Steven Brubacher stood side by side with his 6-year-old son, saying he feels blessed to be alive after a close call over the weekend.

On Sunday, Brubacher, his son, brother-in-law and two nephews treaded water for almost an hour after their boat flipped over in Sarasota Bay.

"This can't be happening — our boys might drown. We might drown," Brubacher said as he recalled the accident.

The family has been taking out the canoe in Sarasota Bay for more than two years. Brubacher said he was out on the water just three days before the accident.

No one really knows what caused them to flip over into the water.

"Probably just someone went out of balance and we all went over," Brubacher said.

He said they tried to flip the canoe back over but flooded it instead. The reality of the situation eventually started to sink in.


A charter boat captain in Manatee County is to thank for saving the lives of 5 boaters he found clinging to a capsized canoe in Sarasota Bay on Sunday morning. (Courtesy of Capt. Taylor Rahn)

"We all started getting really scared, and then we started hollering for help," Brubacher said.

On the cold day, no other boaters were in sight. The closest piece of land was too far for the young boys to swim.

"We all decided we need to ask God to send a boat here. That was our only option. I knew it was our only option," Brubacher said.

It was a prayer eventually answered by Sarasota charter boat Capt. Taylor Rahn.

"The captain saw us, and as soon as we saw his boat start aiming towards us we all said, 'Thank you Lord, thank you Lord, thank you Lord," Brubacher said.

Rahn says they showed signs that they were succumbing to the elements.

"They were screaming. They were crying. They were scared to death and the young boy was basically going in and out of being conscious," he said.

The three children ages 5 to 11 were airlifted to All Children's Hospital in St. Petersburg. Brubacher and his brother-in-law were taken to another hospital to be treated for for hypothermia.

The father-son duo were reunited later Sunday night.

"I knew the best thing in my heart is to have him right next to me, and we just cuddled on my chair in there for a very long time," Brubacher said.

The family hopes to meet up with Rahn soon and thank him properly for saving them.