VICTORIA — A B.C. tugboat captain survived more than an hour in the icy ocean Tuesday after falling out of his boat while trying to urinate.

Kevin McGonigle thought he was a goner as he treaded water in the Pacific Ocean for 70 minutes clad in a T-shirt, sweater and pyjama bottoms.

The 49-year-old captain of the Regent had stepped outside to relieve himself and stumbled, falling overboard.

“I lost my balance and the next thing I knew, I was in the sea,” he said Wednesday.

The tug was on its way back to Campbell River from Vancouver, where it had delivered a log boom.

The other two crewmen didn’t realize McGonigle was gone until 25 minutes later. McGonigle was suddenly floating in 8 C water, hypothermia numbing his limbs.

It took a moment to realize what had happened.

“It felt terrible. Watching the boat disappear was the worst.”

McGonigle knew his chances of survival were slim. “I tried not to panic. I tried to tread water and passed out a couple of times.”

The tugboat crew called in a mayday at 1 p.m. local time, said Dennis Kimoto, marine controller at the Victoria Joint Rescue Communication Centre.

Local mariners joined the search, a coast guard vessel was dispatched from Port Hardy, and a Cormorant helicopter was sent out from Chilliwack.

McGonigle, who couldn’t raise his arms to wave because of the cold, figures he didn’t have much longer to live when the 86-foot trawler, Pacific Faith, located him after 20 minutes of searching.

He was close to unconscious, but McGonigle has the image of his rescue vessel etched in his memory: “I remember looking up at the that word, ‘Faith.’ I remember that vividly.”

He was taken to hospital, where he was reunited with his crew: “We just hugged. I feel sorry for them, actually. It was just a freak thing that happened. It’s nobody’s fault.”

The experience gave McGonigle plenty of time to contemplate how he had lived his life.

“There were things I wanted to change for sure,” he said, declining to elaborate.

Kimoto said McGonigle was in pretty good shape, considering the amount of time he was in the water.

“If he would have fallen overboard at night, it would have been a totally different story.”

 By Sandra McCulloch, Canwest News ServiceMarch 4, 2009