Luck plays into rescue of boaters near Egmont Key

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St. Petersburg Fire Rescue picked random coordinates in the gulf to conduct an offshore training exercise near Egmont Key Wednesday morning, when the fake rescue turned into a real one.

"When we moved to the second location, we looked up and saw somebody in the water waving," said Gerard Chalmers with St. Pete Fire Rescue.

It was 40-year-old Ronaldo Puig, clinging to the inflatable raft while using one swim fin to try to get to shore. Rescuers pulled him aboard at about 11:40 a.m. and then began looking for the husband and wife he said he was boating with.

The Coast Guard quickly found Alysa and Craig Platt, still with the partially submerged boat about 10 miles off shore.

The trip started at about 6 p.m. Tuesday, but rough seas turned it into an overnight ordeal.

The boaters say their cell phones got flooded when water crashed over their 17-foot aluminum boat. They say the plug came out of the boat when it began taking on water.

"We were just trying to hang on and hold on and then my buddy, Ronaldo, he ended up getting in [the] raft and going for help," said Craig Platt.

However, several hours passed and Platt grew concerned he and his wife wouldn't be found. The couple talked about their thoughts to pass the time.

"It's a little scary and cold, so you're just ready to go home and you don't know if anyone's coming today, tomorrow or next week," said Craig Platt.

Luck worked in their favor, though, and all three were taken to Bayfront Medical Center to be treated for exposure and dehydration.

St. Petersburg Fire Rescue officials say only one boater had a life vest, but the boaters took the right steps by trying to plug the hole in the boat with a rag. They also say staying with the vessel was a smart idea.

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