Fisherman found adrift, rescued after battling hurricane for 24 hours

The U.S. Coast Guard rescued a fisherman on Thursday, Oct. 10, after he spent nearly 24 hours adrift off the coast of Florida, clinging to a cooler following Hurricane Milton’s devastation. Search teams found the man, who had been on fishing vessel Capt. Dave, approximately 30 miles off Longboat Key after the boat became disabled during the Category 3 hurricane. Milton brought winds of 120 miles per hour, heavy rain, and tornadoes.

The captain of the Capt. Dave initially contacted the Coast Guard on Monday, Oct. 7, reporting that his vessel had become disabled, leaving both him and a crew member stranded 20 miles off John’s Pass. The Coast Guard successfully rescued the two men that day, but the boat was left adrift.

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Early Wednesday, Oct. 9, the captain returned to the vessel to attempt repairs, later notifying the Coast Guard that the boat’s rudder had become entangled. As weather conditions rapidly deteriorated, with winds reaching 30 mph and waves rising to 8 feet, the Coast Guard instructed him to don a life jacket and remain near the boat’s emergency locator beacon.

The Coast Guard lost communication with the captain around 6:45 p.m. on Wednesday as Hurricane Milton intensified, bringing waves of 20 to 25 feet and winds estimated between 75 and 90 mph. Search and rescue efforts began early Thursday, Oct. 10, and by 1:30 p.m., a Coast Guard helicopter crew spotted the man clinging to a cooler. He was airlifted to Tampa General Hospital for treatment.

“This man survived in a nightmare scenario for even the most experienced mariner,” Lieutenant Commander Dana Grady, Sector St. Petersburg’s command center chief, said. Grady credited the captain’s survival to his life jacket, emergency position indicating beacon and the cooler that kept him afloat in the stormy waters.