- Messages
- 54,038
- Reaction score
- 8,206
- # of dives
- 500 - 999
Charter captain rescues two tropical-fish collectors whose boat capsized | News | KeysNet
Tropical-fish collector Alec Getman says he knew something was wrong Friday afternoon when he and fellow diver Colin Haley noticed tools that were supposed to be on their boat on the bottom of the ocean.
Getman, 19, and Haley, 26, were diving about three miles east of Sombrero Key Lighthouse when, unbeknownst to them, their boat, the Tropical Hunter, took on water and capsized.
"It was kind of surreal," Getman said, noting the pair was diving at around 50 feet with subpar visibility. "As we were coming up, you could see the silhouette but couldn't tell it was capsized until we got up closer."
Lucky for Getman and Haley, local charter boat captain Kevin Johnsen was in the area noticed something was wrong.
"I was out with some clients and local friends. We were coming in and I saw a boat," Johnsen said. "We approached and saw it was taking on water."
Within two minutes, Johnsen said, the boat was underwater.
"They came up probably 10 to 15 minutes after the boat sank. Obviously, they were trying to figure out what happened. I could see their backpacks [on the boat], so I knew they were down below," he said.
Johnsen said he told the divers to check their oxygen and, provided they had enough left, to salvage what they could from the boat.
"They got spear guns, dive equipment and all that," he said. "Two tanks floated away that we picked up before they even showed up."
Johnson, along with passengers Tim Green and Tom Zajac, helped Getman and Haley aboard their boat and eventually handed the pair off to authorities. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Sheriff's Office and U.S. Coast Guard all eventually responded.
Getman said he was thankful to see Johnsen when he finally surfaced and saw what had happened. "If he wasn't there -- we didn't see anyone else anywhere around us so it would have been a while," he said.
Getman said the boat was retrieved later that day and could be back on the water in short order.
"We got the engines running [Monday] so nothing terrible happened to it. A lot of the wiring is shot, but other than that, it should be operational soon," he said.
FWC spokesman Bobby Dube said the Getman and Haley work for Tropical Warehouse, a licensed collection company.