The United States Coast Guard rescued a man and his dog after his sailboat became disabled and started taking on water 25 miles off of Sanibel Island on Thursday (September 26) as Hurricane Helene approached.
U.S. Coast Guard Air Station Clearwater received the man's distress and dispatched a rescue crew to his location. The rescuers battled choppy seas as they rappelled down from a helicopter to reach the man and his dog. First, they grabbed his dog, secured it in a basket, and pulled it up to the helicopter.
Then they went back and secured the man and pulled him to safety.
Authorities did not say why the man was out on his boat as the monster hurricane approached. Small craft advisories and hurricane warnings were in effect at the time.
The Coast Guard shared the footage of the dramatic rescue on Instagram, along with a photo of the man and his dog treading water before they were rescued.