[Rhodes22-list] New Life Vest?

[Brad Haslett]

 Why do I get the impression there may be more to this story?  Brad

Posted on Wed, Jul. 23, 2008
Britches save local boater's life By ROBIN FITZGERALD
 rfitzgerald at sunherald.com

GULFPORT -- A boater who fell overboard Monday night near Ship Island defied
all odds, authorities said. Facing rough seas and high winds, he swam, he
floated and he even hallucinated. About 19 hours later, he made his way to a
Gulfport beach.

Long Beach resident Colin Rayner, 28, used his pants as a flotation device
but lost them in the ordeal. A female acquaintance who was with him on the
boat was unable to pull him to safety with a dip net, said Harrison County
Sheriff's Capt. Ron Pullen.

"That gentleman should be in Beijing for the long-distance swimming
competition," Pullen said. "In all my years, he's one of the few I've ever
seen survive something like this. He is very lucky."

Authorities said Rayner and the woman were involved in horseplay, trying to
push each other off his 18-foot-boat, when Rayner fell into the water around
7 p.m. Monday. Shortly before 2 p.m. Tuesday, he came ashore near the Ken
Combs Pier at the foot of Courthouse Road.

His brother, Donald Rayner Jr., called his appearance "fantastic news."

Pullen, the sheriff's chief investigator, said Rayner yelled for the woman
to use his cell phone to call the Coast Guard. She's from out-of-state,
Pullen said, and called Rayner's father instead.

"She kept trying to reach him with a dip net but he or the boat kept
drifting away," said Pullen. "The keys to the boat were in his pants and the
woman said she wouldn't have known how to drive the boat if she'd had the
keys."

The woman neglected to mention the horseplay after her rescue, said Pullen,
which prompted a criminal investigation after Rayner told first responders
he was pushed overboard. Her name wasn't released.

"Both their stories matched up," Pullen said. "There was no foul play
involved."

Ship Island is about 12 miles south of Gulfport. The Coast Guard reported
him missing from the north side of the island.

Rayner, the son of a Long Beach physician, told authorities he could see
helicopters flying over but couldn't get their attention.

Fire Chief Pat Sullivan said a beach vendor gave Rayner a blanket while
waiting on rescue personnel to arrive. He appeared to be in good condition,
Sullivan said, and declined a hospital checkup.

Lisa Urban, a family friend, said Rayner was going to his father's house
after meeting with investigators.
Sun Herald staff writer Michael Newsom contributed to this report.