During a new episode of Travis and Jason Kelce's New Heights Podcast, SNL comedian Colin Jost has recalled the moment the late great Jimmy Buffett saved his life while surfing.

When Jason asks Colin about this rumoured incident, Colin smiles at the thought of the ever-affable Jimmy Buffett, and proceeds to tell the brothers how they crossed paths.

Jost outlines, “I was randomly seated next to [Jimmy] at a dinner, and I had never met him before, and I didn't know it was him”, before joking, “I sort of noticed little subtle hints that it might be Jimmy Buffett, like he would say something like, ‘Whenever I open a new Margaritaville’...’I was like, ‘Hmm, this might be Jimmy Buffett’”.

Colin goes on, “He was really gracious and knew I liked to surf. So he's like, ‘I'm gonna go surf tomorrow morning. Why don't you come surf?’ And I was like, ‘Oh my God, of course! This is fantastic’. He lent me a board, and we went out. And I remember when we were going out swimming, Jimmy was like, ‘Be careful when you get into shallower water, because there's a lot of rocks. Don't ride it all the way in”.

Colin, however, was too starstruck to heed this warning, “Again, because it's him, and I'm talking to him, and I'm excited, I didn't pay attention to any of the advice at all. Completely ignored it, and then rode the wave all the way in and went to turn around on my board and paddle back. And I couldn't paddle forward. I didn't know why. And then I realized that my leash had been stuck under one of the famous rocks he had told me about. I couldn't get out, and the waves were coming”.

Colin shares that, once Jimmy realised he was struggling, he wasted no time in coming to his rescue, “He was like, ‘Are you okay in there?’ And again, I was trying to play it cool - ‘I love all this water I'm swallowing! I'm doing great!’ And then I started getting kind of nervous, because I couldn't get loose of this rock, and so he sort of sensed it...He swam and cut my leash off and got me out”. Colin amusingly concludes, “He was like, ‘I think that down the beach might be more your speed...’”.

It's safe to say we'd forgive Colin for being devastated at ruining his on-sea moment with the legendary Jimmy Buffett, especially given the fact that he really is an avid surfer. But what's heartwarming is, whenever Colin speaks about the ‘Margaritaville’ icon, there's nothing but love and fond memories associated with him.

It's also not difficult to believe that Jimmy would have been the kind of person not to hesitate when it came to helping others, as Colin's touching (and amusing) story highlights.

Jimmy, who died in 2023, remains one of the most celebrated figures in the country space, with the Gulf and Western trailblazer's catalogue of island-inspired anthems and tequila-infused odes sure to be a beacon of sunshine for many years to come.

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