A Florida boat captain survived Hurricane Milton with one insane decision

The last place that any Florida resident wants to find themselves is in the path of a hurricane. 

But being stuck in the ocean when it is bearing down is the worst place to be. 

And a Florida boat captain survived Hurricane Milton with one insane decision. 

Coast Guard rescues a Florida boat captain twice 

Hurricane Milton was a Category 5 storm in the Gulf of Mexico before it was downgraded to Category 3 when it made landfall in Siesta Key, Florida. 

One of the insane stories of survival during the hurricane was about a boat captain who survived the hurricane floating in a cooler after his ship began to sink into the Gulf. 

The Captain Dave was a commercial fishing ship that broke down in the Gulf before Hurricane Milton hit. 

Its captain went out to try and repair the ship before the storm but became stuck at sea. 

A Coast Guard helicopter made a dramatic rescue of the captain with a rescue swimmer after finding the man in the aftermath of Milton. 

#Breaking An @USCG Air Station Miami 65 helicopter crew rescued a man clinging to a cooler approximately 30 mi. off Longboat Key.

The man was taken to Tampa General Hospital for medical care.

Sector St. Pete lost communications w/ the man at approx. 6:45 p.m., Wed. #SAR pic.twitter.com/64wSHuRAeH

— USCGSoutheast (@USCGSoutheast) October 10, 2024

Captain Dave’s owner Steven Hawley told Fox News Digital that it was the second time in three days that the captain had been rescued by the Coast Guard.

The captain got about 20 miles from the shore when the batteries for the boat died. 

A Coast Guard crew retrieved the captain and his deckhand. 

The captain went back out to work on the boat to fix it. 

He got about eight miles from shore when the storm began to push the boat back out to sea. 

Thirty-foot waves created by Hurricane Milton were crashing over the stern of the Captain Dave and its pumps were not strong enough to keep the water out. 

The boat’s life raft became tangled up with the ship as it began to sink. 

He found a cooler that was four feet by three feet and locked himself in. 

For 20 hours he stayed in the cooler as 100 miles per hour wind and massive waves crashed into him. 

The Coast Guard told Hawley that they would not be able to search for his captain until the hurricane was over. 

Coast Guard makes a miracle rescue 

A Coast Guard helicopter and plane from Miami began to search for the sailor after the hurricane. 

The captain had an emergency position-indicating radio beacon (EPIRB) but the signal could not transmit through the cooler with the lid closed. 

The Coast Guard was ready to give up their search when they by chance noticed him sticking out of the cooler. 

Hawley credited the fishing cooler with saving the man’s life. 

“That’s the only reason he didn’t get eaten by sharks or freeze,” Hawley said.

Coast Guard Sector St. Petersburg’s command center chief Lieutenant Commander Dana Grady noted the terrible conditions the captain survived.

“This man survived in a nightmare scenario for even the most experienced mariner,” Grady said. 

“To understand the severity of the hurricane conditions, we estimate he experienced approximately 75-90 mph winds, 20-25 foot 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,” Grady added. 

The captain owes his life to having a heavy-duty cooler aboard the ship.

DeSantis Daily will keep you up-to-date on any new developments in this story.