2 men cling to capsized boat for over a week

[Jaxfishgyd]

Amazing survival at sea: 2 men cling to capsized boat for more than a week

Men stranded at sea, rescued after eight daysplay Men stranded at sea, rescued after eight days


(CBS News) Two men are in a South Florida hospital Monday after surviving an ordeal on the open sea. They were stranded atop their capsized boat, with no food or water, for more than a week.


The unidentified men were adrift and running out of time when a cargo ship spotted them clinging to their overturned boat, and called for help.


Lt. Jarod Glover, a U.S. Coast Guard pilot, said, "When we first saw them we had no idea how long they'd been out there. It wasn't until moments later when we'd gotten word that they'd in fact been out there for eight days in that situation."


A Coast Guard rescue team found the Bahamian boaters stranded in the middle of the Gulf Stream, approximately 30 miles off shore, between Florida and the Bahamas.


Once there, the Coast Guard lowered rescue swimmer, Kyle Stallings. "I swam over, and you could see they were excited," Stallings said. "They definitely were on their last ray of hope and they were ready to get off that boat."


He says they were dehydrated and were suffering from hypothermia: "You could see it in their skin, you could see it in their eyes, you could see it in their hands.


Using a rescue basket, the crew hoisted the two survivors up to the chopper flying overhead. Stalling said, "One of the gentlemen was saying his prayers, crying."


Coast Guard Lt. Mark Aguilar said, "I actually leaned over my shoulder and got one of those acknowledging head nods that everybody knows, of 'Thank you, I appreciate your help'."


The crew airlifted the men to a Florida hospital, and very likely saved their lives.


Coast Guard Petty Officer Jose Rivera said, "It's what we trained for, it's what we do. It's why we joined the Coast Guard. It's why we all joined the Coast Guard.


U.S. Customs and Border Protection tells CBS the pair was not attempting to enter the U.S. illegally, and will have help getting home to the Bahamas, once they are well.

 

[rsmith]

This isn't all that unusual in the Bahamas. A few years ago a pair was found up near Bermuda. It's something to think about when you go out in a small boat or tender. When the kids were little we liked to dive the seaplane wreck that was just south of Spanish cay. If anybody remembers it it was an old Grumman seaplane that was about in 6' of water. It was upright and he engines and wings were exposed at low tide. It was a neat deal to snorkel because it was full of fish and lobster. When we went to leave the engine quit and 123 the tide pushed us off the flats and out to sea. A 13 whaler with 30' of anchor line in 60' of water with no other boats in sight and 3 little kids is a scary place to be. Thank god Merc put an emergency pull cord in the top of the motor cover.