The British kayaker who was found in the canal by Dutch fishermen yesterday is generally fine. That’s what the local authorities say. The man was found yesterday hypothermic, dehydrated and exhausted.

Captain Teunis de Boer von Urk and his four crew members want to get in touch with the man. “I want to hear his side of the story too. If he’s actually been on that buoy for days, he’s a hero too. It can’t be any different if you survive this.”

The fishermen are on their way to Boulogne-sur-Mer with the French ship Madeleine. At a hospital in this port city yesterday, the kayaker was taken to intensive care.

In this video, De Boer tells about the drowning man:

The fisherman still has to “give him a place,” but he says from the ship about 15 kilometers from Calais that he notices how special his rescue was.

Based on conversations with the man, authorities believe he spent 48 hours in the water and on the buoy. “Of course, looking back, it’s something special and a miracle that it happened,” says De Boer.

The fact that the fishermen were able to save the man gives them a “relieved and grateful” feeling. “When a fellow human being is in need and you can help him, you are of course happy that you can do something. And the reactions are consistently positive, really overwhelming.”