Coast Guard rescues boat captain clinging to cooler in Gulf of Mexico

A boat captain rode out Hurricane Milton overnight in the Gulf of Mexico before he was found clinging to a cooler around 30 miles offshore and rescued by helicopter Thursday afternoon, the U.S. Coast Guard said in a statement .

"This man survived in a nightmare scenario for even the most experienced mariner," said Lt. Cmdr. Dana Grady, Sector St. Petersburg's command center chief. "To understand the severity of the hurricane conditions, we estimate he experienced approximately 75-90 mph winds, 20-25 foot seas, for an extended period of time to include overnight. He survived because of a life jacket, his emergency position indicating locator beacon, and a cooler."

The man was the captain of a fishing vessel that broke down Monday about 20 miles off John's Pass, according to the Coast Guard. The boat was left at sea while salvage arrangements were being made.

Around noon Wednesday, the boat's owner reported to the Coast Guard that the captain went back out to the boat before dawn to make repairs and hadn't been heard from since.

"Watchstanders were able to make radio contact with the captain who reported the rudder was fouled with a line and became disabled during his transit back to port," the statement said.

Conditions deteriorated as the storm approached, and the Coast Guard instructed the captain to put on a life jacket and stay with the vessel's locator beacon. Authorities lost communication with the captain around 6:45 p.m. Wednesday.

He was rescued around 1:30 p.m. Thursday, roughly 30 miles off Longboat Key, Florida, and taken to Tampa General Hospital for medical care.