Video shows rescue of boater stranded at sea for 8 days

It's been about three weeks since a fishing trip ended in disaster for Nathan Carman and his mother Linda.

The two left from Rhode Island on Sept. 18 and never returned to shore. Nathan was rescued a week later by a private freighter while Linda is presumed dead.

For the first time, we are seeing video of Nathan being rescued at sea. He spent eight days on a life raft.

The captain of The Orient Lucky spoke to the Hartford Courant and said Nathan looked healthy but tired when he was rescued.

"He was very tired but he walked by himself and didn't need any help. He didn't appear to be suffering from hypothermia or dehydration,” Capt. Zhao Hengdong said.

A crew member from the Chinese freighter spotted an orange ball from Nathan’s life raft about 100 nautical miles off the coast of Martha’s Vineyard.

The captain said the crew immediately threw a life ring into the water, and after three tries, Nathan was able to slip the ring on.

Crew members wrapped blankets on him and kept him warm, then shared food and talked.

"The crew asked him what happened and he said he was fishing with his mom and the vessel started sinking and he jumped off and then couldn't find his mom,” Hengdong said.

The captain said he could tell Nathan was troubled by what happened.

"He just stood and looked out on the ocean. I got the feeling he was looking for his mother. He seemed very sad when he left and went back to his room."

The investigation into what happened is still on-going.

Cox Media Group