Kayaker happy to be back
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See video of the Coast Guard rescue of kayaker John Stockton. (RealPlayer required. Video courtesy of News 8.) |
By Timothy Hurley
Advertiser Staff Writer
KONA, Hawai'i — When Jonathan Stockton's kayak was pushed out to sea by a storm on the Kohala Coast Friday, he looked back and caught a glimpse of a large rainbow — a sign that he believed told him he would survive.
But by Monday, the fourth day on the open ocean, with dehydration and heat exhaustion closing in, with precious little water and just as little hope of a rescue, it dawned on him: "I'm going to die a horrible death."
Jonathan Stockton spent nearly five days adrift at sea.
By Tuesday morning — the fifth day lost on the open sea — the youth pastor from Phoenix was 80 miles southwest of the Big Island, suffering from bouts of delusions, preparing to write his will and searching for comfort in the Psalms of his water-soaked Bible.
"I needed Him to intervene. I needed a miracle."
He got it.
Stockton, who was resting yesterday in a Kona hotel the day after he was rescued at sea, said a U.S. Navy plane flew into view and eventually headed straight for him.
He waved his paddles wildly. "I was so relieved and rejoicing. It was just a miracle right in front of my eyes. The plane was in perfect alignment with the kayak. It had to be exactly that. They came close before and didn't see me."
Stockton, 28, was plucked from a search zone that covered 12,000 nautical square miles, thanks to Coast Guard computer models that examined currents and winds. He was taken to Kona Community Hospital and discharged Tuesday night.
Yesterday, he was enjoying the company of his mother, Patricia Stockton, and his brothers, David and Peter Stockton, who flew to Hawai'i from the Mainland.
In the afternoon, he tasted his first solid meal.
"It felt real good to wake up this morning and not be inside a boat," he said.
Gary L. Philips • U.S. Navy
Stockton's journey began on Wednesday of last week. His plan was to sail from Kona International Airport up the coast to Kohala, where he had lived from 1994 to 1997 while working with Youth on a Mission. He was sailing during the day and camping on the shore at night.
A Coast Guard helicopter hovers near Jonathan Stockton on his kayak, preparing to lower a rescuer to assist him Tuesday from the open ocean southwest of the Big Island, where he had drifted for several days.
He had sailed a kayak along the coast before.
This time, he brought a special $6,000 fold-up Klepper kayak that he was renting with an option to buy. The 17-foot vessel wasn't designed to sail in stormy weather, he said, but he planned to stay close to shore.
But on Friday, the third day, a storm kicked up suddenly and capsized the boat. At a quarter-mile off-shore, he was forced to make a quick decision: Stay with the kayak or swim to shore.
"Unfortunately, I stayed with the boat. It almost cost me my life."
The kayak's jib sail popped out of the water, caught the wind and the tiny vessel raced 20 miles out to sea. The boat was pummeled by huge swells, and he spent most of the night in the water, hanging on.
In the morning he could see Kona and he began paddling for shore, but strong winds and currents were too hard to overcome. Despite paddling for 21 hours, he only got within 10 miles of shore.
"My arms were moving, but I had no power. I collapsed and woke up 1 1/2 hours later, about 30 miles out to sea."
By that time, it was Sunday morning and he figured he'd try his cellular phone again. It wasn't working earlier, but this time he got through.
What followed was a series of frustrating exchanges with operators and rescue authorities. Finally, using a map and compass, he was able to communicate his position to the Coast Guard. His spirits soared when he finally saw search planes, but they flew right by him — on four different occasions.
"I was trying to make myself be seen, but I had no answers."
By Sunday night, the phone was dead and out of range, and the next day he started growing weaker and thinking about the strong possibility of dying.
On Tuesday morning, he woke up weeping.
"The reality was that it was very likely I was going to die. I just had little tiny bubbles of water left, just a couple of swallows, and I was really thirsty."
Stockton, a lifelong Christian who has done missionary work in Asia and Africa, turned to Psalms 132-140 — passages that implore God to listen.
"I was pleading with Him to hear my voice, to rescue me from my troubles. I knew I had to trust in the Lord. The Coast Guard couldn't do it. I couldn't do it. I had to leave it to Him.
"I just needed a miracle."
And then he saw the plane.
"It's good to be brought to a place where you're totally helpless. And you realize God's in control, that He holds every breath in his hands."
