But during the swim, that outcome was not guaranteed.
They were two people in open water, approximately a mile from their starting point, after losing the vessel that was supposed to bring them home.
Their attempt to call for help had produced nothing.
Then another possibility appeared.
A fishing boat was passing through the area.
For a moment, it seemed that the long swim might end before they reached the shoreline.
Chapter 8: The Fishing Boat That Passed Them
While Daniel and Tristan were still trying to reach land, a fishing boat passed through the surrounding waters.
A functioning vessel could have changed their circumstances immediately.
It might have offered a place to climb out of the ocean, ending their exposure to the water and allowing them to avoid completing the long swim.
But that rescue did not happen.
The fishing boat passed without taking them aboard.
The account does not establish whether the people on the vessel saw the swimmers or understood that they were in distress.
It would therefore be inaccurate to claim that the crew deliberately ignored a known emergency.
What is certain is that the passing boat did not rescue Daniel and Tristan.
The father and son remained in the water.
The opportunity for immediate assistance had disappeared.
For anyone forced to swim a long distance after a boating accident, seeing another vessel can represent the possibility of survival.
The contrast between a swimmer and a powered boat is enormous.
A boat can cover distances that require a person many minutes of strenuous effort.
It can provide a stable surface above the water.
And it can carry people away from an area where dangerous marine animals have been encountered.
Daniel and Tristan had none of those advantages.
The passing vessel did not change their situation.
They still had to swim.
They still had to reach the coastline.
And they still had to manage the physical effort of moving through the Pacific.
The experience had become a sequence of failed alternatives.
Their kayak had failed.
Their emergency call had failed.
The passing boat had not provided a rescue.
There was no documented second vessel arriving to help.
No helicopter appeared in the reported sequence.
No rescue swimmer reached them before land.
The father and son continued under their own power.
At this point, their survival depended on maintaining enough strength to complete the distance.
They had already endured the shark's two impacts against the kayak.
They had made the decision to abandon the sinking vessel.
They had started a swim that would ultimately last approximately 35 minutes.
Now, with no immediate rescue available, the shoreline remained their only confirmed route to safety.
The final portion of the swim was not a dramatic confrontation with the shark.
It was an endurance test.
The animal had already caused the damage that forced them into the ocean.
The continuing danger was the distance separating them from land.
Every stroke brought them closer.
But until they reached the rocks, they were still exposed to the water.