Watch: Florida windsurfer rescued after getting swept 1 mile away from shore
According to the Lee County Sheriff's Office, the windsurfer was stuck for about an hour between Fort Myers and Sanibel before someone called to report them in distress.
Florida windsurfer rescued after being pulled 1 mile offshore by wind
A man was rescued Monday after being pulled a mile offshore between Fort Myers Beach and Sanibel Island, the Lee County Sheriff's Office said.
SANIBEL, Fla.– A windsurfer was rescued on Monday after being swept out into the Gulf a mile off Florida's coast.
According to the Lee County Sheriff's Office, the windsurfer was stuck for about an hour between Fort Myers and Sanibel before someone called to report them in distress.
Marine units from the sheriff's office responded to help get the windsurfer back to shore.
Bodycam footage from one of the marine officers on the scene showed officers pulling up next to the man, sitting on a surfboard.
A marine officer throws a rope to the stranded windsurfer.
(Lee County Sheriff's Office / FOX Weather)
"Are you all right?" an officer asks the man, as he pulls a rope off the boat and tosses one end to the windsurfer.
The sound of whipping winds fills the background noise. At the time of the rescue, winds were blowing northwest, with gusts between 30 and 35 mph, according to National Weather Service data.
The video then cuts to the surfer in waist-deep water, near the beach, as the officer on the boat gives him his sail back.
The Lee County Sheriff's Office said it's unclear how much the ocean currents contributed to the surfer being pulled out to sea versus the wind.