He really kept his cool.
Dramatic video has captured the moment a fisherman was miraculously rescued after he was found clinging to an ice box nearly 30 miles off the Florida coast after his boat became stranded overnight in 25-foot high waters ravaged by Hurricane Milton.
The man, whose name hasn’t been released, was saved by a US Coast Guard helicopter crew on Thursday after he was spotted floating on the open cooler in the middle of the Gulf of Mexico, officials said.
“This man survived in a nightmare scenario for even the most experienced mariner,” Coast Guard official Dana Grady said.
“To understand the severity of the hurricane conditions, we estimate he experienced approximately 75-90 mph winds, 20-25 ft seas, for an extended period of time to include overnight.”
“He survived because of a life jacket, his emergency position indicating locator beacon — and a cooler,” she added.
The harrowing ordeal unfolded after the man’s fishing boat became disabled off Madeira Beach, Florida on Monday, according to officials.
A Coast Guard helicopter flew out to hoist the man, who was the captain, and another crew member to safety — leaving the vessel behind.
But the man opted to return to the boat to try and repair an issue with the rudder on Wednesday — just hours before the hurricane made landfall.
He was able to radio the Coast Guard station in nearby St. Petersburg for help, again, but lost contact at roughly 6.45 p.m., the officials said.
Officials had told him to brace for the hurricane by putting on his life jacket and stay with the vessel’s emergency position indicating radio beacon.
At the time he lost contact, the waves were roughly 6-8ft and winds were packing at about 30mph, the Coast Guard said.
When rescue crews were finally able to set off looking for the fisherman on Thursday, they managed to locate him about 30 miles off Longboat Key — an island off the coast of the Sarasota area.
Astonishing aerial footage of the rescue showed the fisherman bobbing up and down on the cooler as a Coast Guard diver was lowered down from the helicopter before swimming to pick him up.
The man was taken to Tampa General Hospital for medical treatment, the Coast Guard said.
The fate of his boat wasn’t immediately clear.
With Post wires
The post Florida fisherman rescued after spending night clinging to an ice box at sea after Hurricane Milton appeared first on New York Post.
