John Deer: Melbourne sailor cheats death, swims 17km to shore after falling off boat

A Melbourne round-the-world sailor swam 17km without a life jacket and cheated death after falling off his boat while travelling from Colombia to Panama.

Melbourne's John Deer swam 17km in South American waters after he fell overboard after catching a fish, miraculously escaping death. Picture: Instagram @cleverdeer

A Melbourne round-the-world sailor survived hours without a life vest in open water in the dark after falling from his boat in the Carribean Sea, 17km from shore.

John Deer’s three-year round-the-world sailing adventure almost came to a deadly end when he slipped off his boat, Julieta, during an expected 30-hour trip from Cartagena in Colombia to the Puerto Obaldia in Panama on Wednesday.

Mr Deer, whose last lived in Collingwood before he began his sailing adventure in Greece in 2019, told the Herald Sun he was “feeling bloody great” and “stoked to be alive” following his ordeal, which he detailed on his Instagram page on Friday.

He was sailing through calm waters and had just caught a small tuna when he somehow “slipped and fell”, and watched his boat drift away as the sun went down.

Mr Deer was not wearing a life jacket and was convinced he was going to die, as he was stuck 17km from land.

John Deer's ruined boat, Julieta, found off the San Blas Islands in Panama. Picture: Instagram @cleverdeer

“I struggled with the realisation of my imminent death for a few minutes not wanting to accept what seemed my inevitable fate, so I decided to give up that idea and determined to swim for shore,” he wrote.

“I usually wouldn’t attempt to swim 200m let alone 17km, but I was gonna give it a go.

“What other option did I have? Just give up and drown?”

Mr Deer swam through the night, alternating between “breaststroke and back frog stroke” to save energy, and used the moon to try and navigate his way to shore.

He also had to put up with a group of fish nibbling and biting away at his legs and feet.

In the morning, he pulled off his shirt and attached it to a stick, and tried to get nearby boats to rescue him.

After three attempts, one boat saw “the desperation and tears welling up in my eyes” and rescued him, taking him to his intended destination of Puerto Obaldia.

Mr Deer went to local police to inquire about his boat, which was “completely destroyed and fully submerged”, with all his belongings gone.

“I literally now only have the t-shirt and shorts I was wearing when I fell overboard,” he wrote.

“Above all I’m glad to be alive. Possessions come and go. It’s sad I won’t be able to continue the journey back to Australia as planned. But I guess life had different ideas for me.”

Mr Deer is staying with a friend, Tirian Moran who has given him food, beers, a bed and a toothbrush.

He told the Herald Sun he was set to fly to Panama City on Sunday, through a flight arranged by the Australian Consulate, and would eventually “head home and start from scratch” after he recieved an emergency passport.

A GoFundMe page has been launched by friends to help Mr Deer salvage his boat and organise return airfares to Australia.