A teenager who had to tread water for 10 hours in the open ocean off the coast of the United States was washed out to sea by a strong rip tide.

Blake Spataro, 19, was swimming near the shore at St Simons Island in Georgia when he was swept away by the wave.

“I was out there sitting by the shore when a rip tide washes me straight into the ocean,” he said.

“I didn’t want to die out there, I was talking to God the entire night.

“I wanted to live, I was too young to die and I simply didn’t want it to end there.”

The young man spent hours screaming for help while also managing to keep himself afloat, but was stuck in the ocean as continuous waves and strong winds kept him stranded.

The US Coast Guard created a search party for the missing teenager after the alarm was raised by his father who had frantically been looking for him.

Throughout the night, Blake said he tried his best to stay calm and was about to give up home when he saw the lights from a passing Coast Guard boat.

“Whenever I was tired, I floated on my back. That gave me some comfort and gave me some motivation to keep going,” he said.

After surviving for 10 hours and without the Coast Guard being able to locate him, Blake eventually fought his way close enough to a golf course on-land and yelled for help.

Senior chief with the Coast Guard, Justin Irwin, today met with the teenager in his hospital room and said he was astounded by the incident.

“I’ve been in the Coast Guard for 18 years and I have never seen anything like this,” he said.