JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Brandon Parsons and his friends were out fishing Sunday when their day on the water turned into a rescue mission of sorts.
“I’m sitting here watching and next thing you know I have people like this waving,” Parsons said.
What he spotted on the ocean, about 11 miles off Mayport, was five people stranded on top of a capsized boat.
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Parsons and his crew pulled alongside the boat and waited with them while U.S. Coast Guard Station Mayport responded to the sinking boaters.
“We saw three boats the whole day,” Parsons said. “So, if it wasn’t for us, there would have been no other chance. It was like a grace of God that we ended up there.”
The Coast Guard said the family of stranded fishermen told them the bilge pump may not have been working and the boat took on water, causing it to capsize.
Parsons said the water was a hazard that day and was full of sharks.
“They were eating everything that we got on the line,” Parsons explained.
The captain of the boat Parsons was in, Jeff Swatkowski, said he was also glad to be there to help. He said his brother was also once lost at sea before being rescued.
This rescue is one of five reports of capsized boats this year for the Coast Guard in Mayport. No statistic can ever capture the relief seen in pictures posted by the Coast Guard on Facebook.
“We had the Coast Guard coming and they had a helicopter in the air searching for us,” Parsons said. “Yeah, they had two Coast Guard boats out there and the Coast Guard really did their thing, taking care of the situation. But I feel as if, if we didn’t find them, it might have been casualties out there.”