Newport Beach fishermen heading home from Catalina spot something 20 miles off California. Then it turns out to be a Royal Caribbean pianist
Two Newport Beach fishermen rescued a Royal Caribbean crew member who was treading water nearly 20 miles off the California coast on Friday, according to CBS. Sean Norton and Grant Garrett were fishing for marlin when they spotted the 37-year-old man in the middle of the Pacific Ocean around noon. They were reportedly heading home from Catalina Island.
The boat captain spotted the man, and the team shifted gears to help. Garrett recalled telling the crew to stop the boat and pull in every line once he realized it was a person. “Grant and I each got an arm and lifted him up,” Norton said, adding that the man appeared to be in total shock. The man eventually revealed that he worked as a pianist on the 14-deck Ovation of the Seas, reportedly sailing from Long Beach to Ensenada, Mexico.
After the fishermen brought him aboard, they sent out an emergency maritime call that brought Newport Beach lifeguards out. Battalion Chief Adam Yacenda put the location at 15 to 20 miles offshore, describing it as basically the middle of the ocean. Lifeguard officials believe the pianist may have gone overboard around 2:30 a.m., roughly nine hours before the fishermen found him.
Nobody knows yet how the pianist ended up in the ocean
Weeks earlier, a woman reportedly survived nearly 20 hours at sea after leaving another Royal Caribbean ship. Others have not been as lucky, including a Carnival guest who died after going overboard in Nassau. “The only thing he said to me was, ‘Thank you. I thought I was gonna die,'” Norton said. The pianist was hospitalized and is expected to survive, according to the U.S. Coast Guard, which has opened an investigation.
The crew member’s name has not been released, and Royal Caribbean Group has said little so far. A company spokesperson said it is supporting the crew member but declined to share further details, as the company wants to respect his privacy. However, the cruise line has not said whether anyone on board realized the pianist was missing before the rescue.
This year’s unusually warm ocean may have helped him hang on
Norton credited the conditions, noting the water was around 76 degrees in what he called a crazy super El Niño year. He said the man likely would not have survived in a different year. Researchers at UC Irvine said in September that the 2026 El Niño had reached the very strong, or super, category.
Coastal waters have warmed as an El Niño-driven Kelvin wave carried tropical heat up the coast, per Yale Climate Connections. Surfline reported in early November that most Southern California zones were still averaging at least 70 degrees. Its October temperature anomalies topped those of 2015.
A widely circulated chart from the U.S. Search and Rescue Task Force estimates that people in 70- to 80-degree water face exhaustion or unconsciousness within three to 12 hours. The same guidance warns that treading water can shorten survival time by more than half. The pianist had reportedly spent about nine hours in the water without a life jacket.
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