Never underestimate the potent strength of nature. Whenever I hear a heavy storm is coming, I hesitate about where I should leave my car. I worry about any tree that could fall on my car or maybe the low-lying street could be submerged in flood water. Though, I’ve never had to worry about getting carried away in my car. A family in St. Augustine, Florida had to go through this unfortunate experience with their sailboat.
The St. Augustine Fire Department shared a video of the freed boat on their Facebook page. In the video’s caption, the department stated, “This boat broke [loose] and was wedged under the Bridge of Lions and taking on water.” The boat was moored at a dock until it was broken loose by nor’easter-induced winds and currents. The conditions carried the vessel down the Matanzas River with a family aboard.
Everyone aboard was asleep until the sailboat collided with the Bridge of Lions, a drawbridge that carries State Road A1A over the waterway. When the boat got pinned under the bridge, it fell on its side and began to take on water. Thankfully, the Fire Department was quick to respond and rescue the trapped boat. SAFD opened their video’s caption by stating how busy its Marine Units have been with this being their 4th call in two days.
The St. Augustine Fire Department was able to free and right the boat. Everyone aboard the sailboat was okay after the incident. Three adults, one child and two pets were all accounted for. First Coast News reported that an eyewitness posted on Facebook that “the family is unharmed and their boat doesn’t look too bad considering.” The family was sheltered by the eyewitness on his boat, while the SAFD pumped the water out and saved the family’s boat. All in all, that’s a very good outcome relative to what could have happened.
Leave a Reply
Leave a Reply
This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
