Captain rescued after surviving Hurricane Milton in reefer: boat owner

The captain rescued from the water after surviving Hurricane Milton was in a refrigerator before he was rescued by the Coast Guard, Steven Hawley, owner of the sunken boat, Captain Dave, told Fox News Digital in an October interview with Fox News Digital.

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

The Coast Guard rescued the captain on Thursday, October 10, after Hurricane Milton, a storm that made landfall in Florida.

Floridians are starting to pick up the pieces after Hurricane Milton

On Thursday, a Coast Guard helicopter crew rescued a man clinging to a refrigerator nearly 50 miles off the coast of Longboat Key, Florida. (U.S. Coast Guard Southeast)

The video shows the captain apparently floating on the refrigerator while someone hanging from the helicopter approaches for a rescue.

But this was actually the second time in as many days that the Coast Guard had rescued a captain.

Hawley pointed out that the captain and sailor were rescued earlier this week after the boat became stranded.

COAST GUARD VIDEO SHOWS RESCUE MAN FROM HELICOPPER CREW FLOATING ON A REFRIGERATOR 30 MILES OFF THE COAST OF FLORIDA AFTER A STORM

However, after the first rescue, the captain returned to the boat and eventually found himself in a dangerous situation, which he survived.

The captain is “alive” and “doing well,” Hawley said.

But “this boat will never be seen again,” he noted.

TWO BOATS MISSING AFTER SEATING OUT TO AVOID HURRICANE MILTON: COAST GUARD

This GOES-16 GeoColor satellite image taken at 12:15 PM EST and provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) shows Hurricane Milton in the Gulf of Mexico, off Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula, on Tuesday, October 8, 2024. (NOAA via AP)

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“This man experienced a nightmare scenario even for the most experienced sailor,” said the head of the Coast Guard Sector Command Center in St. Petersburg, Lt. Cmdr. According to a press release from the Coast Guard, Dana Grady.

“To understand the severity of hurricane conditions, we estimate that it experienced winds of approximately 75-90 mph and seas of 20-25 feet over an extended period, including overnight. He survived thanks to his life jacket and the locator showed the emergency location of the lighthouse and radiator,” Grady said.