Thank you, both, for saving our lives

This is a thank-you letter to good Samaritans on the water…

My wife and I were boating off Egmont Key. We decided to anchor near the beach and walk ashore to gather seashells. My wife stepped off the boat ladder and stood safely on the sand bottom. Quickly, a strong current started moving her away from the boat and the beach.

I jumped into the water and swam toward her. She was calm. I asked her to hold onto my shirt as I swam toward the boat and the beach. We made no headway. The current was too strong. Two sport fishermen on a boat close-by started moving toward us, calling-out instructions to swim toward their boat. Mark and his son Daniel did everything right, according to boat safety courses. Most importantly, they immediately came to our assistance as soon as they recognized we were in trouble.

We are thankful to Mark and Daniel for saving our lives. Their action was so quick and smooth, the whole episode must have looked routine to people on the beach. It was a big deal to us. We learned a lot about boating safety from Mark and Daniel. We certainly appreciate their quick response to remove us from danger. Mark and Daniel, we don’t know your last name, but we hope you caught a lot of big fish. You deserve it. Thank you.

This story was originally published July 14, 2017 at 2:35 PM with the headline "Thank you, both, for saving our lives."