Always stay w/ your boat!

[Capt.B]

Originally Posted by PUREBAY2200

MANDEVILLE, La. ― A Mandeville restaurant owner and two friends are OK after spending the night in Lake Pontchartrain after their boat capsized.

Clay Prieto, owner of Rips on the Lake, and two men went fishing Sunday afternoon when what Prieto called a rogue wave came upon the boat and turned it over.

“It wasn't very rough at all then all of a sudden this wave came out of the southeast that was just like a tiny tsunami wave and it just threw the whole boat over,” Prieto said.

Prieto said the waves hit at just the right angle to flip his boat. According to the St. Tammany Sheriff's Department the search for the missing boaters began around 11 p.m. Sunday.

“The helicopters kept missing us by little bitty bit because they didn't come close enough inshore,” Prieto said. “We floated all the way from the four mile hump to the Tangipahoa River.”

Prieto and his two friends spent the night drifting with the capsized boat in the lake, which is 62 degrees right now.

Because they were unsure how long they’d survive in the frigid temperatures, Prieto said the night was a cold and scary one.

“It was cold and thank God this morning they spotted us,” Prieto said.

“It's cold water,” said St. Tammny Parish Sheriff’s spokesman Capt. George Bonnett. “That's a long time that they were out there. It's a frightening situation and fortunately, we were able to find them and get them back safely.”

Bonnett said the advantage the three men had was that they told friends and family members where they were going and what time they expected to be home.

When asked if he felt lucky to be alive, Prieto said, “I feel very lucky. I didn't know if we were going to make it.”
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The three men were checked out by EMS upon returning to land and are OK.

LUCK had nothing to do with it!!! Those fellas are Blessed!!

[Bluechip]

Originally Posted by Capt.B

LUCK had nothing to do with it!!! Those fellas are Blessed!!

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