Three people were rescued Tuesday morning from the water near the Dick Misener Bridge after their boat capsized.
- Boat capsized because of weather conditions
- 3 pulled for water, taken for assessment
The incident happened shortly before 9 a.m. Coast Guard St. Petersburg was notified that three people -- a nine-year-old boy and his two uncles, ages 32 and 46 -- were in the water after their 16-foot boat overturned.
Pinellas Sheriff's deputy David Bianchet said the trio took the boat out from O'Neil's Marina around 8:30 a.m. despite high winds and a small craft advisory.
"As soon as they came outside of O'Neil's in the channel it gets really hairy out there," said Bianchet. "The seas are high and the winds blowing, with a 16 foot boat there's not much freeboard, especially with three people on board."
According to Bianchet, when they got to Indian Key, the group realized the wind was too intense and tried to turn around.
"He turned around into the waves and the first wave basically came over the bow, the second and third waves basically swamped the boat, and then it capsized," said Bianchet.
A passerby spotted the overturned boat and called 911. The St. Petersburg Marine Team's Fire Boat 11 arrived and took the three people to O'Neill's Marina to be assessed.
While the nine year old was the only one of the three on board wearing a life vest, all three of them were able to hang on until help arrived. Deputy Bianchet said they did the right thing by staying put.
"Just stay with the boat, don't try to swim away," said Bianchet. "They did the best they could and that's the only thing you should do is cling onto the boat and wait."
The group was one of several that ran into problems on the water Tuesday. The Coast Guard reported responding to four separate search and rescue calls, assisting 18 people, seven of whom were stranded in the water.