22-year-old surfer Matthew Bryce survived more than 30 hours stranded at sea off the coast of Glasgow, Scotland. He was last seen on Sunday morning and was reported missing when he did not return later that afternoon. The Belfast Coast Guard found Bryce about 13 miles off the coast of Scotland at around 7:30 pm. Authorities admitted that hope was fading as time passed.

It is believed that Bryce’s preparedness helped him survive this scary situation. He was wearing a thick neoprene wetsuit, which was essential to his well-being because of the frigid temperatures. The water temperature dropped to as low as 46 degrees throughout the time of Bryce’s disappearance.

Once he was rescued, Bryce was airlifted to a hospital in Belfast to be treated for hypothermia. Once at the hospital, Bryce said that “I am so grateful that I am now receiving treatment in the hospital. I cannot thank those enough who rescued and cared for me, they are all heroes.”

It’s amazing that Bryce even survived the incident since all of the odds were stacked against him. With so many things that could happen while stranded out in the middle of the sea on a surfboard, it can and should be considered a miracle that he is in alive and in recovery. Most news stories about surfers usually end in a tragic animal attack or some other sad incident, such as Bethany Hamilton’s shark attack story where she ended up losing her arm, but luckily this one was different and had a happy ending.