4 days ago
18
CLEARWATER, Florida – A day enactment they volition ne'er forget.
Four boaters that were stranded atop a capsized 24-foot sailing vas for 20 hours erstwhile a day sportfishing travel was turned upside down were rescued by the US Coast Guard 26 miles disconnected the seashore of Clearwater, Florida connected Tuesday.
The 4 relatives embarked connected a celebratory sportfishing travel from the Seminole Street Boat Ramp successful Clearwater astatine astir 9:30 a.m. connected Monday, and anticipated returning by 4 p.m. aft a time connected the water, the Clearwater Police Department said.
When household members of the fisherman grew acrophobic that the radical hadn't returned, they contacted the Clearwater Police Department astir 8:30 p.m. connected Monday night, triggering a monolithic hunt effort for the wayward boaters.
Four boaters stay afloat connected their capsized vas 26 miles disconnected the westbound seashore of Florida, waving to a US Coast Guard HC-144 Ocean Sentry level that located the capsized vessel and directed a rescue squad to its location.
(US Coast Guard / FOX Weather)
After 20 hours astatine sea, a level from the US Coast Guard Air Station Miami located the capsized vas astatine astir 7:15 a.m. Tuesday morning. Footage from the HC-144 Ocean Sentry level captured the 4 distressed boaters connected the bottom-side of their capsized vessel, frantically waving to the level passing above.
After locating the wayward boaters, the level dispatched deployed a beingness raft and a Mk-58 marine determination marker to usher a US Coast Guard vessel unit to the capsized vessel, wherever the 4 relatives spent the night.
WATCH: DRAMATIC AIRLIFT RESCUE OF INJURED HIKER
The boaters, who ranged successful property from 18 to 90, sat atop the 25-foot catamaran called "Money Well Wasted" for astir 20 hours earlier being spotted by the Coast Guard plane.
A Coast Guard Station Sand Key vessel unit rescued the 4 capsized boaters stranded 26-miles disconnected the seashore of Clearwater, Florida successful the Gulf of America.
(US Coast Guard / FOX Weather)
Dennis Woods, 70, Clarence Woods, 90, Cris Harding Sr., 42 and Chris Harding Jr., 18, were each taken to Morton Hospital for attraction and are successful unchangeable information pursuing the nighttime spent astatine sea.
Following the palmy recovery, Dennis Woods, who captained the vessel, recalled however the vessel capsized and however the 4 remained calm successful what could person been a catastrophic situation.
COAST GUARD RESCUES FATHER AND SON AFTER BOAT CAPSIZES
"Water filled up connected 1 broadside of the catamaran, and past it made the backmost of the vessel spell down low, and h2o started coming implicit the back," Woods said. "It was astir apt little than 5 minutes earlier it rolled, and I didn't person clip to interaction the Coast Guard. We (were) much disquieted astir getting the beingness overgarment connected the 90-year-old and the 18-year-old."
A memorable 70th day to accidental the least, Woods said the nighttime astatine oversea was highly pugnacious arsenic the waves grew stronger.
On onshore aft the extended solemnisation astatine sea, Woods remarked, "It was a bully day present that I'm backmost connected land."
next
First responders greeted the 4 boaters erstwhile they arrived to enactment successful Clearwater, Florida aft spending 20 hours 26-miles offshore successful the Gulf of America aft their sportfishing vas capsized. (Clearwater Police Department)
prev
First responders greeted the 4 boaters erstwhile they arrived connected enactment successful Clearwater, Florida aft spending 20 hours 26-miles offshore successful the Gulf of America aft their sportfishing vas capsized. (Clearwater Police Department)
"Through the efforts of aggregate Coast Guard crews and spouse agencies, we were capable to safely retrieve the missing boaters and reunite them with their loved ones," said Ensign Gaige Garrett, Operational Unit Controller astatine Sector St Petersburg Command Center. "We privation to punctual anyone going retired connected the h2o to person each indispensable information instrumentality to see Coast Guard approved beingness jackets, VHF radio, signaling devices and an exigency presumption locator beacon oregon idiosyncratic locator beacon."
TEAM REMOVES DEADLY FISHING HOOK FROM SHARK'S MOUTH
The important hunt effort included the US Coast Guard, Clearwater Police Department, Clearwater Fire and Rescue, and Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
English (US) ·