Boat captain survives Milton clinging to cooler off Longboat Key

A fishing boat captain survived Hurricane Milton while clinging to a cooler 30 miles off Longboat Key, battered by hurricane-force winds and 20-foot seas, the U.S Coast Guard says.  

Coast Guard officials say the fishing vessel Capt. Dave became disabled Monday, Oct. 7 about 20 miles off John's Pass. A Coast Guard rescue boat and helicopter from Clearwater picked up the captain and mate and brought then to shore. The boat was left adrift with salvage plans to be made later.

On Wednesday around noon, the Coast Guard was informed the captain went back out to the boat to make repairs. By 3 p.m., the captain had not checked in. 

With Hurricane Milton rapidly approaching, the Coast Guard was able to raise the captain by radio, who informed them the rudder was fouled with a line and had become disabled during his transit back to port.

By 5:30 p.m., aircraft and helicopters were dispatched to search for the missing captain. The weather at the time was 6-8-foot seas, with 30 mph winds and quickly deteriorating. 

The captain was instructed by the Coast Guard to don a life jacket and stay with the vessel's emergency position indicating radio beacon. Rescuers lost communications at approximately 6:45 p.m. Wednesday evening.

He was found at about 1:30 p.m. Thursday, clinging to a cooler wearing a life jacket. 

The aircrew brought the man to Tampa General Hospital for treatment. 

"We estimate he experienced approximately 75-90 mph winds, 20-25 foot seas, for an extended period of time to include overnight," says Lt. Cmdr. Dana Grady, Sector St. Petersburg's command center chief.