Florida family was stranded at sea after their boat capsized — 20 hours later, a 'miracle' saved their lives
Coming out safe and sound out of certain events might feel no less than a "miracle." A Florida family felt so too after their rescue was carried out, post being stranded at sea for over 20 hours. Their boat capsized around 26 miles away from the shore and there was little hope for getting out of the situation. A man, Dennis Woods, had gone fishing with three of his relatives to celebrate his 70th birthday, according to the Clearwater Police Department.
Woods recounted the harrowing incident and explained how all of it began. "The water filled up one side of the catamaran and then it made the back of the motor boat go down low and water started coming over the back of it." He added, "It was probably less than five minutes before it rolled. I didn’t have time to contact the Coast Guard. We were more concerned about getting a life jacket on the 90-year-old and the 18-year-old. The one I was going to wear got hung up, and I had to just leave it." Woods felt that it was a matter of time before someone realized that it was late and they hadn't come back.
So when the coast guard actually arrived for them in the morning, the four of them were standing on the top of the boat and were really excited to get back. "We were clinging to it." Woods also explained that the night was the toughest part of the time they spent stranded in the water. "The night was really tough because the waves picked up and we were having to try to get up on top of the rigging of it and with a 90-year-old, I spent almost all night holding him up and then he fell several times." Nonetheless, the man was glad to be back on dry land with his relatives.
"That's a great feeling there, especially since my birthday was yesterday. It was a good birthday now that I'm back on land." A press release from the United States Coast Guard News revealed that the four people were rescued by the Coast Guard Station Sand Key boat crew. They were in a stable condition and were checked on by the emergency medical service at the location. As Woods had predicted, a family member had reported that the group's return was overdue. "Through the efforts of multiple Coast Guard crews and partner agencies, we were able to safely recover the missing boaters and reunite them with their loved ones," Ensign Gaige Garrett, Operational Unit Controller at Sector St Petersburg Command Center, shared.
"We want to remind anyone going out on the water to have all necessary safety equipment to include Coast Guard-approved life jackets, VHF radio, signaling devices and an emergency position locator beacon or personal locator beacon," Garrett went on. The four of them were taken to the Morton Plant Hospital for treatment, according to Tampa Bay 28. "They were cold. They had hypothermia for sure. They were shivering. Being out in the water that long, all of that water sucks the warmth out of your body. I think the older man had some lacerations. My guys on the back deck bandaged him up, got him some water and put a lot of warm stuff on him," Savannah O'Dell, from the US Coast Guard Station Sand Key, remarked.