Pinellas Sheriff’s Office Marine Deputies Rescue Two Boaters After Their Boat Sank off Dunedin
At about 4:30 p.m. on August 8, 2017, Marine Unit deputies received a 911 call from two boaters who said their 18 foot Glasstream boat was taking on water in the Gulf of Mexico, approximately six miles west of Dunedin. Utilizing the boaters GPS coordinates, deputies located the submerged vessel at a location commonly known as the “Dunedin Reef”.
Deputies say 26-year-old Mohammed Sameni and 25-year-old Nicholas Dudas-Szabo of Palm Harbor, were both wearing personal flotation devices and floating in the water approximately 50 yards from the submerged vessel.
Palm Harbor Fire Rescue and Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission rescue boats arrived to assist with the water rescue. Deputies transported Sameni and Dudas-Szabo safely to the Dunedin Marina. No injuries were reported.
Deputies say Sameni and Dudas-Szabo rented the 18 foot Glasstream boat from the Pirates Cove Marina earlier in the day.
The two boaters were anchored and fishing on the reef when the boat began taking on water and sank. Deputies have not yet determined what caused the boat to take on water.
The boat remains submerged on location and the United States Coast Guard has been notified to warn mariners of the hazard. The investigation continues.