Positivity: A “Routine” Boating Trip Turns into Near-Disaster, Followed by Rescue
Two old friends and a dog nearly lost their lives in Florida near Tampa in a boating mishap. After their rescue, they say they have stronger ties:
Men’s routine boating trip leads to harrowing ordeal, rescue
REBECCA BLUE, Herald Staff Writer
February 11, 2006TERRA CEIA - A weekly boating trip for two longtime friends turned into an afternoon the two of them will never forget.
Elliot Roskow, 64, Gary Divecchia, 69, and Roskow’s 2-year-old dog, Rudy, have a Thursday routine of spending quality time with each other out on the water. The men load up Roskow’s 15-foot ganoe with snacks, cold drinks and other boating necessities and travel to the Palmetto Point boat ramp to launch.
On Feb. 2, the two boaters set sail for Manatee River at 11:30 a.m., prepared to exchange jokes and laughter for the next few hours. Facing forward, the crew hugged the coastline, cruising the shallow flats.
The winds were nearly 20 knots, creating choppy, rough waters and a “small craft exercise caution” warning.
Once they reached the vicinity of Terra Ceia Bay at about 1:30 p.m., the engine conked out and the ganoe immediately starting drifting toward Tampa Bay.
As Roskow tried to restart the engine he pulled the slack on the cord, sending him off-balance just as a 2-foot wave hit, flipping the boat.
Divecchia was still facing forward when the boat flipped.
“I didn’t see it happen,” he said, as the two men recalled the horrific day. “All of a sudden, I was in the water.”
Once Roskow saw Divecchia was OK, he began searching for Rudy, his wife’s pride and joy. The dog was nowhere to be found.
“It took us two times of lifting the boat to find him,” Divecchia said.
Rudy was underwater when Roskow grabbed him.
“If I lost Rudy my wife would have killed me,” Roskow said. “I might as well stay out there.”
When the boat flipped, every item in the boat drifted away, including Roskow’s garage door opener, cell phone, GPS system and whistle.
“It all floated away,” Roskow said.
At the time the items were the last thing on the men’s minds.
“We didn’t know how we were going to get out,” Divecchia said.
….. “Everything was working against us - the waves, the wind and the cold. We didn’t have any sign of hope,” Divecchia said.
Three boats leaving Tropic Isles Trailer Home Park at the same time at first didn’t offer Roskow or Divecchia any sign of hope, as the last round of boats initially didn’t stop to help them.
But all of a sudden the trio made a turn toward the men, who had been struggling for at least an hour.
“We were yelling and screaming and they saw us,” Divecchia said.
Two of the boats rescued the men and the dog, while the third boat, a pontoon boat, towed the ganoe to shore.
The rescue wasn’t the simplest task - both men were weak and unable to climb the boat’s ladder.
Each of the rescue boats was owned by Tropic Isles residents, most of whom were neighbors: Gillian Organ, who was visiting from Canada, Harold Carleton, Deane Corneil, Bob Turner and an emergency medical services officer.
As the boats neared shore, the men’s welcome was similar to a movie scene.
“They were clapping, and yelling and we were waving and smiling,” Divecchia said.
The men, still shaking, were quickly handed blankets and hot tea by Corneil, as Rudy immediately ran inside Corneil’s home and found instant relief.
“She was shocked, too,” Roskow said. “We just wanted to find dry land.”
EMS arrived, evaluated Roskow and Divecchia, and let them seek a more comforting atmosphere.
Roskow and Divecchia met 15 years ago, when they were both living in Sarasota.
“I heard someone shouting at me from the street,” Roskow said. “I had a tennis racket in my hand and Gary asked me if I needed someone else to play tennis. I asked him if he were any good. He said, ‘No,’ and I told him he would do then.”
The men’s weekly tennis game made the transition into boating.
They’ve been through plenty of funny moments in their friendship, but that Thursday wasn’t one of them.
“We’ve had crazy things happen to us, along with the funny things, but this wasn’t funny,” Divecchia said. “When it happened, Elliot looked at me and said, ‘This is serious.’ ”
The two men say they learned a valuable lesson that day.
“Always be prepared when you go out in the boat, because the chances of survival in that kind of situation isn’t great,” Divecchia said.
The lesson also taught them something about their friendship.
“Our ties are a little stronger now,” Roskow said.
They’ve also formed a bond with the rescuers. The group is meeting this weekend for dinner and under very different circumstances.
“They came to our rescue when we had no other hope,” Divecchia said. “We owe them. Whatever they need.”
