As the men fought to stay afloat in the water, fate was about to extend a helping hand.
A father and son who survived a nightmare at sea by clinging to a floating cooler are revealing how close they came to a watery grave.
Tommy and Joe Azeredo were lobster-fishing eight miles off the New England coast when their boat hit 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 had a life vest, but Tommy lost his in the chaos. As he fought to stay afloat in the water, fate was about to extend a helping hand.
“When I turned around, I see the cooler. From the miracle of god, the cooler was there at that moment,” Tommy said.
The two men clung on for dear life.
“Every minute felt like an hour,” Tommy said.
They were tired and almost ready to give up when help finally arrived from the Boston Police Harbor unit.
“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.
The father and son later had a chance to thank their rescuers, and all of them are grateful the day didn't end in tragedy.
But the duo says their lobster-fishing days are now over.
