“The one thing that I love I felt that day was trying to kill me” Family rescued after boat capsizes during fishing trip

By Daeshen Smith

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    FORT MORGAN, Alabama (WALA) — For Jeremy Hathcock and his family things started as a normal Saturday afternoon fishing trip near Fort Morgan. Things changed around three or four hours into the trip.

“We saw a storm come in on the Dauphin Island side,” said Jeremy Hathcock. “It came around to Fort Morgan and kind of hung out there.

Hathcock and his family were about 7 miles out when the bilge pumps on his boat stopped. Then the boat started taking on water when the wind picked up.

“We had pretty close to 40mph winds,” said Hathcock. “That’s when the trouble started. That’s when the waves got really really big.”

That’s when they saw a Gold Runner work boat that was heading back towards land. They were able to make it to the boat but theirs was still taking on water.

“We were able to get my aunt off the boat, I got off the boat and we were trying to get my two uncles off the boat when the boat capsized,” added Hathcock.

His uncles held on to the boat for about 30 minutes. Until they were brought onboard the boat before the coast guard arrived.

“If that gold runner hadn’t been there I wouldn’t be standing here doing this interview,” said Hathcock.

From there, they were taken to Dauphin Island where paramedics helped them before an off-duty Dauphin Island police officer took Hathcock to meet his wife in Mobile.

“I was just thankful to be there and thankful I could still give her a hug,” said Hathcock.

Hathcock and his family were treated at a hospital for hypothermia but thankfully all of them were ok. But he says the experience still sticks with almost three weeks later.

“This is my serenity out here that I go to clear my mind and that day the one thing that I love I felt like in my mind it was trying to kill me that day,” said Hathcock.

He says he hopes to get back to the water soon.

“It’s still a little emotional but I’m just trying to deal with it day by day. Like the old saying goes if you fall off the horse you got to get back on it and that’s what I’m going to do pretty soon,” said Hathcock.

Hathcock says that his boat was actually found about 40 miles offshore of Louisiana and he’s working with some people close by to try and get it back.

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