Overview
- The relatives — Dennis Woods, 70; his uncle Clarence Woods, 90; Cris Harding Sr., 42; and Cris Harding Jr., 18 — left Clearwater’s Seminole Street Boat Ramp for a birthday fishing trip Monday morning.
- An HC-144 Ocean Sentry crew spotted the overturned catamaran around 7:15 a.m. Tuesday about 26 miles west of Clearwater Pass and deployed a life raft and Mk-58 marker to guide rescuers.
- A Coast Guard Station Sand Key boat crew recovered the men later that morning and brought them ashore, where they were transferred to emergency responders.
- All four were taken to Morton Plant Hospital with dehydration and hypothermia; three stayed overnight for observation while one was released, and officials say they are expected to recover.
- Authorities said the vessel began taking on water and flipped within minutes around midday Monday and urged boaters not to rely on cell phones offshore, emphasizing VHF radios, signaling devices and locator beacons.