The story of a father and son who survived a horror at sea by holding onto a floating cooler is revealing the extent to which they were to their death.
Tommy and Joe Azeredo had been lobster-fishing for eight miles off the New England coast, when their boat struck rocks and they had to abandon ship.
“I called on the radio, I was like, ‘Mayday, mayday, we’re going down,’”Tommy said. “As the boat was flipping, I heard, ‘We got you, we know where you are, we’re coming.’”
Tommy’s father was a life-vest owner, but Tommy lost it in the chaos. He struggled to stay afloat, but fate was on his side.
“When I turned around, I see the cooler. From the miracle of god, the cooler was there at that moment,”Tommy said.
They held on to each other for dear life.
“Every minute felt like an hour,”Tommy said.
They were exhausted and nearly ready to give up when the Boston Police Harbor unit arrived.
“I wanted my dad to go on first,”Tommy said.
“I was so weak. When they pulled me up, it hurt so bad, my bones are aching. You can see I’m all beat up,”Tommy said.
Later, the father and son had the chance to express their gratitude to their rescuers.
However, the duo states that lobster-fishing is over for them.