Florida sailor living on dream boat with his dog recalls terrifying moment they became stranded in Gulf of Mexico during Hurricane Helene
A Florida sailor revealed that he told his beloved dog that “this isn’t the day we’re going to die” when his dream boat started sinking and they were rescued in the Gulf of Mexico during Hurricane Helene on Thursday
Earl Barcome and his 10-year-old Golden Retriever Gunn, had been living on the 36-foot sailboat, aptly named Selkie, for a year after his relationship of over thirty years ended, according to his family.
The 64-year-old spent months tracking down the “perfect boat” around the country to set sail for Florida and “start a new chapter,” Shirley Barcome said in a GoFundMe page.
The sailboat was “the culmination of a lifelong dream, offering him solace and purpose after a difficult chapter in his life,” she added.
For the first year on the water, the adventurous sailor, alongside his pooch, experienced “peace and healing” until Helene formed in the nearby waters.
Barcome planned to navigate away from Helene 100 miles south of Sanibel Island to a protected inlet, but the boat’s motor failed halfway through his voyage.
The sailboat began taking on water as the bilge pump blew and the pair suddenly stood in chest-high water inside the vessel’s cabin.
“It was moving mountains of water. Every which way you turn. And these waves were just everywhere you look,” Barcome told WBBH.
Barcome turned to his companion and assured him they would survive.
“I said, Gun, this isn’t the day we’re going to die I’m calling the Coast Guard,” he said.
Barcome desperately called the Coast Guard for help from a radio he had onboard and a helicopter was sent to his location about 25 miles west of Sanibel Island.
Rescue swimmers from the USCG Air Station Clearwater’s post spotted the boat at around 3 p.m. on Sept. 26.
The dramatic rescue caught on video by the Coast Guard, captured a diver repelling down into the waters as Barcome and Gunn, both donning life vests escaped the sinking boat by jumping into the harsh waters.
“He falls into the water and just power swims to my boat,” Barcome told the outlet. “And he’s like, ‘I need you guys in the water now.'”
The pair were brought into the helicopter by a basket as the grateful sailor abandoned his vessel in the open water.
“Earl has lost everything. With no funds and his dream shattered, rebuilding from this tragedy feels impossible without help,” Shirley Barcome wrote on the fundraiser aimed at helping her brother build back from the devastating loss.
Following his rescue from the doomed boat, Barcome has a new outlook on life as he gets back on his feet and rebuilds.
“So what, what comes next? time will tell, you know, do I have hope? I have, I have a new, I have a new understanding. And that’s a beautiful thing,” he told the outlet. “The realization that life is a little more important was, That was a new day. It was a new day. And, what do I got to complain about? I got shirt and pants,” Barcome said.
At least 64 people were killed by Hurricane Helene, which left a trail of devastation from Florida to the Great Lakes region after making landfall in The Sunshine State’s Big Bend Area Thursday night as a Category 4 storm.
