Matthew Harvey (35) was rescued by a passing yacht at about 7 pm not far from where he entered the 17?C water in Fermain Bay at about 9 am on Saturday.
Mr Harvey’s father, Dan, said this morning that hopes had been fading until they received a call from police last evening saying a diver had been recovered from the sea and asking them to go to the hospital.
‘After more than 50 hours in the water, two nights and no food, the line becomes a little thin,’ he said.
‘There was a realisation that a long length of time had passed since he was last seen and for all we knew he might have died five minutes after entering the water.’
