NOKOMIS — A sea turtle in distress was in the right place at the right time to get some help Sunday.
The marine reptile was struggling in the Gulf, entwined in rope from a crab trap that had looped tightly around its neck.
But the creature happened to be in the path of a U.S. Coast Guard crew that was on its way back to port from duty at the Englewood Beach Waterfest powerboat races.
The crew, a mix of reserve and active-duty Coast Guard members, was about a mile offshore Sarasota County, between the Venice Inlet and Big Sarasota Pass, and headed back to the their base, the Cortez station near Bradenton.
That’s when they spotted the turtle, bobbing with the black rope and pink float around its head.
The crew brought the sea turtle alongside the boat and safely untangled the line, freeing the sea turtle to swim away under its own fin power.
The turtle was estimated to be between 25 to 40 years old, its shell about three feet long.
BY U.S. COAST GUARD STATION CORTEZ
The turtle swam off under its own power, and the crew continued their transit home, the post stated.
From the lens of Meta glasses, the rescue was captured on video.
The Coast Guard station thanked the crew for stopping, stating it’s “moments like this that show the true strength of our total workforce.”