14 SOURCE | Spring 2023
“ We had a plan in place ,” Donze said . “ The day before we had arrangements to move the boat up river . But when we got to the railroad bridge , they wouldn ’ t open it so we could pass through , so we had no choice but to turn around and go back to our dock at the beach .”
Donze and his crew triple tied the boat and prepared for the storm to hit . He spent the night in their office on land , but as the storm came in , he , along with deck hand Ryan Goebel and fellow boat owner Matt Simonson moved to the boat , where they worked together to loosen lines as needed to keep it from being swept away .
As the water rushed in , the men noticed a news crew trapped in their vehicle on the rapidly flooding road nearby .
“ My buddy Matt didn ’ t even think , he just jumped in and waded out to those guys and helped get them onto the boat with us ,” Donze said . “ If they had been anywhere else , or waited any longer , they wouldn ’ t have made it .
“ Maybe that was the reason we had to stay there with the boat , to be there to help those guys .”
Safely back on the Sea Trek , the storm continued , with at least three storm surges
pounding the area . The water level would rise , then level out , then shoot up instantly and repeat the cycle , with increasing amounts of debris filling the water and crashing into the boat .
“ We were just along for the ride at that point ,” Donze said . “ It spun us around , and then when the back half of the storm hit everything switched directions . Sailboats were flying across the water , and it picked us up and took us across the road into the power lines .”
Tangled in the overhead wires , the men were sending messages to their families , preparing for the worst . At the last second , the lines snapped , and the boat came to rest in a mangrove swamp , about an eighth of a mile from the water where they had been docked .
“ We hit a big enough tree to make an eightfoot skid mark down the side of the boat as we settled ,” Donze said .
With the boat no longer moving , and the storm subsiding , Goebel and Simonson were able to disembark and assess the damage . An eight-foot alligator swam past their kayak , traveling down the flooded road .
They met up with some early responders who were able to make it down the road to the retirement village where Donze ’ s grandparents lived . After confirming they were all right , the young men helped other residents of the village reach a safe location , after some had spent hours floating on mattresses because they couldn ’ t leave their homes .
“ Those guys are heroes in my book ,” Donze said .
The next morning , they constructed a ramp so they could all safely leave the boat . The news crew found their vehicle trapped under a large sailboat , but thanks to waterproof cases most of their camera gear was salvageable .
The Sea Trek sustained damage , although not nearly as severe as it could have been . The cleats on the side were all ripped off , and when the boat came to rest in the trees and the water went down , a large root went through the bottom . However , it only damaged the fiberglass skin , not the structure of the boat . Amazingly , none of the glass windows were broken . Repairs are in progress , and Donze is optimistic that it will be seaworthy again in the spring of 2023 .
“ The storm lasted about three hours , and I spent about 24 hours total on that boat , but it all felt like it happened so fast ,” he said . “ I don ’ t think any roller coaster would thrill me anymore .”
News crew rescued during Hurricane Ian .
Scan the QR code to see the video made by the news crew