( CNN ) -- A college student who survived a boat sinking with four others said Monday that a safety officer who died on their boat was a hero for staying behind and pushing him out . Texas A & M student Steven Guy , left , and instructor Steve Conway talk about their boat capsizing . Steven Guy , a Texas A & M University sailor , said Roger Stone saved him and another sailor by helping them to safety . `` He is my hero , '' Guy said . `` He saved me . If it was n't for him , I would not be here . '' The group never saw Stone after he pushed the two men out of a hatch in the boat , the mariners said . Stone , the boat 's second safety officer , was found dead by the Coast Guard on Sunday afternoon . The two men said they spent a day in open water after their vessel sank in the Gulf of Mexico . The survivors -- four university students and a safety officer -- told the Coast Guard they were forced off their sailboat after it took on water and capsized early Saturday . The five survivors were found and airlifted to land around 2 a.m. Sunday , the Coast Guard said . The group had to get out of the rapidly sinking sailboat so quickly , they could get only four safety vests for five people , safety officer Steve Conway said Monday . They had to huddle in the water to keep each other afloat , he said . Watch the rescue and see Conway describe the ordeal » . `` With five people and four life jackets , we had to watch the person without the life jacket closely , '' he said . `` These young men did a tremendous job . They pulled themselves through . They had a fierce will to live . '' R. Bowen Loftin , CEO and vice president of Texas A & M at Galveston , expressed condolences to the Stone family in a letter posted along with status updates on the school 's Web site . `` We hope they can take some comfort in knowing all five survivors of this tragic accident credit Mr. Stone with heroic efforts that were instrumental in making possible their survival , '' Loftin said on the site . `` We now know that Roger Stone died a hero in the classic sense of the word . '' Conway said that as the group huddled in the water , they saw rescue jets go by three times before they were spotted . `` It is really discouraging when a plane comes out and flies over and leaves , '' he said . Coast Guard Lt. Justo Rivera , who was flying the aircraft that rescued the men , told CNN affiliate KHOU that a flashlight helped save them . While conducting search patterns , Coast Guard members spotted the light through their night vision goggles , Rivera said . It was being held by one of the men . He said that because the Coast Guard was searching such a vast area , the flashlight was `` instrumental '' in the rescue . `` It 's your proverbial needle in a haystack , '' Rivera told KHOU . During the 26-hour wait , the group was nibbled by curious reed fish and circled by a fish with triangular fin that extended from the water like a shark 's fin . `` They bumped up against us and kind of nibbled on our clothes , '' Conway said . `` You do n't know how big the thing is and how hungry it is . I was always aware of the risk of sharks . '' The group 's sailboat , named the Cynthia Woods , was one of about two dozen boats heading from Galveston , Texas , to Veracruz , Mexico , for the annual Veracruz Regatta race , which began Friday .
Sailors say Roger Stone stayed behind to get others to safety . Comment: Safety officer Steve Conway : Sailors all `` had a fierce will to live ''