A Montreal man has learned a lesson about life and death after he was mere seconds away from drowning in the St. Lawrence River – but was saved by a couple on their Sea-Doo.

Benjamin Spiridonov was surfing on the St. Lawrence River near Habitat ’67 on June 15 when the safety cord on his board broke off.

He fell into the water and the strong current carried him rushing down the river, unable to breathe.

At one point, he neared the surface and stuck his hand out of the water.

Three men in a boat noticed him and signaled to Jocelyn Bordeleau and his partner Sonia Dupuis, who were riding on Sea-Doos.

“When I saw in the water, we saw just (saw), like, a hand and the man – just his hair,” said Bordeleau.

They pulled him out of the water and with the help of another man, began doing CPR.

“They pulled him on the platform. We saw. He was not alive. He was white, blue -- all hands blue, feet blue,” he said.

The Coast Guard soon arrived and transported Spiridonov to hospital.

Bordeleau and Dupuis said those first few hours were very difficult for them.

“The feeling you have is terrible. You don't know if you saved a life or not, if this guy will come back,” said Bordeleau.

After wondering for hours where he was, Spiridonov's wife Tracy Phillips finally tracked him down at the CHUM hospital and said he looked much different.

“His eyes were bleary and sunken. His fingernails were purple,” she said.

Dupuis said the terrible ordeal was ultimately gratifying.

“For us to know that at this time we made a difference, not just in his life, but in the life of a family. People we didn't know yet,” she said.

Spiridonov’s time on the water won't come to an end; he said he wants to continue one of his pastimes, wind surfing – although with some added safety.

“New rule: I added to my ‘Safety First’ – ‘Plan B.’ I already ordered a little inflatable belt just in case.

The two couples have become fast friends.

Spiridonov is dealing with a cough from the incident, something he actually sees as a positive.

“It's a gift. I enjoy this cough right now, because this cough tells me that I'm still alive,” he said. “If that day, Jocelyn was 30 seconds later, I would be in the news as a dead body. ‘Dead surfer’s body was pulled in Old Montreal Port.’”