After nearly two days in the seas off Florida, a guy was discovered alive over the weekend in a shallow 12-foot fishing boat which ended up taking on water.
The Coast Guard announced in a statement that Charles Gregory, 25, was taken ashore on Saturday near St. Augustine and examined by medical staff, who found nothing unusual.
As he was rolled on a stretcher along a pier, Gregory gave a shaka, or the “hang loose” hand signal, to a news team.
According to the Coast Guard, the man took off on Thursday from Lighthouse Park Boat Ramp in St. Augustine. His father, Raymond Gregory, told Jacksonville’s NBC affiliate WTLV that his son spent 38 hours at sea.
He said, “There’s a God up there,” as his son approached the Vilano Beach Fishing Pier in St. Augustine.
Charles Gregory, according to the station, had chapped lips. He arrived at the fishing pier on a Coast Guard boat, and the effects of the sun on his exposed skin were immediately noticeable.
Designed for fishing & waterfowl hunting in peaceful waters like lakes and bays, his flat-bottom jon boat was swept out to sea, according to officials.
It’s “not the kind of vessel you want to be on in an offshore environment,” Nick Barrow, the rescue coordinator of Coast Guard’s Jacksonville area, told WTLV.
Gregory’s phone and safety equipment were dumped into the huge Atlantic after the boat overturned after being dragged out to sea, according to Coast Guard Petty Officer First Class Lecongie Wortherly. The boat’s modest motor was also rendered inoperable.
He told WTLV, “He lost all his survivor gear.”
Gregory tried to right his boat, but eventually, he encountered partial submersion, leaving him exposed to sharks and other marine animals, according to Wortherly.
Rescuers from three Coast Guard vessels, an HC-130 Hercules aircraft crew, and a Jayhawk helicopter crew all participated in the search, according to the Coast Guard. But as the mission continued into Saturday, optimism became more elusive.
Despite all of our search efforts, the chances, in this case, were beginning to go against us, Barrow added.
The HC-130 crew made a determined effort to cover as much of the ocean as they could, which was successful as evidenced by a map with tidy, lengthy lines and sharp turns over the water.
Video and testimony from the Coast Guard indicate that Gregory was discovered seated in the low-riding boat 12 miles offshore. He made a wave to thank his rescuers.
Raymond Gregory was angry with himself for momentarily giving up.
He referred to God as the “big guy,” and he warned, “Don’t give up on the big guy.”