Hannon, an English major at Holy Cross, was riding a Yamaha WaveRunner off Ka'anapali Saturday afternoon when he was knocked into the water. He was unable to retrieve the craft and spent the night awaiting rescue. A Coast Guard search plane found him about 8 a.m. Sunday.

Because he could see search helicopters Saturday evening, Hannon said yesterday that he felt confident he would be rescued and was able to stay calm while in the open ocean overnight. He survived with nothing more serious than stiff muscles, a case of severe chafing where his swim shorts and life jacket rubbed against his body, and an appreciation for flotation devices.

"I never realized how good life jackets are. That's the thing that saved my life," he said.

Petty Officer Justin Acosta and Ensign Jasmin Parker, of the Coast Guard, described their role yesterday in rescuing Patrick Hannon. The 20-year-old tourist said he never doubted rescuers would find him. Bruce Asato • The Honolulu Advertiser

After 15 minutes of zipping around on the watercraft, Hannon said he felt comfortable maneuvering the WaveRunner and accelerated over a swell. He came crashing down and was flung into the sea, banging his right knee on the steering column. Hannon also lost his prescription sunglasses and ski goggles, and spent precious moments trying to find them.

"When I fell the (WaveRunner) was about 20 feet away but now it's 200 feet and with my bad knee I knew there was no way I was going to be able to swim to it," he said. "I watched it float away."

Hannon, who describes himself as an "OK swimmer," estimated he was about 1 to 1 1/2 miles from the beach, and decided to begin swimming to shore. But with his impaired vision, he set off at an angle instead of straight in, limiting his progress. Still, he said he wasn't too worried.

"I recognized that with the life jacket I was not in great danger. I knew the Coast Guard would find me. They would know what to do."

Hannon said he kept swimming to keep warm, and made it to within less than a mile of shore, "but I couldn't fight the current. I was so dead."

In the darkness, Hannon could see the lights of the search helicopters and continued swimming, dozing at times from exhaustion. "I wanted to get in to shore but I didn't have the energy for it."

Around 8 p.m., he saw what he thought was a shark's fin. It was his only moment of utter panic.

Hannon said he began flailing in the water to get away — exactly what experts tell swimmers not to do when confronted with a shark. Hannon said he was aware of that advice, but found it difficult to follow considering his circumstances.

About 8 a.m. Sunday, he saw the Coast Guard C-130 Hercules pass overhead and waved his arms. When the plane banked and looped around, Hannon knew they had spotted him. A Coast Guard HH-65 helicopter used a harness to pluck him from the water, and Hannon said it was "a great moment" when he was set safely inside the aircraft.

He spent four hours at the Maui Memorial Medical Center emergency room warming up and getting treated for dehydration.

Hannon said he felt bad for those on shore who were left wondering about his fate, especially because Saturday was his brother's birthday. Brian Hannon called their parents, Richard and Christine Hannon, about 2 a.m. Cambridge time to let them know Patrick was missing.

"It was the worst time of our life. You just can't imagine you could lose your son," Christine Hannon said yesterday.

The Hannons got on a plane in Boston at 7:30 a.m. Sunday, and two hours into their flight from Chicago to Maui, the Coast Guard sent word to the American Airlines crew that Patrick was safe and unhurt. There were tears and hugs when he greeted them at Kahului Airport at 3:30 p.m. Sunday.

At a news conference yesterday, Coast Guard officials described how they execute these search-and-rescue missions. So far this fiscal year, the Coast Guard has saved 63 people including Hannon.

Ensign Jasmin Parker and Petty Officer Justin Acosta were the two search-and-rescue coordinators who helped find Hannon.

At a news conference yesterday, they described how they use computers to establish a search area over vast ocean distances, critical information for flight and boat crews.

Acosta said that information such as weather conditions provided by local boaters, lifeguards, surfers and swimmers are fed into the computer to tweak the search patterns relayed to rescuers.

In Hannon's case, Acosta said information provided by his family and friends about his experience with personal watercraft and the water conditions at the time he disappeared helped narrow the search area.

In all, three helicopters, a C-130, the cutter Kiska and a 25-foot "safe boat" were used in the search, with additional equipment and labor supplied by the Maui Fire Department.

Yesterday, sitting in his hotel room at the Sheraton Maui, Hannon seemed largely unruffled by his experience.

"Every now and then it hits you. When I was out there it didn't really seem all that remarkable," he said.

What was remarkable, he said, was the intense rescue effort by the Coast Guard, Maui police and fire crews and Pacific Jet Sports/Maui Ocean Activities. "It's incredible how hard people worked to make sure I was OK."

The Hannons and Carroll cousins leave Maui today.