Filipino seafarers saved 62 year old American, who was reported missing, and was found in the Atlantic Ocean clinging to the bow of his capsized boat.
A boater who was found Sunday clinging to his sinking vessel far off Florida’s Atlantic coastline told U.S. Coast Guard officials he didn’t think he would make it back to shore alive.
“I didn’t see anybody, I thought, this is it!” Stuart Bee said in a call with the Coast Guard released Monday night.
Bee, 62, had been reported missing on Friday after he departed from Cape Marina on his 32-foot boat.
Bee described having mechanical problems on the boat Saturday night, saying the engine was making squealing noises. He went to sleep and was woken up by water coming into the boat.
The boat started sinking but a portion stayed afloat, Bee said. He had emergency equipment in boat to send out a distress signal and pinpoint his location, but it was underwater.
“Three times I tried to hold my breath and swim down and get it but I couldn’t reach it,” Bee said.
He said he was about to try a fourth time when he spotted the cargo ship.
“Then I saw a container vessel in the distance and then, I don’t have my glasses, I couldn’t see if it was coming to me or not, but I began waving and took my shirt off and waved the shirt periodically.”
Coast Guard Capt. Mark Vlaun said it was an improbable rescue.
When asked how the crew treated him, he said it was “better than a cruise ship.”
"The nicest people ever," Bee said. "They kept feeding me."