Fla. Family of 4 Found After 20 Hours Stranded at Sea Clinging to Capsized Boat

A family of four spanning three generations were rescued on Tuesday, Nov. 25, after spending roughly 20 hours clinging to their overturned boat off the coast of Clearwater, Florida, the U.S. Coast Guard said.

The group — Dennis Woods, 70, his 90-year-old uncle Clarence Woods, Cris Harding Sr., 42, and Cris Harding Jr., 18 — left the Seminole Street Boat Ramp around 9:30 a.m. local time on Monday, Nov. 24 for a birthday fishing trip. But sometime between noon and 1 p.m. local time, the 25-foot green and white catamaran, aptly named Money Well Wasted, began taking on water and flipped.

“It was probably less than five minutes before it rolled,” Dennis Woods told Clearwater Police in an interview shared to their social media accounts, explaining that one side filled with water quickly. “I didn’t have time to contact the Coast Guard. We were more concerned about getting a life jacket on the 90-year-old and the 18-year-old. The one I was going to wear got hung up, and I had to just leave it.”

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They saw a Coast Guard helicopter searching later that night, but weren’t able to alert it.

“The night was real tough because the waves picked up and we were having to try to get up on top of the rigging of it,” Dennis recalled, adding he spent much of the night physically supporting his 90-year-old relative, who fell several times.

“They honestly didn’t think they were going to make it,” Teresa Rucker, Dennis’ sister, told reporters, Fox-13 and Tampa Bay 28 reported.

She added that they prayed through the night, and that Clarence sang. “Our pastor taught us that whatever comes your way, God’s got you in His hand.” she said. “And I want everyone to know God’s got you in His hands and whatever happens. He already knows, and He has already provided a way out.”

“It’s a miracle,” Rucker added. “I mean, for them to be out there … it’s a miracle.”

An Air Station Miami HC-144 Ocean Sentry aircrew located the men around 7:15 a.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 26, the U.S. Coast Guard said. They were found still perched on the overturned boat, about 26 miles west of Clearwater Pass, in 2 to 3-foot seas and 5-10 knot winds.

“The 90-year-old man, he was on the outside. We were worried about him,,” the U.S. Coast Guard’s Savannah O’Dell, who was on the rescue boat, told Fox-13. “We’re very happy that everyone was still doing okay. The catamaran was pretty much fully underwater, so the fact that it was still above water was pretty great.”

Rescuers pulled alongside the overturned boat and brought all four men aboard safely — wrapping them in warm towels and giving them electrolytes and water.

“I think their first words were ‘thank you’ to all of us,” O’Dell recounted.

Dennis later said he believed rescue would eventually come — but knew it would be late before anyone realized they hadn’t made it back.

Family members said they typically return around 4 p.m., Bay News 9 reported. When they hadn’t arrived by 8:30 p.m. that night, relatives called police. Their truck and trailer were still at the dock.

Emergency personnel met the men back at the Coast Guard station. They were dehydrated and hypothermic, and the 90-year-old had cuts. Three of the four were kept at the hospital overnight; Cris Harding Sr. was released Tuesday.

Rucker said to reporters that Chris Sr. had one lighthearted takeaway from the ordeal: “Chris Sr. told me to tell y’all he caught a six-foot shark before this happened!”

As for Dennis, who was celebrating his 70th trip around the sun when the day began? “It was a good birthday, now that we are back on land,” he laughed.