A man lost at sea for 30 hours on a partially submerged boat stung by jellyfish removed its motor in a desperate attempt to stay afloat

• A Florida man who was lost at sea for more than a day was severely sunburned and stung by jellyfish.
• His father told CNN that his son removed the boat’s motor to keep the boat afloat and stay alive.
• The 25-year-old man also used his swimming trunks to try to flag down nearby boats, his father said.

The father of a 25-year-old Florida man who was lost at sea for almost 1 ½ days told CNN that his son tried everything he could to survive, including removing his boat’s engine to try to keep the lightweight vessel afloat.

Charles Gregory had gone fishing off the coast of St. Augustine on Friday when the tide suddenly rose and a large wave knocked him off his small, flat-bottomed craft, CNN reported.

Though he managed to climb back onboard, the tide carried him out to sea, where he remained for some 30 hours, according to the media outlet.

The scorching sun and lack of shade burned Gregory’s skin, his father, Raymond Gregory, told CNN. And at night, the man had to brave the freezing cold, made all the more painful by his severe sunburn, his father said.

He also encountered sharks and was stung by jellyfish, according to his father.

“He was scared to death,” he added. “He said he’s had more conversations with God in that 30 hours than he’s had his whole life.”

Coast Guard crews located Gregory on Saturday, the US Coast Guard said in a press statement, after his family reported him missing on Friday evening.

An airplane crew spotted Gregory sitting in his “partially submerged” 12-foot jon boat about 12 miles offshore of St. Augustine, Florida, the Coast Guard said.

A Coast Guard boat then rescued Gregory, and transported him back to land, according to the press release.

Over the almost day and a half, Gregory tried various means to survive, including removing the motor from his boat in an attempt to keep the partially submerged vessel afloat, his father told CNN.

He also took off his swimming trunks and waved them in an attempt to flag down boats or aircraft, his father said.

While Gregory is expected to make a full recovery, he is struggling to move because of his injuries, his father said.

He’s also suffering from rhabdomyolysis, a serious heat-related medical condition that can occur when damaged muscle tissues release their proteins and electrolytes into the blood, he added.

Still, the elder Gregory told CNN: “At the end of the day, the whole moral of the story is ‘don’t ever give up.'”

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