NORTH PALM BEACH, Fla. — A Palm Beach County boat captain and his crew saved a man after his shrimp boat overturned off the coast of Georgia late last month.
Rob Brehm of North Palm Beach was heading south from Virginia when he heard an alert from the Coast Guard that they were searching for boaters lost at sea.
Brehm and his crew then spotted one of the boaters on the morning of Nov. 18. They quickly rescued him as the Coast Guard arrived in a helicopter overhead and took him to a hospital.
"[The man we rescued] was completely white. He could barely open his eyes. I was concerned he [would] not make it," Brehm said. "We stripped him down and covered him in blankets and gave him a minimal amount of water just to try not to shock his system."
Brehm said the boater, identified as Paul Treloar of Beaufort, South Carolina, was found in a life raft east of Tybee Island, about 100 miles south of his shrimping operation.
He said the boater survived at sea for three days in winds of 50 knots and freezing temperatures.
"This gentleman was only 25 miles offshore. The Coast Guard was looking for three days, and you think it would be easy for them to find him, and it wasn't due to the fact it was rough conditions," Brehm said.
A crew member on Brehm's vessel, Hamish McDonald, shared pictures and video of the rescue on his Facebook page.
"It was really nice that the crew worked together, banded together really well, and were able to save this gentleman's life," Brehm said.
Sadly, another man on the capsized shrimp boat, identified by the Coast Guard as Don Melcoock, 50, was found dead.
An online fundraiser has been established to help Treloar as he recovers.