Man Swims 5 Hours to Save Family After Their Boat Capsized Due to Storms

A 46-year-old man swam for five hours through jellyfish in an effort to save his family after they were ejected from their boat off the coast of Deal Island, Md.

According to ABC 2 News, John Franklin Riggs was with his family on a boat Tuesday going fishing. At around 7:00 p.m., huge waves swamped their 16-foot Carolina Skiff about three miles off shore. As water entered the boat, it partially sank and rolled over, causing the passengers to fall into the water with their life jackets on.

At around 7:30 p.m., Riggs decided to call for help, swimming up to the shore in pure darkness. He reached shore at around 1:00 a.m. and was able to ask for help at the first house he saw.

Driving the boat was Riggs' father, also named John Riggs, a retired waterman. USA Today noted that it was the older, 70-year-old Riggs who initiated the trip. Onboard with the two males were the older Riggs' daughter, Contessa Riggs, and her 3-year-old son Conrad, and his granddaughter Emily Horn, a 9-year-old visiting from San Francisco.

"He came to the right house," Angela Byrd, who has awakened by her dog's barking and saw Riggs soaking wet at her doorstep, told USA Today. "He said, 'I've been swimming since sundown; I need help.'"

Byrd called 911 and contacted Deal Island Fire Chief Donald Ford. Soon after, a rescue boat was dispatched to locate the vessel and the four others in the sea.

According to the report, a Maryland State Police helicopter hovered over the area as firefighters from Deal Island, Fairmount and Mount Vermont took on the victims.

"There were a few storms in the area, and the boat turned upside down," Maryland Natural Resources Police Sgt. Brian Albert told USA Today. "Mr. Riggs swam to shore. These people are very lucky. No one was injured."

According to Contessa Riggs, the boat drifted five more miles from their three-mile distance off shore after the waves hit their boat.

"I've never been so happy to see search boats in my life," Contessa explained via phone. "It took him five hours to swim ashore. He had to stop and grab a crab pot buoy and rest, then swim."

While officials say the life jacket, quick help response and sheer luck kept the boat passengers safe, for 9-year-old Emily, her uncle is the "real hero."