What to Know
- Officials said a man washed ashore on a small sailboat at Island Beach State Park on Tuesday after being stranded at sea for days.
- The man said his sailboat was taken out to sea by the wind and current after he left the nearby Barnegat Inlet on Saturday.
- He finally managed to come ashore when the wind shifted Tuesday and was treated for dehydration at the hospital.
A favorable wind and the will to survive saved the life of a man who washed ashore on his small sailboat after being stranded at sea for several days.
Julia Giaccone of Toms River, New Jersey, told NBC10 she and her friends were at Island Beach State Park on Tuesday when they spotted the surprising arrival.
“We just looked over and there was a boat in the sand,” she said.
EMS crews dispatched to the beach around 12:30 p.m. that day after the boat ran aground.
“A subject that apparently has been out in the Atlantic for days and just washed up ashore,” a dispatcher said in a call obtained by NBC10.
The man on the boat told State Park Police his sailboat was taken out to sea by the wind and current after he left the nearby Barnegat Inlet on Saturday. He finally managed to come ashore when the wind shifted Tuesday.
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“That’s one of my worst fears,” Emily Fiorentino of Toms River told NBC10. “So I can’t even imagine being stuck in the water for that long, not knowing what to do.”
The man was treated at a hospital for mild dehydration before being released early Tuesday night.
“I think it’s crazy because you hear about people getting lost a lot but not when you’re at the beach or in front of you,” Fiorentino said.
Authorities have not revealed the man’s identity or where he’s from. They also have not yet said when or if he’ll be retrieving the boat.
