A 64-year-old boat captain and his dog were plucked from the Gulf of Mexico some 25 miles southwest of Sanibel Island Thursday as Hurricane Helene marched up Florida's coastline.
The man, whose name was not released, called the Coast Guard at 11 a.m. to say his 36-foot sailboat was taking on water.
A rescue swimmer from a rescue helicopter crew out of Clearwater dropped into the water as the man hoisted his golden retriever overboard and then jumped into the raging water himself. They swam to a rescue basket and were pulled into the helicopter hoovering above at 2:45 p.m.
"At that point the storm was pretty much incoming," said Petty Officer Eric Rodriguez, a spokesman for the Coast Guard's Clearwater operation. "Thankfully, you know, the captain notified the Coast Guard early enough that we were able to get out there prior to conditions deteriorating."
Preliminary data from the closest buoy to the boat tracked Helene-produced winds at 48 mph, with gusts up to 68 at 2:35 p.m. Wave heights at the time of the captain's call to the Coast Guard had reached 12.5 feet, said Tyler Fleming, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Ruskin.
The man and his dog were taken to Southwest Florida International Airport for a medical evaluation, Rodriguez said.
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