JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – It was supposed to be a normal day of fishing on the water for five men on Sunday morning.
But for these men, there was more in store than they could imagine. Before the day was over, they were stranded on top of a capsized boat just 11 miles off the shore of Mayport.
News4JAX talked to three of the men about their harrowing experience.
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“I started to realize where the motor is at in the back of the boat is like something is not right,” Mohammad El Itani said. “So, I told my son-in-law to get a bucket, get ready. We started to scoop some water or something.”
El Itani noticed the water pump was starting to fail. He attempted to start the engine to no avail.
“He was literally teaching me how to tie knots and making fishing boats,” Anthony Aljamal said. “Then, I caught a fish. Then he set up his rod for the first time. Then we started sinking.”
So El Itani started handing everyone a life jacket.
“At the time, we put our jackets on, the boat flips upside down right away. We were able to manage ourselves to stay on the boat upside down,” El Itani said.
The men started calling 911 and their families for help. They said they were floating on the upside-down boat for about an hour before another fishing boat found them. They say they were thankful to have working phones.
Despite everything going wrong around them, the men described their emotions as “calm and collected.”
“Like for me, it’s my first time ever going fishing. Let alone going deep sea. It’s a first time for him,” one of the men said.
They encouraged other boaters to check their safety equipment before going out on the water and ensure they have life vests on board.
The men said they would still fish again.
“I mean with a life vest the whole time probably,” one of the men said.
“Double and triple-check everything,” the men said. “We had flare guns also with everything ready in case of emergencies.”
But they did not get a chance to use the flare guns.
The U.S. Coast Guard Station Mayport rescued the men and a group of fishermen who stumbled upon the men waited alongside the capsized boat until the Coast Guard responded.