A quiet Sunday on the water near Fort De Soto turned into a rescue when a 12-foot boat capsized near the Bunces Pass Bridge, sending three people into the water. According to the U.S. Coast Guard, a good Samaritan pulled all three from the water and brought them safely to shore. No injuries reported, no names released, just a clean ending to what could have gone very differently in that pass.
The capsized vessel is still out there for now. It’s been tied off, and Coast Guard Sector St. Petersburg has a safety bulletin airing on Channel 16 to warn boaters about the hazard. If you’re running Bunces Pass in the coming days, keep your radio on and stay alert, especially around the bridge and the shallows nearby.
Sector St. Petersburg also used the moment to remind boaters to operate responsibly and to contact watchstanders if their vessel ends up abandoned, so a salvage plan can get worked out. Watchstanders are available around the clock for Florida’s west coast maritime community. It’s a small thing to program Channel 16 into your routine, but Sunday showed exactly why it matters.
Have you ever been involved in a water rescue on the Suncoast, or helped someone in trouble out on the bay? We’d like to hear your story.
