Long Beach Jet Skier Rescued After 16 Hours at Sea Near Seal Beach

A Long Beach man is speaking out about the terrifying experience of spending about 16 hours stranded in the ocean after being knocked off a rented jet ski.

Paul Carbullido Jr. said he and a co-worker went onto the water around 7:20 p.m. Sunday on jet skis rented from a company identified as Air-B-N-Ski. About 10 minutes later, a wave knocked Carbullido into the water.

His co-worker initially tried to help him back onto her jet ski before jumping into the water herself.

Carbullido said he was too dazed to make it back onto the jet ski, and his co-worker eventually swam for about an hour to reach shore and seek help.

Rescue teams began searching for Carbullido around 10:30 p.m. He remained in the water throughout the night.

“I was really nervous. I was really scared,” Carbullido said, describing the thoughts that went through his mind as he waited for help.

As the hours passed, Carbullido said he began to believe he would not survive.

“I knew my time was up,” he said.

The U.S. Coast Guard located Carbullido around 11 a.m. Monday, about 16 hours after he entered the water. He was found roughly three miles from where the wave knocked him off the jet ski.

Carbullido recalled seeing the rescue aircraft above him and repeatedly calling for help. Rescuers then lowered equipment and pulled him from the water.

Luke Singer, an aviation survival technician with the U.S. Coast Guard, said rescuers were surprised to find Carbullido alive.

“We're not used to finding a person in the water too consistently, so that was a big surprise when we found him in the water,” Singer said.

Carbullido was later diagnosed with pneumonia and a low white blood cell count after swallowing a significant amount of saltwater.

California requires jet ski riders to have a boater card. Carbullido said the rental company did not ask him for one or provide basic training. Air-B-N-Ski told Eyewitness News that it did offer training but declined further comment.

The rented jet skis were eventually recovered.

Following the ordeal, Carbullido said the experience has given him a renewed sense of purpose.

“I got a purpose in life,” he said.