BAIT BOX VOYAGE
(N.Z. Press Assn.—Copyright) FORT MYERS (Florida),
A tired fisherman said today he rode the choppy Gulf of Mexico in a 39-inch square bait box for six days before he was rescued yesterday. Blistered and sunburned, Russell Swift said: “Out there, the days are awfully long, and the nights are even longer.” The 45-year-old man told the Coast Guard his 30ft boat sank on its inaugural run on June 3, 60 miles offshore. Swift said he climbed into the wooden bait box, and kept himself afloat. At times, he saw other fishing vessels. Once he came close to land, but the tide carried him out to sea again.
He was picked up 50 miles from Fort Myers after an amphibian Coast Guard plane observer spotted the bobbing box.
Swift said it rained the second night at sea and he had fresh water to drink.
The first thing he asked for after being rescued was a glass of beer or cigarettes.
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Bibliographic details
Press, Volume CII, Issue 30155, 12 June 1963, Page 12
Word Count
162BAIT BOX VOYAGE Press, Volume CII, Issue 30155, 12 June 1963, Page 12
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