World Traveler Who Nearly Died At Sea Returns Home To Sacramento

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) - A Sacramento adventurer nearly died following his lifelong dream of sailing around the world, but on Saturday he stepped off the escalator at Sacramento International and into the arms of his family. .

As Max Young's boat sank 450 miles south of San Diego, he never could have imagined Saturday's reunion.

He'd lost weight and wore borrowed clothes from his shipmates on the ocean freighter he spent eight days on, but an exhausted Max Young still managed a smile.

He arrived carrying little more than his passport, wallet and cell phone.

"This is pretty much all I got off the boat," Max said.

Max admits he never expected to be able to tell his story.

"I'm alive man. Honestly, i didn't think it was going to happen. I thought it was over," he said.

Days before finishing a 12-year journey sailing around the world, a whale breached Max's boat "Reflections."

"When he hit it., it was unbelievable," he said.

The impact nearly threw him into the ocean. Max's boat was going down.

He couldn't stop the leak, so Max set off his emergency beacons and stared out at the water, resigned to his last night alive.

"Came to the point where it felt OK," he said. "This is the way it is. I've had a great life, great family. I'll be 69 soon, so … ."

He found hope again when a Coast Guard plane spotted the boat.

"When that plane came in, it looked like an angel," he said.

Max still had to wait five hours for a freightliner's arrival. His breached boat held up just long enough.

Max made it back home with family in Sacramento just in time for him and wife Debra's 23rd wedding anniversary.

"It's been an interesting time and a trying time, but I'm just glad he's home safe," she said.

Max said he's in no hurry to return to the sea.

"I've been out in the ocean since I was probably 2 years old and I'm a tough guy, but I don't think I want to go out there anymore," he said.

Max's father was a fisherman, so he's been out on the ocean as long as he can remember. We'll have to see if the self-imposed boating ban sticks. Max admitted the feeling could pass in a few days.

Max visited 39 countries during his 12-year journey. Now he may have a new goal in mind.

He made a pact with his shipmates on the freighter to climb Mount Everest.