A Florida fishing boat captain faced a harrowing survival ordeal, spending over 18 hours clinging to a cooler in the Gulf of Mexico following Hurricane Milton’s wrath in the region. The US Coast Guard successfully rescued the man on Thursday, October 10, around 1.30pm local time, approximately 30 miles off Longboat Key.
According to a Coast Guard release, the captain was found wearing a life jacket, a vital piece of equipment that likely saved his life. “This man survived in a nightmare scenario for even the most experienced mariner,” said Lt Cmdr Dana Grady, chief of the command centre at Sector St Petersburg. The captain’s identity has not yet been disclosed.
The captain initially contacted the Coast Guard on Monday, October 7, after his fishing boat became disabled about 20 miles off John’s Pass, prompting a rescue operation that brought him and a crew member safely back to Air Station Clearwater. Just two days later, as Hurricane Milton approached land, the captain returned to the boat around 3am to make repairs but failed to check in afterwards.
On October 9, during severe weather conditions caused by the hurricane, which included 6 to 8-foot seas and winds reaching approximately 30 mph, the Coast Guard managed to establish radio contact with the captain. He reported that the boat’s rudder had fouled, leaving him stranded. Coast Guard officials advised him to don his life jacket and stay close to the vessel’s emergency position-indicating radio beacon. Unfortunately, communications were lost shortly thereafter.
After more than 18 hours adrift, the Coast Guard launched a helicopter rescue mission. Dramatic footage captured a crew member being lowered into the turbulent waters to reach the captain, who was clinging to a small cooler. “To understand the severity of the hurricane conditions, we estimate he experienced approximately 75-90 mph winds and 20-25 foot seas for an extended period, including overnight,” Grady noted. His survival was attributed to his life jacket, the emergency locator beacon, and the cooler he held onto.
After the rescue, the captain was shifted to Tampa General Hospital. Hurricane Milton made landfall near Siesta Key, Florida, around 8.30pm local time on October 9, bringing maximum sustained winds of 120 mph and resulting in at least 16 fatalities so far.