On July 20th, 2024, I planned a family vacation to celebrate my retirement. We rented a house on a canal in Marathon and brought along our 32′ Fountain center console boat. Equipped with twin 300 Mercury Verado engines.<\/p>\n
We decided to replace two of the three batteries.<\/p>\n
Around noon, my three sons and I headed offshore to a reef southeast of Marathon for some spearfishing. The seas were 1-2 feet, and the underwater visibility was about 10-15 feet\u2014far from ideal conditions.<\/p>\n
Afterward, I anchored the boat near the reef and left the motors running due to a battery issue, intending not to stay offshore for long because of the weather. I then jumped off the starboard side of the boat to check the visibility. Immediately afterward, I moved to the aft end on the starboard side to get back on board. As I approached, the starboard motor unexpectedly engaged at low speed and struck the left side of my thigh, causing a deep laceration.<\/p>\n
I quickly climbed into the boat and saw the severity of the painful wound.<\/p>\n
Two of my sons immediately recognized how serious the injury was and fashioned a tourniquet from a dock line, placing it on my upper left thigh to prevent blood loss. My other son activated the GlobalFix V6 EPIRB<\/a> and used the UHF radio to call for assistance from the U.S. Coast Guard and the Florida Department of Fish and Wildlife.<\/p>\n