Post by tesseract on Jun 25, 2022 5:55:31 GMT -5
28 years ago to this day (approximately) a 20-foot shark did what only the dream-space of nightmares can conjure up. Here is the full story courtesy of William Fundora (the guy who runs the "South Florida Shark Club" facebook page) and written in the "Florida Today" newspaper by columnist Dennis Thompson from the original archive:
I just wanted to share this story publicly because the www.SouthFloridaSharkClub.com is shutting down when its domain registration expires in this coming November.
A Port Canaveral cruise ship on its way to the Bahamas rescued three fishermen adrift at sea after a shark they hooked capsized their 20-foot fishing boat.
Perched on a 5-foot section of their boat's hull, the Miami-area men spent 36 hours at sea before the crew of the Starship Oceanic spotted them 25 miles northwest of Freeport.
James Wells, Rene Deos and boat owner Louis Valdes, 27, lived on a cooler full of sodas and snacks. During the day, they covered themselves with a tarp they found in the boat's submerged cabin.
The men estimate the shark dragged them 25 to 30 miles out to sea before tipping their boat over. The cruise ship captain says the men drifted 65 miles before they were found.
The shark was 18 to 20 feet long, survivor Wells said: "Prehistoric, that's how big it was."
From what they saw of the fish, they think they had a great white shark on their line. All three were sunburned, exhuasted and dehydrated from their ordeal, Premier Cruise Lines spokeswoman Paula Meyer said.
Deos, a 39-year-old diabetic, went without treatment for his condition. Although he is reccovering well, he will receive medical attention when he reaches shore.
Wells, interviewed by ship-to-shore telephone as the Oceanic headed back to Port Canaveral, said their boat tipped over as a result of the tremendous fight between the shark and Deos. The fisherman battle that shark for 14.5 hours.
The shark pulled the boat into the ocean waves, causing it to take on water. Deos was stubborn as well -- he cut the fish loose only after the boat capsized, Wells said.
"The captain (Valdes) blames Deos for losing his boat," said Wells, a student at Broward Community College. "Between all of us, we lost $15,000. But our lives are spared."
The men were fishing north of the Bimini Islands when they hooked the shark. Wells said the fish was the answer to Deos' prayers: "His goal was to break the world record."
"We had started out bottom fishing that day. Then we had a couple of shark hits, so (Deos) got out his big shark rod," Wells said. "Before long, he had him hooked."
Deos fought the fish through Saturday night and into early Sunday morning. About 3:30 a.m. Sunday, Valdes began pressuring Deos to cut the fish loose, Wells said. They were losing sight of Bimini and didn't know if they would have enough gas to get back.
That only made Deos redouble his efforts. He started wrenching in the fish, Wells said.
"He was using very heavy shark equipment. It could pick up a human of 180 pounds off the ground."
But instead of pulling in the fish, Deos' effort pulled the boat over. It capsized about 6 a.m. Sunday.
"I was asleep at the time," Wells said. "I woke up when a splash of water hit me in the leg."
Not more than 30 seconds later, the boat was upside down in the water, and the men were scrambling for their lives.
They grabbed a floating cooler and began stuffing it with food and drinks they found in an air pocket trapped in the submerged cabin. They also found a flare gun and a tarp in the air pocket.
Two Coast Guard aircraft, one Coast Guard cutter and six other cruise ships passed the men in the 36 hours before the Oceanic found them, Wells said. Four of the flares had worked, but they failed to attract the Coast Guard's attention.
"When (the Oceanic) turned towards us, we all were in tears," Wells said. "We started to cry. We had predicted we were going to drift to Jacksonville."
Actually, Captain Andreas Passas of the Oceanic said the men were floating toward England and a cross-Atlantic shipping lane that is barely used.
The men were spotted about 9:45 a.m. Tuesday. About an hour later, they were on board the ship.
The Oceanic will dock at Port Canaveral this morning. The company plans to fly the men back to Miami in a private jet.
Perched on a 5-foot section of their boat's hull, the Miami-area men spent 36 hours at sea before the crew of the Starship Oceanic spotted them 25 miles northwest of Freeport.
James Wells, Rene Deos and boat owner Louis Valdes, 27, lived on a cooler full of sodas and snacks. During the day, they covered themselves with a tarp they found in the boat's submerged cabin.
The men estimate the shark dragged them 25 to 30 miles out to sea before tipping their boat over. The cruise ship captain says the men drifted 65 miles before they were found.
The shark was 18 to 20 feet long, survivor Wells said: "Prehistoric, that's how big it was."
From what they saw of the fish, they think they had a great white shark on their line. All three were sunburned, exhuasted and dehydrated from their ordeal, Premier Cruise Lines spokeswoman Paula Meyer said.
Deos, a 39-year-old diabetic, went without treatment for his condition. Although he is reccovering well, he will receive medical attention when he reaches shore.
Wells, interviewed by ship-to-shore telephone as the Oceanic headed back to Port Canaveral, said their boat tipped over as a result of the tremendous fight between the shark and Deos. The fisherman battle that shark for 14.5 hours.
The shark pulled the boat into the ocean waves, causing it to take on water. Deos was stubborn as well -- he cut the fish loose only after the boat capsized, Wells said.
"The captain (Valdes) blames Deos for losing his boat," said Wells, a student at Broward Community College. "Between all of us, we lost $15,000. But our lives are spared."
The men were fishing north of the Bimini Islands when they hooked the shark. Wells said the fish was the answer to Deos' prayers: "His goal was to break the world record."
"We had started out bottom fishing that day. Then we had a couple of shark hits, so (Deos) got out his big shark rod," Wells said. "Before long, he had him hooked."
Deos fought the fish through Saturday night and into early Sunday morning. About 3:30 a.m. Sunday, Valdes began pressuring Deos to cut the fish loose, Wells said. They were losing sight of Bimini and didn't know if they would have enough gas to get back.
That only made Deos redouble his efforts. He started wrenching in the fish, Wells said.
"He was using very heavy shark equipment. It could pick up a human of 180 pounds off the ground."
But instead of pulling in the fish, Deos' effort pulled the boat over. It capsized about 6 a.m. Sunday.
"I was asleep at the time," Wells said. "I woke up when a splash of water hit me in the leg."
Not more than 30 seconds later, the boat was upside down in the water, and the men were scrambling for their lives.
They grabbed a floating cooler and began stuffing it with food and drinks they found in an air pocket trapped in the submerged cabin. They also found a flare gun and a tarp in the air pocket.
Two Coast Guard aircraft, one Coast Guard cutter and six other cruise ships passed the men in the 36 hours before the Oceanic found them, Wells said. Four of the flares had worked, but they failed to attract the Coast Guard's attention.
"When (the Oceanic) turned towards us, we all were in tears," Wells said. "We started to cry. We had predicted we were going to drift to Jacksonville."
Actually, Captain Andreas Passas of the Oceanic said the men were floating toward England and a cross-Atlantic shipping lane that is barely used.
The men were spotted about 9:45 a.m. Tuesday. About an hour later, they were on board the ship.
The Oceanic will dock at Port Canaveral this morning. The company plans to fly the men back to Miami in a private jet.
I just wanted to share this story publicly because the www.SouthFloridaSharkClub.com is shutting down when its domain registration expires in this coming November.
