A 22-year-old surfer paddled out on the Kintyre coast of Scotland on a Sunday morning. Offshore wind and tide carried him out to sea. Nobody raised the alarm until Monday lunchtime. By the second sunset, he had made peace with dying. Then a coastguard helicopter flew over. This is the story of Matthew Bryce’s 32 hours on a surfboard, told from the public record and his own words. Survival Stories, Episode 2 HM Coastguard’s advice: be prepared before you go out, tell someone where you are going, and take a way to raise the alarm. In the UK, call 999 or 112 and ask for the Coastguard. Sources
- HM Coastguard, “Surfer Rescued 13 Miles Offshore” (1 May 2017): https://hmcoastguard.blogspot.com/2017/05/surfer-rescued-13-miles-offshore.html
- BBC News (2 May 2017): https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-39774208
- The Guardian (2 and 4 May 2017): https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/may/02/missing-surfer-found-alive-matthew-bryce-32-hours-argyll-coast ; https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/may/04/certain-i-would-die-surfer-matthew-bryce-rescued-32-hours-sea
- NPR (2 May 2017): https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/05/02/526581424/watch-surfer-rescued-after-32-hours-adrift-and-alone-off-scotlands-coast
- CNN (2 May 2017): https://www.cnn.com/2017/05/02/europe/scotland-surfer-survives/index.html
- The Irish Times: https://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/surfer-who-drifted-for-32-hours-i-thought-i-was-going-to-die-1.3071430
- Daily Record: https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/dramatic-sea-rescue-surfer-meets-11644996
- RNLI, How to call for help at sea: https://rnli.org/water-safety/how-to-call-for-help-at-sea Quotes from Matthew Bryce are from his published interviews (BBC, via The Guardian/PA and The Irish Times; Wetsuit Wearhouse) and his BBC News interview. Capt. Andy Pilliner’s quote is from NBC News, via NPR. Credits Rescue footage: Maritime and Coastguard Agency (HM Coastguard), © Crown copyright. Source: “Dramatic moment surfer is plucked from the water after 30 hours at sea”, Maritime and Coastguard Agency official channel: https://youtu.be/MhXyTtfFR1I Location photos via Wikimedia Commons, from Geograph Britain and Ireland (CC BY-SA 2.0): “Machrihanish beach” by Tim Glover; “Looking into Machrihanish Bay” by Gordon Brown; “Beach at Westport, Kintyre” by Alpin Stewart; “View from Westport” by Sarah Charlesworth; “Campbeltown Lifeboat Station” by Leslie Barrie “South leg of Rathlin Island looking towards Fear Head” by Van helsing, Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.5) Interview clips: BBC News, Matthew Bryce interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KMijYpXEeC4 Ocean footage via Wikimedia Commons: “Ocean surface waves” series by Mostafameraji (CC0); “Drone Flight: Cape Kiwanda, Pacific City, Oregon” by Tony Marino, Aerial Northwest (CC BY 3.0); “Ocean Shores, WA drone footage, 2024” by acplanells (CC BY 3.0); “R/V Neil Armstrong Drone (OOI 2)”, Ocean Observatories Initiative (public domain); “Sunset at the sea of Azov” by Igor da Bari (CC BY 4.0) Ocean sound: “Ocean Waves on a Tropical Beach” via Wikimedia Commons (CC0) Helicopter sound: “Helicopter over quiet neighbourhood - 2” by ezwa (public domain), via Wikimedia Commons Maps: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL); Natural Earth
