Accidents of the Week - February 7, 2026
BoatTEST publishes “Accidents of the Week” as a public service for our VIP Subscribers to acquaint them with potential boating dangers and by inference their prevention.
Hero, 13, Swims Miles to Save Family Stranded at Sea
1/30/26 – Brisbane, AUS
A 13-year-old Australian boy spoke out after swimming alone for four hours without a life jacket in order to get help for his mom and siblings, who were stranded at sea.
"I just said, 'Not today, not today, not today. I have to keep on going,'" Austin Appelbee told Australia's ABC News.
Austin and his family, including his mom Joanne Appelbee and his two younger siblings, said they were on a beach trip on 30 January and had taken a kayak and two inflatable stand-up paddleboards out into the ocean. They said they had planned to stay out in the water for about an hour.
Initially, the family said the ocean was calm but then the weather suddenly changed and their kayak flipped over and started to take on water.
Appelbee said at first, she tried to tow the two paddleboards and her two younger children but after the kayak began filling with water, she decided to send Austin ahead and paddle to shore to get help.
"In the beginning, it was, 'We're going to be fine and Austin is going to make it back,'" Appelbee said. "As time went on, I was like, 'Why haven't I seen anyone come?'"
‘Happy Thoughts’
Austin, who first learned to swim at the age of 4, said he focused on happy thoughts like thinking about his family and friends and his favorite Thomas the Tank Engine character.
"I was just thinking in my head, like, thinking I was going to make it through. But I was also thinking about all my friends at school," Austin recalled.
Austin said he initially started traveling to shore with the kayak but while fighting waves, he decided to abandon it and swim by himself.
"And then finally, I just made it to shore. I just collapsed," he said.
After arriving on shore, Austin said he then had to run for another mile down the beach to get his family's phone and call emergency services.
"He's absolutely amazing," Appelbee said of her 13-year-old son. "Me and his dad are super proud."
The Australian Maritime Safety Authority responded to the incident and later provided camera footage of a rescue boat coming to the aid of the Appelbee family.
2 Adults, 1 Child Rescued from Capsizing Boat
1/24/26 – Flagler Beach, FL
Two adults and one child were okay after being rescued from a boat in the process of capsizing off the coast of Flagler Beach, Florida. The Flagler Beach Fire Department said the call for help came in from the U.S. Coast Guard at 4:32 a.m. on 24 January.
The department said upon arrival they found a sailboat grounded on a sandbar. The boat contained two adults and one child who were in duress due to "hazardous marine conditions."
Flagler Beach Fire Department deployed a rescuer, who reached the boat and helped get all three occupants out. They were all evaluated by medical personnel and had no injuries. The people rescued were taken to a nearby hotel for shelter.
The cause of the incident remained under investigation.
Rower in 3,000-Mile Race Rescued After Capsizing in Atlantic
1/21/26 - PR
The Coast Guard and a tanker crew rescued a rower whose boat capsized while he was competing in a 3,000-mile race across the Atlantic, the agency said in a news release.
Benoit Bourguet, 47, was in a single-man rowing vessel named the City of Liverpool, the Coast Guard said. He reported that he had been in distress for about 24 hours.
Bourguet, a Belgian citizen, was competing in the World's Toughest Row Race, which spans 3,000 miles from Spain to Antigua. His boat was reportedly capsized by "two rogue waves," forcing him to deploy a life raft when he was about 1,275 miles east of Puerto Rico.
Coast Guard Alerted by Emergency Distress Signals
Watchstanders at the Coast Guard Sector San Juan Command Center in Puerto Rico received two emergency distress alerts overnight on 21 January. The first, recorded around 2 a.m., came from the City of Liverpool. The second came from a personal beacon device in the same location.
The Coast Guard determined that the vessel had been part of the race and reached out to race organizers, who said they had sent Bourguet several messages but not received a response. Another team in the race also could not contact Bourguet.
A tanker called the Horten was traveling about 110 miles from the distress signal. The Coast Guard issued an Automated Mutual-Assistance Vessel Rescue callout to the tanker. These callouts are used by search and rescue agencies around the world to assist people who are in distress at sea, according to the Coast Guard.
The tanker, traveling from Germany to Guyana, diverted off-course. It took the ship over 12 hours to reach the distress signal's position, the Coast Guard said. During that time, Coast Guard officers remained in contact with the crew.
Finally, the Horten arrived in the vicinity of the distress signal and spotted Bourguet's life raft. They were able to use a life ring to safely bring him aboard the tanker. Photos from the rescue showed Bourguet's orange life raft with his boat tied to it. Bourguet was "dehydrated but otherwise in good health," the Coast Guard said.
Coast Guard Rescues Duck Hunters in ‘Severe’ Weather
1/25/26 – New Orleans, LA
First responders jumped into action in New Orleans after a group of duck hunters needed emergency assistance when they were stranded in dangerous severe weather.
