JUPITER, Fla. — When you talk to people who were here at the Jupiter Inlet on Monday, they describe it as a regular day with high waves.
They say most people got out of the water to stay safe, but that's when waves flipped a boat over and nearly ended a 77-year-old man's life.
If the skies are clear, you can catch Marty at the Jupiter Inlet. It’s where he was Monday afternoon, when the surf kicked up.
"I saw a guy going out on his boat. Maybe a 20-footer, his boat flipped, a wave hit him,” said Marty.
Palm Beach County Ocean Rescue (PBCOR) responded to a capsized boat off the Jupiter Inlet at around 12:30 p.m. Monday.
"A wave hit him, lifted him up, another wave hit, turned him upside down,” said Marty.
According to PBCOR, two lifeguards saw the boat capsize roughly 200 yards offshore in rough surf, and quickly swam out to the victim with rescue boards.
"I was in the center tower and radioed the other guys and hopped on my rescue board,” said John Bibbo, a PBCOR lifeguard who rescued the man.
WATCH: Dramatic rescue off Jupiter Inlet
"I was hoping he wasn't stuck under the boat, I was hoping that he wasn't all chopped up,” said Bibbo.
Drone video shows another boat approached and assisted, helping the man on board and transporting him to shore for assessment by Palm Beach County Fire Rescue. He only had minor injuries.
Ocean Rescue says the man lost his hearing aids when the boat flipped, so he couldn't hear.
"He was by himself, and he wasn't wearing a life vest, and he also wasn't wearing a kill switch,” said Bibbo.
The kill switch is a critical device.
"When you're by yourself, and you fall out, the motor can still run and run you over. If he had had the kill switch, the motor could've stopped right away,” said Bibbo.
The vessel was later towed back though the Jupiter Inlet.
"Very relieved to see that he was hanging on the boat and he was waving and had no major life-threatening injuries,” said Bibbo.
