Rarely do missing at sea stories end on a happy note, but every now and then, some live to tell amazing tales of survival. This time it’s the good fortune of Tressel Hawkins, Curtis Hall and James Phillips, who set sail on August 22 in search of swordfish, marlin and a good time. But just days into their expedition, the crew realized something had gone wrong — very wrong. Hawkins awoke to find the beanbag he was sleeping on, afloat. Many screams and a few minutes later, they realized attempts to stop the flooding would be futile. The boat capsized and they jumped ship somewhere in the Gulf of Mexico.
Hawkins tells CNN, “We’re just trying to get each other calm and try to get as much stuff as we could because we knew automatically it was going to be a survival test,” he said.
And that it surely was. After covering 86,000 square miles in a week-long search, the Coast Guard called off its efforts, declaring the men missing.
But then, just a day later and 180 miles of Port Aransas, Texas, a private crew came across the three fishermen sitting atop the overturned 23-foot boat. According to Hawkins, the mere sight of safety brought the trio to tears of celebration.
Apart from severe sores and sunburn, to be expected from eight days on the open sea, all three men are at home, doing well and thrilled to be on land.
Embedded video from CNN Video
Photo courtesy of photologic, via Creative Commons and Flickr