A Plant City man was among the six boaters rescued after their boat capsized Sept. 15 near Weedon Island.
“We have a few bumps and scratches, but no cuts, no broken bones,” Plant City resident and captain Jim Morgan said. “And everyone survived. That’s the most important thing.”
The miles of water between the Sunshine Skyway seemed to keep stretching out in front Morgan, as he scanned over his 18-foot Hydra Sport. His girlfriend, Lisa Lyons, sat smiling, her two sons and two family friends chatted excitedly.
For some, it was their first time fishing.
The crew had set out from a ramp on the west side of Gandy Bridge. It was a beautiful day. After a morning of fishing, they brought the boat in for gas, ate lunch and then launched it back in the water.
The morning didn’t yield many catches. Morgan thought they would have more luck in the deeper waters by the Skyway.
“That was my big mistake,” Morgan said. “I misjudged the distance. Should have launched by the Apollo Beach area.”
Once they anchored, Morgan saw a cluster of dark clouds billowing over the tree line in the distance. He figured the storm was about 10 miles away, and he knew they had to return immediately.
The waves started to toss the boat up and down. Then, the rain came. It splattered against their faces, pricking their skin like pins and needles. The wind was blowing about 30 mph. Before the crew knew it, their boat was being dunked in and out of 5- to 6-foot seas. A lifetime boater, Morgan wasn’t scared of the storm. He was only worried for his passengers’ safety.
“It was the worst storm I’ve ever been in,” Morgan said. “Never imagined the bay could be like that.”
Morgan called some of the men to start bailing water out of the back of the boat. They were fine as long as the boat kept moving. But, their luck didn’t last long. A piece of rubber lining from the outside of the boat ripped off, whipping around to the back. It got tangled in the the propeller.
The boat halted and then capsized. The passengers were thrown into the water, trapped under the boat. Everyone surfaced quickly except Jared Lyons; the boat had come down right on his chest. He thought he was going to die. But, he, too, managed to surface.
One friend swam to call for help. About 30 minutes later, Jared and his girlfriend also left to call for help.
The remaining crew was rescued, clinging to the capsized boat near Weedon Island.
“The miracle is the boat flipped over right on top of us, and no one was hurt,” Morgan said.
Morgan returned Sept. 17, to salvage the boat. The center console had twisted around but can be repaired. Two out of eight expensive rods managed to stay in the boat. But six cell phones, an iPad and an iPod were lost.
Contact Amber Jurgensen at ajurgensen@plantcityobserver.com.
