MIAMI – Coast Guard crews rescued six people after their $1.2 million sailboat sank off the Florida coast, all captured by television helicopter cameras showing the vessel disappear under the waves.
Chris Murray, his wife, infant daughter and other relatives were heading to the Bahamas for a weeklong vacation in their 63-foot sailboat, Imagination, on Thursday.
A few hours into their trip, the rear of the vessel started taking on water rapidly, Murray said. They radioed for help, zipped on life jackets and grabbed some baby formula.
The Coast Guard and an off duty paramedic who was in a nearby fishing boat picked up the family before their boat sank about 10 miles offshore.
"We were very lucky," said Amaryllis Pascual, Murray's wife. "We didn't even have to get in the water or anything."
Murray said the 9-year-old boat had never had any problems. The Aventura resident didn't know what caused it to sink.
Get all the stories you need-to-know from the most powerful name in news delivered first thing every morning to your inbox