A Lake Erie fishing trip turned dire when two brothers’ boat capsized in rough waters, but one brother’s cellphone enabled a rescue by Avon Lake firefighters.
AVON LAKE, Ohio — A weekend fishing trip on Lake Erie turned into a fight for survival after a boat carrying two brothers capsized in rough waters, leaving them stranded miles from shore until firefighters rescued them.
Brock Britenstine says he feared he would die after the boat began taking on water.
“I told my brother right off the rip, ‘I’m going to die today,'” Britenstine recalled.
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The brothers had been fishing when they hit several large waves. “We hit a couple of waves hard,” Britenstine said. Soon after, they realized the boat was filling with water.
“I’m like, ‘I think we’re taking on water, man,'” he remembered telling his brother. “He goes, ‘Yeah, me too.'”
As the boat continued to sink, Britenstine’s brother was able to put on a life jacket. Britenstine was not.
“I told him, ‘I’m going to die today, because I have no life vest, the water is really bad,’ and we figured the boat would go down instantly,” he said.
The brothers also believed they had no way to call for help.
“We couldn’t get ahold of the two-way radio,” Britenstine told 3News. “I don’t have my phone on the boat at all; it’s in the truck. His phone, he couldn’t find it.”
Britenstine treaded water while first holding onto a buoy and later clinging to the partially submerged boat as waves continued to crash over him.
“My neck and head’s the only thing sticking out of the water, and the waves keep coming over, and I’d almost go underwater,” he said.
Then came an unexpected break: Britenstine’s brother discovered his cellphone in the pocket of his cargo shorts. Despite being soaked, it still worked.
“He said, ‘Call 911.’ And it called 911 and I could hear him talking, but he’s shaking the phone because it’s got water in the speaker,” Britenstine said.
The call allowed emergency dispatchers to direct rescuers to the brothers’ location.
Members of the Avon Lake Fire Department rescued the brothers from the water. Britenstine said he was exhausted by the time crews reached him.
“The rescue swimmer was the guy that got me,” he shared. “He said, ‘Jump! Jump off!’ and I said, ‘I can’t. I don’t have nothing left in me.'”
Earlier this week, the Avon Lake Fire Department demonstrated the type of water rescue training crews use to respond to emergencies like the one Britenstine experienced.
“I am so glad they have a program,” Britenstine said. “Thank you guys from the bottom of my heart.”
Britenstine is recovering at home following the rescue and from hernia surgery he underwent Monday. He hopes others can learn from his experience. His advice is simple: Don’t just bring a life jacket — you need to wear it. After surviving the ordeal, Britenstine says he will never go out on the water again without wearing one.