Shipwrecked captain survives ‘nightmare’ scenario riding out Hurricane Milton adrift on cooler off Florida
The man was safely rescued Thursday afternoon, after being tossed into the Gulf of Mexico off Florida at the height of Hurricane Milton's wrath.
Watch: Coast Guard rescues man floating in the Gulf miles off Longboat Key, Florida
The man was found floating on a cooler. He was rescued and taken to Tampa General Hospital for treatment.
LONGBOAT Key, Fla.– The captain of a stranded fishing boat off Florida survived a "nightmare scenario" during the wrath of Hurricane Milton while left adrift in the Gulf of Mexico.
The captain of the boat was rescued by the United States Coast Guard (USCG) on Thursday afternoon, floating in the Gulf about 30 miles from Longboat Key, clinging to a cooler and wearing a life jacket. It was the second time he was rescued by the Coast Guard this week.
The first rescue came on Monday afternoon. The man called the Coast Guard to report he and a crew member were stuck in a disabled boat in the Gulf of Mexico 20 miles west of the St. Petersburg area.
A Coast Guard rescue boat and helicopter saved the captain and his crew member and brought them safely back to the base in Clearwater, Florida. The boat was left adrift in the Gulf of Mexico, and arrangements were made to salvage the boat, USCG said.
Tropicana Field roof shredded by Milton's winds
The roof of Tropicana Field, home of the Tampa Bay Rays baseball team, was shredded after Hurricane Milton tore through St. Petersburg, Florida, on Wednesday evening.
On Wednesday around noon, the day of Hurricane Milton's landfall, the owner of the fishing boat reported to the Coast Guard that the captain had gone back out to make the repairs on the boat at 3 a.m., and hadn't checked in. Coast Guard watchstanders were able to reach the captain via radio, who said the boat had once again been disabled on its trip back to the port.
The Coast Guard said at the time, seas were 6–8 feet high and winds were gusting at 30 mph, but conditions were quickly deteriorating as Hurricane Milton approached Florida. The Coast Guard told the captain to don a life jacket and stay with the boat's emergency locator beacon.
The Coast Guard lost contact with the man at 6:45 p.m. Wednesday. Hurricane Milton made landfall just under two hours later in Siesta Key, Florida as a Category 3 storm.
Search helicopters resumed looking for the man early Thursday morning after Milton passed. He was found later that afternoon.
"This man survived in a nightmare scenario for even the most experienced mariner," said Lt. Cmdr. Dana Grady, Sector St. Petersburg's command center chief. "To understand the severity of the hurricane conditions, we estimate he experienced approximately 75-90 mph winds, 20-25 foot seas, for an extended period of time to include overnight. He survived because of a life jacket, his emergency position indicating locator beacon, and a cooler."
The man was taken to Tampa General Hospital for medical care, but his condition was not given.