A father who fell from a personal watercraft roughly 10 miles offshore in Mobile Bay was rescued by a group of snapper fishermen who spotted the glow of his watch in the dark water and circled back to pull him aboard.
The incident unfolded Friday, June 12, when Brian Duff and a child left Tonty Court on Dauphin Island around noon aboard a red-and-white Yamaha wave runner, heading toward an offshore platform. They were reported overdue around 2:50 p.m. when they failed to return as planned.
Coast Guard Sector Mobile launched a search, and an aircrew flew over the area multiple times without spotting the pair. Meanwhile, the child had already been located and was safe.
As the fishermen were heading back to shore, one noticed a light in the water — Duff’s watch. They turned around, heard yelling, and found Duff treading water in roughly 150-foot depths with an outgoing tide. He was wearing an orange life jacket and a long-sleeve shirt beneath it.
“They circled back around and heard hollering and found him,” one of the rescuers said. “He was distraught until they found out the child who had been with him was already found and safe.”
The good Samaritans brought Duff to shore. He was evaluated and released.
Life jacket and a watch light made the difference
Duff’s life jacket kept him afloat through hours in open water, and the small light on his watch gave the rescuers a visual reference in fading light. Coast Guard officials say both are examples of simple preparations that dramatically improve the odds of being found alive after an accident on the water.
The Coast Guard also noted that the aircrew flew over Duff several times without seeing him — a reminder that a person in the water presents a very small visual target, even for trained observers. Staying with the vessel or flotation device, wearing a life jacket, and carrying a light or whistle are consistently cited as the most effective survival steps.