The US Coast Guard worked in collaboration with its New Orleans Air Station to rescue the duck hunters when their boat ran aground in shallow water on 25 January, leaving the trio stranded in deteriorating weather conditions. The New Orleans area received over half an inch of rain that day, along with wind gusts as strong as 38 mph, according to the National Weather Service.
Coast Guard crews quickly utilized a helicopter to locate and successfully rescue the three hunters. "Despite low clouds and rain, the crew of CG6041 located the hunters, hoisted them from the marsh, and safely transported them back to the marina," per a statement from the U.S. Coast Guard Air Station New Orleans and Heartland division.
Footage showed members of the Coast Guard successfully transporting each of the hunters into the helicopter using a rescue basket. Thankfully, all three hunters were safely extracted from the area, and there were no reports of any serious injury.
18-Year-Old Rescued After Falling Off PWC Near Tampa
1/25/26 – Tampa, FL
An 18-year-old was rescued near Tampa, Florida, after he fell off his personal watercraft and injured his foot, authorities said.
According to the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office (HCSO), the victim was unable to climb back onto the personal watercraft and was stranded in the water on the afternoon of 25 January.
Deputies with HCSO’s Marine Unit were able to locate the rider shortly after. They pulled him aboard their vessel and provided first aid. Deputies then took the victim to shore, where paramedics were waiting.
No Injuries Reported in North Carolina Boat Fire
1/25/26 – Cornelius, NC
A boat fire occurred on North Carolina’s Lake Norman early on 25 January.
The fire occurred in the area of the lake close to Cornelius, North Carolina, and the boat’s owner was reportedly not injured. No additional details were available at the time of reporting.
Coast Guard, Good Samaritan Rescue 10 Off Maui
1/29/26 – Honolulu, HI
The Coast Guard and a good Samaritan rescued 10 people off Maalaea, Maui, on 29 January. The rescue followed the collision of a 50-foot sailboat and 10-person outrigger canoe in Maalaea Bay.
At 8:05 a.m., Coast Guard Sector Honolulu command center watchstanders received a call on VHF-FM channel 16 from the sailing vessel Winona reporting a collision with an outrigger canoe with 10 adults aboard. The operator of the Winona reported that three people were in the water.
The nearby Trilogy IV, a 65-foot catamaran, rescued three people from the water and brought the remaining seven people from the outrigger canoe aboard their vessel.
Boat crew members from Coast Guard Station Maui launched a 45-foot Response Boat Medium and arrived on scene at 8:13 a.m. The boat crew transferred seven people, including a woman with a minor injury, aboard the RB-M, with three remaining aboard the Trilogy IV.
After the Coast Guard crew helped dewater the Winona, they escorted the vessel back to Maalaea Harbor, where emergency medical services personnel were waiting. The Trilogy IV was able to refloat the outrigger canoe and tow it back to the Maui Canoe Club at Sugar Beach.
Three Yachts Sink After Fire at Canadian Marina
2/1/26 – Vancouver Island, BC
In what one fire official called the worst marina fire he’d seen in his 30-year career, three yachts burned and ultimately sank at Van Isle Marina at the town of Sidney, Vancouver Island, in the province of British Columbia. A fourth yacht suffered heavy damage.
More than 40 firefighters took 2.5 hours to battle the blaze after a 70ft vessel caught fire around 7:30am, injuring one of the four passengers aboard who was taken to hospital for smoke inhalation. The fire quickly spread to the other yachts.
Van Isle Marina added that fuel containment and surface cleanup were actively underway after the fire was contained on 1 February, and environmental protection was “a top priority.” “Salvage planning is in progress and will proceed in close coordination with the appropriate authorities to safely remove the vessels and debris,” the marina explained.
On arrival, firefighters found three 65ft-70ft yachts engulfed in flames. Crews were able to keep the fire away from nearby vessels until they could be moved, but the three boats that were on fire all sank in their slips at the marina. There was additional damage to dock infrastructure, according to the fire department.
Firefighters Used Specially-Built Trailer to Protect Adjacent Boats
“We have a fourth [yacht] that has suffered significant damage, that will have to be assessed, that is still floating,” Fire and Rescue NSW superintendent Adam Dewberry told local reporters.
Firefighters used a specialty-built marina fire protection trailer to help protect the boats adjacent to those on fire. “It’s kind of a specialized resource that we’ve kind of built over time, because this is something we do probably a lot more than other municipalities,” Dewberry said, noting that Sidney, only 5km² in size, was home to two of the largest yacht marinas on Canada’s west coast.
To access BoatTEST’s archived “Accidents of the Week” become of a VIP Member of BoatTEST and learn how you can avoid accidents of all types. Click here...