It was in early January when Samuel Moss, Jr., 24, purchased a 21-foot Angler cuddy cabin in South Florida. Moss’ plan was to motor the vessel across the Gulf Stream to Nassau in the Bahamas, and then to his home island of Bimini. The Gulf Steam crossing went to plan; the 140-mile trip to Bimini did not.
Moss left Nassau for the four-hour trip to Bimini on January 13 in questionable weather conditions. At one point during the journey he posted a live broadcast to his Facebook page with the caption, “Time to bring it home.” The video showed choppy conditions. After that, radio silence.
Fast forward 16 days later and a sailboat skipper reports a small fishing boat drifting and taking on water in the Gulf Stream 10 miles off West Palm Beach, Florida. The Coast Guard dispatches USCGC Cochito to the scene and its crew finds Moss lying in the boat, badly dehydrated and with a severely swollen leg.
Once ashore, Moss is transported by Riviera Beach Fire Rescue paramedics to St. Mary’s Medical Center in West Palm Beach. Though the Sun Sentinel reports that Moss was in fair condition on Feb. 2, he is expected to make a full recovery. Moss reportedly had food and water aboard, but he quickly ran out of food. Later, a wave washed his stash of water overboard.
This isn’t the first time Moss has been rescued at sea. He purchased a boat in Miami, Florida, in February 2017 and ended up stranded off Grand Bahama for three days before the Royal Bahama Defence Force found him, according to the Sun Sentinel.
