Overboard shrimper opens up about life-saving swim

PASS CHRISTIAN, MS (WLOX) - A routine shrimping trip on the Gulf took a turn for the worst Sunday night. A seasoned shrimper was headed back to shore with his catch when he suddenly found himself overboard. Mitchell

Sevel has been shrimping for over 30 years, but he said Sunday night was a first for him. According to Sevel, a rogue wave hit the boat causing him to slip and go over portside. To make matters worse, the boat kept going and he was stranded miles from the shore.

"I was hollering. He kept going because the door was closed, generator was running; he didn't hear me," Sevel recalled.

He knew he had to make a choice, and he had to make it quick. By his calculations, he was about four miles away from shore.

"That's when I started getting more water in me," said Sevel.

But he was determined to try, or die trying. If his estimates were correct, he worried he wouldn't have enough energy to make it to land alive.

"You know, I have kids and grandkids, and I started thinking, and I kind of wanted to quit," said Sevel.

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