Runaway Boat Requires Fire Department Rescue

While much of the brunt of Tropical Storm Andrea was relegated to the northern portion of Florida, there were some repercussions from the storm here in Safety Harbor.

The biggest issues regarding the first named storm of 2013, other than scattered power outages, minor flooding and downed tree limbs, had to do with a pair of runaway boats.

According to officials, early Thursday afternoon a sailboat broke loose from her moorings just off the Safety Harbor Marina and drifted over towards Philippe Park, where it wedged itself in some mangroves near the shore.

Back at the Marina, another loose craft was causing concern for a number of people, including the boat's owner, Jeff Kerr.

According to Kerr the vessel, Kerr's Gold, has been docked off the shore for about two years.

He said he never had any problems with it drifting during storms before, but this time he was caught off guard by the sudden appearance of Andrea.

"My augur anchors weren't down," Kerr said prior to making an attempt to secure the vessel. "I was planning on putting them both down, but I hadn't gotten around to it yet."

Kerr said the additional anchors would've prevented the boat from moving during the storm, but without them, Kerr's Gold became a dangerous drifting object.

An earlier attempt by the Safety Harbor Fire Department to secure the boat proved futile, as it was too far off shore to tie up and could not be started due to balky engines.

But by late afternoon Kerr's Gold had drifted close to the mangroves just off the Veteran's Park section of the marina, causing the owner to make a second rescue attempt on his own.

"I'm going to swap out the fuel lines and try to move it, drive it over to the other side of the pier. That way if it moves, it'll just hit the mangroves," Kerr said.

After a shaky trip in a skiff out to the boat (see video above) and a few frantic minutes of Kerr attempting to board and then start the vessel, SHFD showed up again to put an end to the saga once and for all.

Three fire department officials - Josh Saavedra, Lyall Heishman and Todd Allen - helped Kerr tie the boat to the trees and nearby railing, finally securing Kerr's Gold, at least temporarily.

"We had another sailboat drift away past the pier and land in the mangroves on the other side of Philippe Park," Fire Marshal Richard Brock said after the ordeal was over.

"Now we've got to worry about getting this one secured so it doesn't come free and crash into anything."

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