As Hurricane Helene made landfall on Florida’s west coast yesterday, residents on land scrambled to protect their homes and personal belongings from the Category 4 storm.

Many people raced to high ground to avoid the devastating storm surges and flooding, but one pair of Clearwater locals found themselves trapped on a sailboat in the middle of the ocean just as the storm hit.

“[They were] approximately 25 miles off Sanibel Island,” The United States Coast Guard’s Seventh District (USCG Southeast) wrote on X.

The man and his dog tried sailing toward land as the waves and rain intensified, but their boat stopped working and started to flood.

“[H]is 36-[foot] sailboat became disabled [and] started taking on water,” USCG Southeast wrote.

The man immediately contacted USCG Southeast, and a team of rescuers from USCG’s Clearwater Air Station (AirSta) set off in a helicopter to find them.

It wasn’t long before the AirSta team located the boat, now jostling back and forth from the intense waves. AST2 Hudson repelled from the helicopter to the sea, braving the over 100 mph winds to get as close to the boat as possible.

When the rescuer finally reached the sailboat, they motioned for the man and his pup, both of whom were in life jackets, to jump into the water. The man carefully pushed his dog into the choppy ocean and followed suit seconds later.

AST2 Hudson quickly grabbed the pup and the worried man and helped them climb into the rescue basket tethered to the helicopter. Once both the man and his pup were secure in the basket, the rest of the rescue team on the helicopter lifted them up to safety.

You can watch that harrowing moment here:

Thanks to USCG Southeast’s quick response, both the man and his pup made it out of the storm unharmed. While their boat drifted into the sea, the relieved duo hugged each other tightly inside the helicopter and thanked their rescuers for saving them.

“The man [and] his dog were reportedly in good medical condition,” USCG Southeast wrote. “They were brought to Southwest Florida International [A]irport to meet with EMS.”

The man and his dog are already recovering from the scary ordeal with a loving team of support staff to lean on.

The storm has since subsided, but the lucky duo are still thinking about the rescuers who saved their lives.

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Source: Los Angeles Times (edited)