Bobcat
Founding Member
BY ADAM LINHARDT Citizen Staff
alinhardt@keysnews.com
Two tourists were rescued Saturday by a good Samaritan in Card Sound after their rental boat caught fire, state and federal officials said.
The names and ages of the father and son were not available Monday, but the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and Coast Guard reported neither was injured.
The two left Black Point Marina in Homestead sometime before noon en route to a Key Largo rental home in the roughly 20-foot single engine, center console boat and made it to shallow water north of Card Sound Bridge when they began having engine trouble, said FWC spokesman Bobby Dube.
The father turned it off and on, then it caught fire, Dube said. He tried to put it out with a fire extinguisher but it quickly emptied. He told his son to use a kayak on board to paddle to a nearby flat, then the father got into the water, Dube said.
A nearby boater saw the fire and rescued the pair on scene, said Coast Guard Sector Key West spokesman Lt. Peter Bermont. A boat from Coast Guard Station Islamorada responded along with FWC.
A SeaTow boat captain was second to arrive after the good Samaritan, and he put out the fire, Dube said.
The boat was in very shallow water and Dube was unsure if the father was wearing a life jacket while in the water.
Neither drugs nor alcohol were believed to be factors in the incident and no charges were filed, Dube said.
“We found zero issues,” Bermont said, adding all the necessary safety equipment was on board.
alinhardt@keysnews.com
alinhardt@keysnews.com
Two tourists were rescued Saturday by a good Samaritan in Card Sound after their rental boat caught fire, state and federal officials said.
The names and ages of the father and son were not available Monday, but the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and Coast Guard reported neither was injured.
The two left Black Point Marina in Homestead sometime before noon en route to a Key Largo rental home in the roughly 20-foot single engine, center console boat and made it to shallow water north of Card Sound Bridge when they began having engine trouble, said FWC spokesman Bobby Dube.
The father turned it off and on, then it caught fire, Dube said. He tried to put it out with a fire extinguisher but it quickly emptied. He told his son to use a kayak on board to paddle to a nearby flat, then the father got into the water, Dube said.
A nearby boater saw the fire and rescued the pair on scene, said Coast Guard Sector Key West spokesman Lt. Peter Bermont. A boat from Coast Guard Station Islamorada responded along with FWC.
A SeaTow boat captain was second to arrive after the good Samaritan, and he put out the fire, Dube said.
The boat was in very shallow water and Dube was unsure if the father was wearing a life jacket while in the water.
Neither drugs nor alcohol were believed to be factors in the incident and no charges were filed, Dube said.
“We found zero issues,” Bermont said, adding all the necessary safety equipment was on board.
alinhardt@keysnews.com
