The US Coast Guard has rescued a man who was found clinging to a floating cooler 30 miles (48km) from Longboat Key, an island off the coast of the Sarasota area.
The rescue in the Gulf of Mexico took place on Thursday at 13:30 local time, according to a Coast Guard news release.
Officials have not named the man, but said he is the captain of a fishing vessel.
On Monday, the captain called the Coast Guard to report the boat was disabled. He and another crew member were rescued by helicopter and the “vessel was left adrift and salvage arrangements were made”.
But then on Wednesday around noon, the owner of the ship called officials to say the captain had returned to the ship.
Rescuers radioed the captain, who reported an issue with the rudder. Officials told him to put on life jacket and hold tight to his emergency locator beacon, as he braced for the hurricane to arrive.
At that point, the waves were around 6-8ft (1.8-2.4m) and winds were around 30mp/h (48km/h), but they were expected to climb steeply overnight.
“This man survived in a nightmare scenario for even the most experienced mariner,” said Lt Cmdr Dana Grady, chief commander of the St Petersburg sector.
“To understand the severity of the hurricane conditions, we estimate he experienced approximately 75-90mph winds, 20-25ft 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.”
