Thread: Cruise ship rescues 3 SWFL men, cat

Cruise ship rescues 3 SWFL men, cat

Posted: Jan 23, 2011 6:17 PM EST Updated: Jan 23, 2011 6:42 PM EST






NAPLES, Fla: Three Southwest Florida men and a cat were rescued from their boat by crew members of a Carnival cruise ship after sending out a distress call Saturday afternoon. A cruise ship passenger caught the rescue on video.
The Naples-based Wasafiri was thrown back and forth on the water just 12 miles off the coast of Cuba around 2 p.m. Saturday.
"The rope and that toe-eye tangled up in one propeller which seriously limited our power, and it eventually got tangled in our rudder," said Wes Demott of Naples.
A Carnival cruise ship came to the rescue. One of the passengers, Carl Ray, recorded the rescue.
Passengers on the cruise ship understood the gravity of the situation as the smaller boat pulled toward the Valor.
Demott says the boat he left behind was also his home. Priceless belongings and memories are all gone.
He says he likely won't see it again.
"The clothes we have on are the entirety of our wardrobe," said Demott.
He says he's thankful to be back on dry land.
"At the end of the day it is just stuff. Valuable stuff, but stuff," said Demott.
A man of adventure, he says this experience won't deter him from a new one--on or off the water.
None of the three men aboard the boat were hurt.
Demott tells us the other passengers were from Fort Myers and Port Charlotte.
Carnival issued the following statement:

On January 22, 2010 at approximately 2:00 p.m. the Carnival Valor engaged in the rescue of three U.S. citizens and a cat, after receiving a distress call from a nearby small craft vessel. All three individuals and the cat were brought onboard. According to the individuals rescued they departed Key West on January 20, and were headed towards the Mexican Yucatan Peninsula. The Carnival Valor was returning to the Port of Miami from a seven-day Caribbean cruise and arrived as scheduled at the port earlier this morning.