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Alligators — that's all Peter Fischer could focus on as he sat stranded on top of a capsized airboat in the Everglades.
Fischer, 53, along with his wife and teenage son, had set out on a friend's airboat at about 3 p.m. Thursday. On their way back in, the boat's driver made a wide turn, causing the airboat to flip over and sending the group into the knee-deep water.
"It was only supposed to be a quick ride out and back," Fischer said. "It was close to 5 p.m. when the boat turned over."
Afraid alligators might get to them, the four climbed to the highest point of the airboat, Fischer said. The water had ruined their cellphones but the airboat's driver used an emergency beacon to signal for help. Then,the group waited — and waited — as the sun went down and it grew darker.
"We were wondering if the beacon was working," Fischer said.
A little over an hour later, Fischer saw a helicopter circling, he said. The helicopter dropped a rescue bag with a flashlight, insect repellent, an air horn and a two-way radio.
Using the radio, the group told rescuers that they were shaken up but not physically injured, Fischer said. They were told a rescue boat was coming and the helicopter flew away.
The group huddled on top of the airboat for another hour and a half, fighting off mosquitoes and hoping that the airboat, which had begun to leak gas, wouldn't catch fire, Fischer said.
"The mosquitoes were horrible," he said. "They were annoying, but they weren't going to kill us."
Their biggest fear, Fischer said, was the alligators.
"We were really concerned, especially when it got dark," he said. "We saw a lot of alligators on the ride back in."
For about three hours, the group was stranded just south of Loxahatchee Road and about a half mile west of the levee that separates Broward County from the Everglades, Coral Springs Fire Department Division Chief Mike Moser said.
The rescue was a joint effort between the Coral Springs Fire Department and the Broward Sheriff's Office, Moser said. Once the Broward Sheriff's Office Aviation Unit spotted the group, a Sheriff's Office airboat brought the group back to land.
The Fischers, who live in New Jersey and were visiting their home in Boynton Beach, were grateful to be off the water.
"It will probably take a long time to get us to think about doing that again," Fischer said. I'm not the adventurous type to begin with. I'll stick to land for a while."
emiller@tribune.com, 954-356-4544 or Twitter @EmilyBethMiller
Copyright © 2014, Sun Sentinel
Fischer, 53, along with his wife and teenage son, had set out on a friend's airboat at about 3 p.m. Thursday. On their way back in, the boat's driver made a wide turn, causing the airboat to flip over and sending the group into the knee-deep water.
"It was only supposed to be a quick ride out and back," Fischer said. "It was close to 5 p.m. when the boat turned over."
Afraid alligators might get to them, the four climbed to the highest point of the airboat, Fischer said. The water had ruined their cellphones but the airboat's driver used an emergency beacon to signal for help. Then,the group waited — and waited — as the sun went down and it grew darker.
"We were wondering if the beacon was working," Fischer said.
A little over an hour later, Fischer saw a helicopter circling, he said. The helicopter dropped a rescue bag with a flashlight, insect repellent, an air horn and a two-way radio.
Using the radio, the group told rescuers that they were shaken up but not physically injured, Fischer said. They were told a rescue boat was coming and the helicopter flew away.
The group huddled on top of the airboat for another hour and a half, fighting off mosquitoes and hoping that the airboat, which had begun to leak gas, wouldn't catch fire, Fischer said.
"The mosquitoes were horrible," he said. "They were annoying, but they weren't going to kill us."
Their biggest fear, Fischer said, was the alligators.
"We were really concerned, especially when it got dark," he said. "We saw a lot of alligators on the ride back in."
For about three hours, the group was stranded just south of Loxahatchee Road and about a half mile west of the levee that separates Broward County from the Everglades, Coral Springs Fire Department Division Chief Mike Moser said.
The rescue was a joint effort between the Coral Springs Fire Department and the Broward Sheriff's Office, Moser said. Once the Broward Sheriff's Office Aviation Unit spotted the group, a Sheriff's Office airboat brought the group back to land.
The Fischers, who live in New Jersey and were visiting their home in Boynton Beach, were grateful to be off the water.
"It will probably take a long time to get us to think about doing that again," Fischer said. I'm not the adventurous type to begin with. I'll stick to land for a while."
emiller@tribune.com, 954-356-4544 or Twitter @EmilyBethMiller
Copyright © 2014, Sun Sentinel
