New Castle, NH (WMUR) — A New Hampshire fisherman is lucky to be alive after his boat capsized Wednesday.
One day after he’d watched the movie “The Perfect Storm,” Brian Weeks’ boat was flipped over by a large wave.
“I thought I was going to die,” he said. “Ain’t no doubt.”
The Rochester fisherman went looking for mackerel today, but instead he caught some turbulent seas off the coast of Kittery, Maine.
“I was riding the big swells and I didn’t see the monster coming,” he said.
All it took was one big wave to flip his boat and knock him out.
“Just like ‘The Perfect Storm,’” he said. “It took me right up. Landed under the boat and I woke up under the boat. I’m under my boat. I’m thinking, ‘Did that happen?’”
Clutching a life jacket, the 64-year-old crawled onto his capsized boat.
Hypothermia was setting in, waves were crashing on him and he was struggling to hold on.
“I was thinking, ‘No, I don’t want to go like this, fishing. I don’t want to go like that. I’ve been doing it 40 years,’” he said. “And I thought of my family, and they’re going to find me just off shore.”
Weeks said someone saw him get thrown into the water, called for help, and then the Coast Guard rushed in.
“We were able to get out on scene and get him out of the water to safety and get him back here,” said Boatswain’s Mate 2nd Class Derek Allen, of the U.S. Coast Guard.
“They threw a bunch of lines to me and I don’t really remember the ride in,” Weeks said. “I was cold. I was out of it.”
He may not remember the rescue, but Weeks said he’ll never forget that they saved his life.
After his release from the hospital, Weeks went to the Coast Guard station to thank the crew.
“I’m just grateful to be alive,” he said. “That was horrible.”
