TAMPA, Fla. – A pair of good Samaritan boaters rescued a man on a capsized boat near Davis Islands on Sunday.
Read more Gatorland welcomes rescued alligator after illegal feeding in the wild
Tampa boat rescue
What we know:
The man was on a small sailing vessel that went in the water during windy and rainy weather.
Courtesy: Stephanie Blackmon
“You just don’t expect it,” Stephanie Blackmon, one of the good Samaritans, said. “So, you do get scared for them, you know? You’re like, ‘Does he really need help? How do we help him?’”
Blackmon was out on a boat with a friend when this happened.
What they’re saying:
“You could see fear on his face,” Blackmon said. “So that’s when we knew.”
Blackmon and her friend jumped into action and pulled the man to safety, and they even managed to tow his boat and sail back to shore.
“It was actually probably about an hour because we didn’t know what we were doing,” Blackmon said.
Blackmon said she learned a lot, including to send a life vest first, call 911 and then help a struggling person onto the boat.
Read more NASA Mars rover finds ‘honeycomb’ patterns on red planet
“You don’t think of that, you just go into action, and you just think, ‘Let me get this guy out of the water,’ you know, you think about those things later,” Blackmon said.
As for the talk of calling her a hero, Blackmon says the duo just did what needed to be done.
“People keep saying that… I’m like, ‘No, we just helped him get up back on the boat,’” Blackmon said. “I definitely would not use that word.”
Florida boating safety tips
Dig deeper:
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission provides safety tips for all boaters, including having life jackets and the ability to call 911 when on the water.
Courtesy: Stephanie Blackmon
Davis Islands rescue details
What we don’t know:
Officials have not released the identity of the rescued boater or reported any injuries from the incident.
About the Author
