Early life Stanislav Kurilov was born in 1936 in
Vladikavkaz (then known as Ordzhonikidze). He grew up in
Semipalatinsk, in Soviet
Kazakhstan. As a young child, he learned to swim in secret from his own parents (who forbade him to enter open water), and at the age of 10, on a dare, he swam across the
Irtysh. From his early years, Kurilov dreamed of a life of sailing the seas. However, doctors told him that due to a vision problem he would not be eligible for either a
Soviet Navy or merchant marine career. After doing his military service, as a
chemical warfare instructor of a
sapper battalion, he graduated from the Leningrad Meteorology Institute (
ru) as an oceanographer. While a student, he also learned
scuba diving. After sunset on December 13, in stormy weather, Kurilov jumped overboard from the stern of the cruise ship, with a
snorkeling mask and fins. Luckily, he was neither immediately noticed by the crew, nor struck by the ship's propeller. However, because of the strong currents, it took him three nights and two days to reach the land. In his own memoir, he recalls reaching the Philippine shore on his own, by swimming all the way; After about six months of investigation, first in
Cagayan de Oro, later in
Manila (the Philippine authorities may have suspected him to be a Soviet spy), Kurilov was able to leave for Canada.
Life in the West Kurilov spent over 10 years in Canada, during which time he traveled extensively. Although not Jewish, in 1986 he moved to Israel, where he married an Israeli citizen (Lena Gendelev; after marriage, Gendelev-Kurilov) and became employed at the
Israel Oceanographic and Limnological Research institute in
Haifa. He wrote the story of his escape, as well as a number of other stories; they have been published both in Russian and in Hebrew and (partial) English translations. Stanislav Kurilov died in a diving accident on
Lake Kinneret. He was buried in the Alliance Church International Cemetery in Jerusalem's German Colony neighborhood. ==Other similar escapes==