Lochie Brodie was on his grandparents’ yacht 12 nautical miles from Gladstone, Queensland, when he walked up the front deck, slipped and fell overboard on Sunday, 30 July.

The 14-year-old, who wasn’t wearing a lifejacket, started screaming to attract his grandparents’ attention but was not heard.

“I was just like screaming out for my gramps because he couldn’t have heard me because he’s deaf,” he told Australian TV network Nine Network.

His grandparents did not notice he was missing until they returned to Gladstone Marina when they alerted the authorities and a search was launched.

Brodie started swimming towards the nearest island. As he was doing so he also encountered a 2.5m shark, The Australian  reports.

“The first thing I did was just stand still,” he said to Nine Network

“I was kind of just screaming in my head not to scream out.”

He started swimming frantically, “Then I started getting really tired,” he said.

“I was just thinking like ok, is this the end?”

The boy was treading water for two hours before a yacht noticed him.
Boat owner Stephen Cartright told the television network that the boy was lucky that he was found.

“It’s like a needle in a haystack out there,” he commented.

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By the time he was rescued Lochie had treaded water for about two hours, Queensland Ambulance Service spokesman Chris Pereira said.

“The average person could tread water without much difficulty for about 30 minutes,” he said.

“For the boy, he was very, very lucky to survive.

“The boy states he did this remarkable act without the aid of a life jacket as well.”

Brodie Lochie’s mother told The Australian that her son had sore chest, back, arms and aching muscles from all the “dog paddling”. “He was treading water and every time he saw a boat go past arms in the air screaming like crazy, he’s very fortunate,” she said.

Lochie was taken to Gladstone Hospital for treatment but has since been discharged.