Boaters rescued from 3-day ordeal in Atlantic waters
Published: December 30, 2004
After surviving almost three days lost in the Atlantic aboard a broken-down fishing boat with two of his buddies and no food, Daniel Gibb vowed that his first fishing tale would be his last.
The U.S. Coast Guard rescued Gibb and his two neighbors, Juan Suarez, 55, and Jesus Peña, 45, Tuesday morning after the men’s 17-foot boat stalled at sea on Christmas evening, drifting through a storm and ending up about 100 miles from where their journey began.
The three men were found in good health, drifting in the boat off Jupiter, despite enduring long, cold nights and with only a gallon of water to drink.
“They were the most hellish nights I’ve ever been through,” Gibb, 48, said in Spanish, still wrapped in a blanket hours after being rescued. “I couldn’t see where this was going to end, but I didn’t want to my life to end.”
The men rejoined their families on the tarmac of the Coast Guard’s Air Station at Opa-locka airport after relatives arrived from Homestead.
As the fishermen shared their frightening adventure with reporters, Gibb and his 11-year-old daughter, Wendy, sprinted across the station’s runway toward each other. Both openly wept as they hugged.
A Coast Guard photographer struggled to fight back tears as she trained her lens on the father and daughter’s embrace. After a jovial scolding by his wife, Suarez, the boat’s captain, continued recounting his frightening adventure.
According to the men, the quick holiday jaunt to catch fish turned into a violent tussle for survival when the boat’s engine stalled hours after they set out from Homestead’s Bayfront Marina. The engine quit as the men tried racing back to shore to avoid an oncoming storm, they said. Suarez said he called the Coast Guard, but other than to say he could see the Miami skyline, he couldn’t give the location where they were stranded. His cell phone died out afterward, and the storm rushed in before Suarez dropped anchor, he said.
“It dragged us at an incredible speed,” Suarez said. “I lost complete control of the boat. I told the others, `Guys, we need to start praying and do the best we can to save ourselves.’”
During the storm, the boat lost its anchor while waves threatened to capsize the vessel. The men took turns using a bucket to bail water, while another tried to steer. One wave picked them up and swung the boat 180 degrees, Suarez recalled.
“I already had picked out items to float with,” Gibb said. “I was going to get out of this in some manner.”
After the storm, strong winds continued to push the boat while the men tried to figure out which direction they were heading. They barely spoke, shivering badly when not trying to fix the engine. They saw other boaters and planes, but none saw them. The men used their last flare Sunday afternoon as a cruise ship sailed by.
Meanwhile, the Coast Guard never stopped searching. They scoured an area large enough to cover Jamaica, Cmdr. Cari Thomas said. A Coast Guard search plane finally saw the crew around 7 a.m. Tuesday and notified a U.S. Navy ship nearby. The men were picked up by the crew of the USS Boone and waited until a Coast Guard helicopter took them aboard.
“I was tired and feeling very sick,” Suarez recalled. “When we saw the plane and saw it circling above us, it was like an injection that completely recuperated me.”
On Tuesday, family members said they were returning to Homestead and would enjoy a large New Year’s Eve celebration. With his wife giving him a stern look, Suarez said he was not sure when he’s going fishing again. Gibb, however, already made up his mind.
“Never,” he said. “This was my first time fishing and my last.”
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