Brayden Bowers (left) and Aaron Schwartzmann.Photo:ABC/Ricky Middlesworth; Ricky Middlesworth/ABC via Getty
ABC/Ricky Middlesworth; Ricky Middlesworth/ABC via Getty
The BachelorettealumsBrayden Bowersand Aaron Schwartzman were among five men who were rescued after their fishing boat sank.
Bowers told the outlet their troubles at sea began when a line got “stuck on the engine propeller” of Schwartzman’s boat.
“Aaron just went to the back of the boat to lift the engine up and try and untangle it," he explained. “All of a sudden, as soon as he stands on the swim deck … the boat literally just sunk.”
Charity Lawson and Brayden Bowers.Craig Sjodin/ABC via Getty
Craig Sjodin/ABC via Getty
He explained that the group, who were all members of fire, dispatch and military services, then “tried to paddle to shore, so we linked arms and we kind of just started kicking.”
“It’s like being trapped and helpless because there’s no service,” Schwartzman recalled. “We weren’t able to send a distress signal at all, and the only thing you have out there is hope, hope that somebody finds you, hope that a helicopter flies over.”
Schwartzman revealed the group tried to “think of the next steps…. but…what are the next steps when you’re 15 miles in the ocean – in a wind swell?”
Aaron Schwartzmann.Craig Sjodin/ABC via Getty
“We were looking for yellow fin tuna and then found a school of men,” Chris joked to Fox 5, before adding, “We don’t consider ourselves heroes; we’re doing whatever any other fisherman would consider doing.”
“It never ever occurs to you as a rescuer that you might need rescuing but when you do, it’s good to know that people will step up the way you would,” Schwartzman added.
The U.S. Coast Guard told PEOPLE they had no involvement in the case.
“We were out there for over 3 hours just paddling not feeling like we were getting anywhere but doing it because we all knew that if we were going to go out we were going to do it fighting to live,” he continued. “I’m much more aware of the normalcy bias that we all have. We don’t expect the worst to happen. We expect our cars to work, we expect that we will stay healthy, we expect our boats to float. But what happens when that normalcy bias is shattered. That’s where I’m now at. I feel like I’m living disassociated with the world around me trying to reconnect but the wariness that the worst could happen at any moment has given me immense anxiety and I’ve had several moments where I just break down.”
The reality star is grateful to have survived the experience, sharing, “I thank God for protecting all of us. I thank God for sending Tj and Chris to see us and giving them the curiosity to see what the reflection was in the water. I thank God for allowing the 5 of us that were there for being the five there.”
“We leaned on each other and were strong for each other. By the Grace of God I am here right now at this very moment and just pray that I can honor Him with the second chance at life I have been given because in reality there’s no reason we should all of made it out alive,” he added. “You see all the news stories about people losing their lives in incidents like ours. There was no beacon sent out when the boat went down. There was no way to let people know what happened. In moments like that you ask yourself, ‘where does my help come from?’”
Schwartzman told PEOPLE that their experience “should highlight that there are still good people in the world that are willing to go out of their way for a complete stranger. The two men on that fishing boat that spotted us and got us out of the water saved our lives.”
“Life is crazy and sometimes we don’t realize what we have until it is gone. Highlight them and their actions, they are the story line,” he continued. “Life is crazy, but what I’d love to conclude this with is a quote that my dad shared with me when I was younger. It stated ‘don’t love something that will never love you back.’”
“The boat is gone, and that means nothing. I still have the people that I love. It’s not what you have in life, it’s WHO you have in life. My friends that I hold closest are still here and that is all I’ll ever need. Material things can be can always be purchased, but your best friends cannot.”
Both Bowers and Schwartzman areset to appearon the upcoming season ofBachelor in Paradise.
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Bachelor in Paradiseseason 9 premieres Thursday, Sept. 28 at 9 p.m. ET on ABC.
source: people.com
