A Floridian fisherman was rescued 30 miles off the Florida coast in the Gulf of Mexico by the US Coast Guard. He had endured an entire night of rapid winds and powerful waves on nothing but an ice cooler during Hurricane Milton.
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Adrift at sea, he was saved on Thursday, miraculously surviving the night. Coast Guard official Dana Grady said, "this man survived in a nightmare scenario for even the most experienced mariner."
Experiencing winds of 75-90mph and waves up to 25ft, it's a herculean effort that the Floridian managed to keep hold of his ice box to stay afloat for numerous hours on end.
Floridian Survives Hurricane Milton On The Open Seas
On Monday, the fisherman's boat became disabled just off Madeira Beach. The Coast Guard was summoned to lift him and a crewmate to safety. This left the vessel behind.
He returned to the boat on Wednesday, only hours before Hurricane Milton was to strike Florida. He was determined to fix an issue with the rudder. He likely thought he could fix the issue and sail out of harm's way.
However, he radioed the St Petersburg Coast Guard Station once more, but contact was lost at 6:45pm, say officials. At this point, the winds were raging at 30mph and the waves were 6 to 8ft tall.
It was Thursday when rescue crews attempted to find the stranded fisherman. He was found roughly 30 miles from Longboat Key, an island near Sarasota.
He was found bobbing on the ice cooler, where a Coast Guard dived into the sea to rescue him. They took him to Tampa General Hospital for treatment. His current condition is not known, nor is his identity.
Before losing contact on Thursday, the Coast Guard instructed him to brace for the hurricane by putting on a life jacket and staying with the vessel's emergency position indicating radio beacon. It's likely that these instructions saved his life, as well as his iron will and grit.
Not many can survive the freezing temperatures of the ocean waters, let alone when there's a hurricane waging war.
