A Hawaii fisherman lived through a terrifying experience when his boat sank in the Pacific Ocean early one June morning, forcing him to swim toward the nearest shore and hope for rescue.
Michael Bishop, 58, was supposed to fish with a partner on Sunday, June 22, but when the other fisherman canceled, Michael decided to go alone. “Everything was already bought for the trip, so he had to make that money back,” his son Max, 24, told PEOPLE. “My whole life, he’s always been the guy to just go.”
The first night of fishing wasn’t very successful, but on the second night, Michael caught enough to fill his boat. By 1 a.m., he wrapped up and planned to head home.
Two days later, on Tuesday, June 24, Michael woke up to an unusual silence. His boat’s engine had stopped. When he went outside to check, he saw the back deck already underwater. He sent out a mayday call, grabbed life jackets, and tried to save what he could. Within two minutes, the boat was gone.
Using floating debris, he made a small raft and took a gallon of water, preparing to be stuck at sea for days. Then, he started swimming toward Moloka‘i, determined to survive.
After swimming for hours, Michael was spotted about two miles from shore by a Coast Guard helicopter around 9:30 a.m. Rescuers lowered a swimmer into the water and pulled him to safety. He was exhausted but uninjured.
The Coast Guard credited his VHF radio mayday call for saving his life.
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Max didn’t learn about the ordeal until after his father was rescued. “I was incredibly relieved and stressed out at the same time,” he said. “I just didn’t think that would happen to him.”
The loss has been hard for Michael. The boat, which he co-owned with his younger son, Mason, was the family’s way to earn extra income. They had spent a year fixing it up, and Michael had invested all his spare money into it after Max’s mother died.
“My entire world went down with that boat,” Michael said. “Everything I’ve worked on for four years is gone.”
A GoFundMe has been started to help Michael buy a new boat and replace lost fishing gear. “My dad’s not a very emotional guy,” Max said, “but I know he loved that boat.”
