PALM BEACH, Fla., Jan. 12 (UPI) — Retired Miami Dophins fullback Rob Konrad spoke out Monday for the first time since swimming nine miles to the shore of Palm Beach after falling into the water while fishing in the Atlantic Ocean on Jan. 7.
According to Konrad, he was trying to reel in a fish while his boat was on auto-pilot when he accidentally fell into the ocean as the boat sped away. After over 10 hours of swimming, Konrad reached shore where, in just his underwear, the 38-year-old made it to the nearest beachfront mansion and called emergency services.
Despite swimming within 50 yards of a fishing boat, and nearly as close to the Coast Guard, Konrad remained unnoticed by those attempting to save him and had to engineer his own grueling rescue.
“After some time I just said, ‘Look, I’m not dying tonight and I’m going to make it to shore,’” Konrad said in a press conference reports the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.
“I really had two opportunities for rescue. At one point, as I swam into the night, there was a fishing boat, a recreational fishing boat, about 50 yards away. I tried to flag down the boat. It didn’t work out. A little bit later on, I saw the Coast Guard [helicopter] … right over the top of me. They had lights on me, but kept going … I realized at that point I was on my own.”
Thankfully for Konrad, the coast guard wasn’t the only thing in the water to bypass the former Syracuse standout, as during one stretch of ocean Konrad says he was being circled by a shark. The jellyfish, however, were not so forgiving.
“There was a lot of stuff glowing at night.” Konrad said according to the Palm Beach Post, adding he was stung numerous times.
The press conference began late and was delayed as Konrad is still suffering from hypothermia cramps.
Rob Konrad and wife Tammy pic.twitter.com/T9LcStvazd— Hal Habib (@gunnerhal) January 12, 2015
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