FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Three men were rescued by a charter fishing boat on Monday after their boat capsized. Video shot by bystanders shows the trio clinging to the underside of the vessel as it sank.
The men said they were fishing about a mile offshore in Fort Lauderdale when their boat started to take on water. Justin Peck told Local 10 he started bailing out water with a bucket and that slipped out of his hands.
“I jumped out of the boat to get the bucket,” Peck said. “Then the boat flipped and I am still trying to grab the boat. No way to hang on to anything.”
Eventually, the first mate onboard the Lois Ann, a 65-foot charter fishing boat operated by Lady Pamela Sport Fishing spotted the men in distress.
“I thought these guys were just waving at us, ‘get out of our spot,’” said Dominic Miller. “I realized there was something different.”
“We’re blessed that we were able to be in the area,” Capt. Mitchell Scherfer said.
Scherfer and Miller threw life jackets and rescue rings to the men and helped them climb onboard before taking them to the marina in Hollywood.
“Thank God. Thank god those people saw us. That’s all I can say,” Peck said.
Watch the witness’s video