The man who survived 12 hours adrift in the waters off the coast of Long Beach after being knocked off a jet ski said he considers it a miracle he’s still alive.

Paul Anthony Carbullido Jr., 53, remains hospitalized after his harrowing experience lost at sea. With nothing but a life jacket, the man could only wish to be saved. Thankfully, he was.

“Oh, man, there was relief,” he said. “I was like, if there’s a God out there, there was relief. I can’t describe it. I was ready to give up.”

Carbullido said he and his roommate, Donna Durbay, decided to ride jet skis Sunday evening. A sunset ride of fun quickly turned dangerous as the night quickly turned dark.

The two were hit by a wave and got knocked off their watercrafts. While Durbay was swept to the break wall, her roommate was swept out to sea. Carbullido was last seen at about 7 p.m. Sunday in the ocean east of the Queens Gate Entrance Channel before he was rescued 12 hours later by the U.S. Coast Guard.

A man who went missing after being knocked off a Jet Ski by a wave was rescued hours after his disappearance. Mekahlo Medina reports for the NBC4 News at 5 p.m. on Monday, Aug. 17, 2026.

“I was there all night, like just, just thinking of the worst,” he recalled. “I didn’t know which direction to go because it was real dark, you know? And I was just paddling, paddling.”

Durbay admitted that she and Carbullido were inexperienced in riding jet skis, and Carbullido can’t swim. After they got knocked off their watercrafts, Durbay was unable to start hers.

“I phoned the place where we rented them and I told them, ‘My friend tipped over on his. We can’t get him in and now it’s completely dark out and I can’t see anything,’” Durbay said.

Durbay searched for Carbullido in the dark but was unable to find him. In a perilous predicament, herself, she began to yell for help and was rescued after being in the water for five hours.

“I left the hospital, and I came home, and I just thought he was dead,” she said. “I was really, really scared.”

Thankfully, Carbullido was found alive Monday morning about 2.5 miles off Seal Beach Pier. The Coast Guard hoisted him to safety and took him to a hospital.

Bruised, sore and recovering from hypothermia, Carbullido said he’s thankful to be alive.