JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – One of the two boaters who was rescued off the coast of Jacksonville Thursday recounted the 40 hours they spent stranded in rough seas.
Jamie Perera and his cousin, Dixan Diaz, were rescued by the U.S. Coast Guard 16 miles east of Jacksonville.
Just after 6 p.m., a Coast Guard HC-130 Hercules search plane crew spotted Dixan Diaz and Jamie Perrea waving strobe lights in the air, trying to get the crew's attention.
A Coast Guard 45-foot response boat launched from Mayport arrived at the disabled Sea Fox cuddy cabin at 8 p.m.
"It was a little hard for them to get up out of the cabin, where they were kind of hunkered down in the little cabin where they were on their small, 21-foot vessel," said Coast Guard Chief Jimmy Allen. "So when they're getting up and getting mobile again ... it took about approximately 30 minutes, to get those two persons in 7-foot seas onto our boat safely."
UNCUT: Stranded boaters' video of high seas
Perrea told News4Jax the two put from a Mayport boat ramp about 6 a.m. Wednesday and they had been at sea for more than two days when they were rescued. Their spouses notified authorities early Thursday morning that the pair had not returned.
Perera said the trip was off to a shaky start due to the rough seas and tried to head back to the marina.
"We were heading back in, and I don't know if the water got inside of the engine, and it shut off," Perera said. So we threw the anchor, and I'm working the engine and it started not wanting to turn on."
With the engine disabled, Perera and Diaz were stuck at sea with 20-foot waves. Perera said that at one point, the boat started filling with water and nearly flipped.
"We'd get the water out quick, then, all of a sudden, boom, another drift," Perera said.
For about 40 hours, Perera and Diaz were stuck inside a boat taking on water. Perera said the men lost hope after Coast Guard rescuers initially passed them.
"In a situation like that, one, you don't panic, and, two, you just let it be whatever it's going to be," Perera said.
After they were found, the Coast Guard said their boat was marked with a locating beacon and it's expected to be salvaged Friday.
"I should have left coordinates of where I wanted to go," Perera said. "If a fisherman goes out, he should leave coordinates of where he's going to go."
The Coast Guard said Perera and Diaz were treated for hypothermia and were in checked out by EMS at USCG Station Mayport before they were allowed to return home.
Crews will be conducting a post-search and rescue to determine how the men got stranded, according to Coast Guard officials.
The Coast Guard urges boats to file a float plan before setting out so rescuers know where to start looking if the boat gets stranded. They also urge boaters to have an Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon (EPIRB) with them.