Imagine being stranded at sea for 15 days. Sounds pretty bleak, right? Well, that's exactly what happened to three people stuck in the Gulf of Mexico for over a fortnight. Fortunately, a group of Texas A&M students sprang into action and saved them. You see, the trio were lucky because these weren't any college students, they were cadets training at Texas A&M Maritime Academy.
The college students were on a ship traveling from Texas to Florid as part of their training. That's when cadets William Flores and Kai Ethridge spotted something in the ocean on Saturday. They realized that it was a small vessel in the middle of the ocean.
"Shortly after sunrise, a small black object was spotted in the distance. Maintaining a close watch, I could see the shape of a small vessel through my binoculars as we got closer," Ethridge said. Growing nearer, they realized that three people were aboard. "We passed the vessel on our starboard side, and all of a sudden, three heads popped out of the small craft and started waving."
College Students Rescue Stranded Individuals
The college students had to use their training to rescue the three stranded men. Capt. Wade Howell, master of the academy's training ship, ordered them to start their rescue protocols. They also contacted the U.S. Coast Guard as well. The college students gave the three stranded invidiuals medical treatment while they waited for the Coast Guard. On Sunday, the ship transferred the three to the Coast Guard to be reunited with their loved ones.
It was a shocking event for the captain. "I've had 20-plus years at sea, and I've only experienced one other incident such as this," Howell said. The students had been aboard the 540-foot TS Kennedy. The ship hosted its annual summer sea semester for 171 student cadets.
"Being a part of something like this was an amazing experience," Flores said. "The actions of the captain and crew definitely saved the lives onboard." Flores added that the cadets now know what to do if they ever encounter a similar situation in real life. "Things could have gone a lot worse for all parties, but everything turned out OK in the end," he said.
After saying goodbye to the stranded individuals, the early nearly 300 Texas A&M student cadets, faculty and crew headed to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, which is their first stop on a semester long voyage.
