I began seeing things and thought I would die, says surfer after ordeal at sea
A SURFER who survived 32 hours at sea after being swept away by the wind and tide has told how he became so dehydrated he began to hallucinate.
Matthew Bryce lost around 11lb in weight during his ordeal and was so delirious he confused a seabird with a rescue helicopter.
The 23-year-old got into difficulties while surfing alone at Westport Beach, near Machrihanish, Argyll, and had initially tried to paddle back to shore.
Though managing to get close enough at one point that he could see a rubbish bin on the beach, he developed cramp in his shoulders and was pushed back out into the Irish Sea.
As the light faded on his second day adrift, he said he began counting down what he thought were his final minutes on the fingers of his outstretched hand.
However, the severely hypothermic IT specialist was then spotted by a Coastguard helicopter crew, clinging to his surf board 16 miles off the Scottish coast.
By then closer to Northern Ireland than his homeland, he was taken to Belfast’s Ulster Hospital, where he was reunited with parents John, 53, and Isabella, 54.
He spent a week in hospital being treated for hypothermia, dehydration and nerve damage.
Three weeks after his rescue Mr Bryce still walks with a limp but said he was happy to be reunited with the family he thought he would never see again.
Speaking at his home in Airdrie, Lanarkshire, he recalled: ‘I knew I was going to pass out and drown. There are worse deaths. I got to say goodbye to everyone, not personally but in my head.’
He added: ‘People say your life flashes before your eyes. That didn’t happen to me. It was more thinking about people who were significant in my life and moments with them.’
His problems began shortly after he entered the water at 11.30am on April 30. He tried to signal for help but the beach was deserted.
Describing his battle to survive, Mr Bryce said: ‘Hunger wasn’t a big issue, it was the cold. I was simply paddling to stay warm and focusing on keeping my head dry. Whenever I stopped paddling I started shivering violently.’
It was not until he failed to show up for work that his colleagues at Glasgow firm Murgitroyd alerted his parents John, an NHS bed manager, and Isobel, a nurse.
Mr Bryce, who has an older brother, Paul, and a younger sister, Claire, said: ‘The second day was worse because of the dehydration. By the end I was washing my mouth out with salt water. It didn’t help at all but I was desperate.’
A massive rescue operation ended when the Coastguard helicopter’s co-pilot spotted what he thought was a buoy floating in the water. It turned out to be the surfer. On realising he was saved, Mr Bryce said: ‘I just broke down. I was bawling like a child.
‘All the emotion I was suppressing for that 32-hour period came out. The coastguard grabbed me and he just said, “Well done”. I said, “Thank you so much”. I could have kissed them all. Then I just collapsed on the floor.’
Within 15 minutes he was in hospital, shivering so violently he had to be sedated.
Mr Bryce said: ‘The issue I have right now is mainly neuropathic pain [caused by nerve damage].
‘My fingertips have little or no feeling; my feet have no feeling. I’m still limping. Standard painkillers don’t work, they have to use nerve suppressants.
‘Until these kicked in, it was as if the skin was on fire and I couldn’t sleep.’
Despite initially saying he wanted to burn his surfboard, Mr Bryce admits he is considering going back in the water with friends.
But now he is looking forward to a 24th birthday trip to New Zealand and says he has taken some positive lessons from his experience, adding: ‘It’s about not wasting the time you have.’
‘Washing my mouth out with salt water’