Four fishermen, including a 90-year-old man, are recovering at Morton Plant Hospital today after surviving nearly 20 hours adrift in the Gulf of Mexico.
The ordeal ended shortly after 9 a.m. Tuesday, when a U.S. Coast Guard crew brought the men ashore at the Sand Key station. While they had been reported missing Monday evening, survivors told rescuers their trouble started much earlier. They estimated their 25-foot catamaran, “Money Well Wasted,” began taking on water and overturned between noon and 1 p.m. Monday.
The boaters were left clinging to the capsized hull approximately 26 miles offshore through the night until help arrived.
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The group, all from Mulberry in Polk County, includes:
- Clarence Woods, 90
- Dennis Woods, 70
- Cris Harding Sr., 42
- Cris Harding Jr., 18
A multi-agency search launched Monday night when the family failed to return to the Seminole Street Boat Ramp by their expected 4 p.m. arrival time. Clearwater Police officers found their truck and trailer abandoned at the ramp, prompting an overnight scour of the waters.
The Clearwater Police Department expressed gratitude for the extensive cooperation of the Coast Guard and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) in the successful rescue.
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