I swam ten miles through shark infested sea in the dark after falling off my boat while fishing – I thought I’d die

AN AUSSIE man miraculously survived after falling overboard in shark-infested waters near Panama in a wild survival story. The sailor, John Deer, was forced to swim ten miles after becoming stranded without a life jacket off the coast of Panama, in an area known by locals as “shark point”. GoFundMe/Fou RueschJohn Deer sold his belongings and bought a boat on which he wanted to sail the world[/caption] GoFundMe/Fou RueschAs he was fishing, Deer lost his balance and fell into the shark-infested waters[/caption] The man, from Victoria, Australia, sold all his belongings in 2019 to sail around the world in a once-in-a-lifetime trip. Deer had been sailing from Cartegena, Colombia to Panama’s San Blas Islands – a 30-hour journey – when he fell off the back of his boat after losing his balance while redeploying a lure attached to a fishing line. On autopilot with its sails up and motor running, the 40-foot boat named Julieta soon disappeared and Deer found himself alone. “Having talked about this many times with fellow sailors as the worst imaginable thing to happen, suddenly I found myself in the water, my boat and home and safety sailing away from me at an alarmingly fast rate. I was 9 nautical miles offshore – about 17km. I had no life jacket on,” he wrote in an online post. READ MORE WORLD NEWS BORDER BEAST Prowler on trial for 56 sex attacks in France & Belgium says 'I'm a hunter' HIGH & DRY Baby trapped down 500ft well is SAVED in desperate operation as parents watch on “I was convinced I was dead. No one knew I was there. It was 5 pm and the sun would set in an hour. I panicked and screamed out “Nooooo!!!!” as I watched my boat sail away gaining more and more distance with every second.” With no other option but swim, Deer set off towards land, as daylight dwindled. As Deer’s survival instincts set in, the sailor used the straight side of the moon as a navigation aid while it was above and then the stars later.  The single-hand sailor began to wonder if he was making any progress at all, as he explained he felt he was moving slowly. “I just had to keep going.” However, encouragement soon turned to panic after the sailor felt something bite his feet. 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But again I couldn’t afford to waste energy so decided I had to keep swimming at any cost.” Deer added: “Fortunately not a shark, those damned fish stayed with me, biting me almost the whole way to shore.” GoFundMe/Fou RueschDeer’s boat Julieta was found underwater[/caption] GoFundMe/Fou RueschFailing to salvage a sunken boat can incur penalties in the hundred of thousands pounds[/caption] 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.  After a frightful 10-hour swim, Deer touched rocks in the faint starlight. He had safely made it to shore. ” I immediately felt the exhaustion upon feeling my own weight and gravity for the first time in so many hours. I had been running on pure adrenaline.” Deer passed out on the sharp rocks and only woke up “what felt like 20 minutes”. The next morning, Deer found a decent-sized stick and attached his t-shirt to the end of it to create a signal to flag down any boats going past.  The first boat failed to spot or hear him, the second waved but the third one stopped and agreed to take him to a border town he was initially heading to. Unfortunately for Deer, Panamanian police, who had located the boat underwater, took him in for questioning. Without identity documents, the sailor is currently stuck in Panama, with only the clothes he fell in the water. “Elation and joy to be alive at having survived, mixed with the devastation of having lost my floating home that has taken me halfway around the world over the last three years.” Because the adventurer sold and then lost everything, one of Deer’s friends, Fou Ruesch, has set up a GoFundMe to raise funds to cover the costs of salvaging Julieta, get his legal documents back, and travel back home to his family. “At this point, we have no idea what it will cost, but I know it’s not cheap and penalties, if you don’t salvage a sunken boat can be in the hundred [of] thousands,” Ruesch wrote on the fundraiser page. “He is stranded in a foreign country with absolutely nothing left,” Deer’s friend said. For Deer, now comes the daunting task of dealing with the boat, “which in the blink of an eye has turned from my greatest asset to an enormous liability”. “I couldn’t have wrecked a boat in a more remote place,” Deer added. Read More on The Sun DRESS SMART I'm a size 22 & found dress of the summer in Peacocks- I bought it in 2 colours CHAT'S NEW! WhatsApp warning for ALL 2billion users as group chats are changing TODAY “Above all, I’m glad to be alive. And it’s been a hell of a journey up until now.” All of the raised funds will go into salvaging Julieta, (if anything is salvageable), legal fees, new legal documents, and a ticket home to Australia once everything is taken care of, the GoFundMe page states. GoFundMe/Fou RueschJohn Deer is being supported by friends and family eager for him to return home[/caption]