Miracle at Sea: How a Pair of Jeans Saved a Man's Life

Miracles happen every day, and the story of a 30-year-old German named Arne Morka is proof of that. Last Wednesday, Morka, who was sailing with his brother from New Zealand to Brazil, fell off a yacht.

The strong winds released the sail, and while Morka was trying to fix the issue, he got tangled in a rope, injured, and thrown into the sea.

In an interview with local media in New Zealand, where the accident occurred, Morka said that when he fell into the water, he was without a life jacket. "All I had were my clothes, so my brother tried to throw me a rope and a life jacket."

"My Legs Started to Shake, and I Was Exhausted"

The high waves, which reached over three meters, kept him from grabbing the life-saving items, and gradually, he drifted away from the yacht.

Then, an idea flashed into Morka's mind. "I always thought that if I ever found myself in a situation where I fell off a ship without a life belt, I would use the trick from the 'Navy SEALs' to make a life belt out of jeans," he recalled.

The 'Navy SEALs' are the elite unit of the US Marines, where soldiers are trained to use extraordinary techniques for survival.

Morka explained how he removed his jeans, tied the leg ends to create volume, and then 'sat' on his makeshift life belt underwater. At one point, waves started crashing over him, wearing him down. "My legs began to shake, and I was exhausted, but I knew that if I tried to change my position and use my arms to rise above the waves, I might lose the jeans."

"A Small Dot in the Sky Coming Closer"

After three and a half hours at sea, time seemed to stand still, and Morka began to lose hope. "The jeans lost their buoyancy, and I knew I had to somehow tie them again if I wanted to improve my chances of survival," he recounted. "In those moments underwater, all I could think about was my baby daughter. It was a moment when I thought if I don't give my all, I really am going to die here."

Eventually, Morka managed to retie the jeans, and after another half-hour, which seemed like an eternity in the freezing waters, a sign of rescue appeared on the distant horizon. "Suddenly, I heard the sound of a helicopter and saw a small dot in the sky getting closer," he recalled. It was a helicopter that, according to him, passed twice over his location without noticing him.

These were the rescue forces summoned to the area by his brother, who began searching the area and finally spotted him, throwing him a rescue rope. "I am lucky to be alive," he says now.