PASCAGOULA, Miss. (WKRG) – Five Biloxi men went out Saturday morning about 35 to 40 miles off the Mississippi coast to fish in a tournament, and their boat sank a few hours later.
‘The ship was gone’
Easton Barrett, who caught the whole thing on camera, said around 9:30 a.m. Saturday the unexpected happened. Both engines of his boat went out.
“The engines just stopped, we looked back and they were halfway underwater,” Barrett said. “And when that happened, we got our EPIRB, our life jackets, and the boat was gone.”
EPIRB is an acronym for Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon. It tells the Coast Guard that a boater needs to be rescued.
‘We were just praying’
Barrett captured video of him and his friends hanging from coolers floating in the middle of the Gulf of Mexico.
“We were just praying to God, saying please somebody get in the way,” Barrett said. “We had seen boats go by, and they were maybe 200 or 300 yards away from us, and we were trying to wave at them, but no one saw us and there was just nothing we could do about it,” Barrett said.
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After floating in Gulf waters for more than four hours, Barrett said his friend used the radio beacon to signal his location to the Coast Guard.
“The Coast Guard passed us the first time and we thought, there’s no way it was just an accident. Maybe it’s working,” Barrett said.
“We told Stephen, ‘Hey, press that button again, press that button again,’ and he kept pushing it and pushing it.”
‘We saw waves breaking’
Due to poor water conditions, rescuers had trouble seeing the men in the water. After the Coast Guard boat passed them by once, the men managed to get its attention.
“We were all shouting ‘Help’ and doing everything we could: waving our life jackets. “We take my cell phone and hold it up to the sun so it shines on it and we take our coolers and hold them up in the air,” Barrett said.
And then rescue was officially on its way to them.
“We saw waves crashing, it was like an ‘ah’, so much relief that to me it’s basically like making a billion dollars,” Barrett said. “They are all happy, clapping and crying tears of happiness, and they will be able to see their family again.”
The men boarded the boat and were taken 17 miles north to the Coast Guard station on Dauphin Island. Barrett said the boat ride back was smooth.
Each man had peace of mind. Barrett said he wants all boats to be equipped with an EPIRB.
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