs. I have bite and scratch marks all over my legs from them.’
Police later told him the spot where he fell off the boat was known locally as ‘shark point’ due to the predators often spotted there.
Mr Deer claimed that when he returned to shore, the police interrogated him since they had discovered the boat underwater and assumed he was doomed.
Mr Deer is stranded in Panama City with nothing but the clothing on his back, ‘not even any nasty thongs.’ He stated that he requires an emergency passport in order to return to Australia.
While he is sad that all of his goods have vanished and that he has nothing to return to because he sold everything before setting off, he remains upbeat and grateful to be alive.
‘Everything I owned has been taken away from me.’ ‘I simply have my T-shirt and pants,’ he explained.
‘I am effectively an undocumented immigrant, and all I need to do now is get to Panama City and get an emergency passport so I can go home and start over.’
Mr Deer said he wouldn’t rule out sailing again because he still enjoys being on the ocean and seeing new places.
His friend has set up a GoFundMe campaign in the hopes of raising funds to help Mr Deer return to Australia.
‘People believe my life is extraordinary, but I find it to be commonplace.’ ‘This is the first time I’ve ever felt like I have a bizarre narrative to tell,’ he explained.
Looking at the remains of his boat bobbing in rocky water, Mr Deer said it seemed ‘eerie,’ but it just reminded him how lucky he was to be alive.
‘As an Australian, you have to enjoy a tale where you overcome adversity, and that is exactly what I accomplished,’ he said.