Boat captain in water for hours after going overboard off Florida coast, officials say

A fishing boat captain who went overboard spent about four hours in the water off the Florida coast, officials said.

The man wasn’t wearing a life jacket but managed to stay afloat until a “good Samaritan” with a sharp eye approached him on Sunday, July 3, according to the U.S. Coast Guard.

Officials said a crew mate was sleeping before waking up to discover that the captain might have fallen into the water. The two were the only people on the boat, which was on autopilot, Petty Officer Gabriel Wisdom told McClatchy News in a phone interview.

The incident was reported at about 4 a.m. off the coast of the Florida Panhandle. The Coast Guard in a news release said it assembled air and water crews to look for the man, who went missing roughly 12 miles south of Panama City.

Later the same morning, people on a boat called New Beginnings reportedly found out that someone was in the water. Someone on board spotted the stranded captain before he was saved and taken back to his boat, officials said.

After the rescue, the captain was said to “be in good condition.” An investigation was ongoing as of July 4.

“The ability to survive in the water without any life jacket for four hours is a tall order for anybody,” Wisdom said. “The Coast Guard’s still urging to practice safe boating.”

Precautions include wearing flotation devices, using radio equipment and having kill switches so that boats turn off in the event of an emergency, officials said.

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