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3 Men Cling To Cooler For 15 Hours After Boat Capsizes
Great Bay, 6-19-08
OCEAN COUNTY, N.J. -- A remarkable survival story unfolded at the Jersey shore. Three men plunged into a dicey situation when their boat capsized.
The boating accident happened in Great Bay near Little Egg Harbor. The men were in the water for about 15 hours before they were fished out.
There were a couple times when the men said they wondered if they'd get out of the bay alive. They did, thanks in part, they said, to a big piece of plastic.
"If I didn't have the cooler, I wouldn't be here," Kevin Rist said.
They brought it to hold sodas and sandwiches but never imagined a blue and white cooler would become a lifesaver.
"I couldn't believe what happened," Rist said.
Rist, of Chalfont, Bucks County, said he, his brother and nephew clung to the floating cooler for 15 hours after the weather turned nasty Tuesday afternoon.
"The waves were like seven foot high," Rist said. "In a matter of three seconds the boat was capsized."
Their 16-foot fishing boat flipped in the bay off Little Egg Harbor Township.
"We're drifting out to the inlet at night. And I was thinking this is it," Rist said.
It soon became dark. The three tried to swim to shore, but shifting currents, changing tides and overall exhaustion kept them from getting there.
"We actually stayed out all night. There were no boats that came by," Rist said.
No boats, until 7 a.m. Wednesday. They were holding a life jacket, float cushion and the cooler, when a fisherman aboard another boat spotted them in the 56 degree water.
"We just started shouting and screaming, like 'Help me.' He picked us up. I said, 'Thank God.' He was a real godsend," Rist said.
The men have been at Southern Ocean County Hospital ever since, being treated for hypothermia.
"My legs were really sore. I couldn’t walk when I came in. I’m feeling good, considering I took a long swim," Rist said.
Rist's boat hasn't surfaced. But along with him and his loved ones, that all-important piece of plastic also made it back to shore.
"The cooler was the saving grace," he said.
Rist said he and the others expect to spend another night in the hospital. They hope to head home Friday.
