Father's Day is this Sunday, June 16, and happily, Phillip Tuttle will get to celebrate it with his family. That prospect didn't seem so certain this past weekend when the 90-year-old Long Point, Maine, lobsterman's boat ran aground on ledges.
According to the Bangor Daily News, Tuttle decided to head out to check a trap late Saturday afternoon. He left a note for his wife letting her know what he was doing and that he'd be back soon.
Tuttle steamed out in his 26-foot Queen Tut to check on the trap. But his boat ran aground on ledges, rolled onto its left side and quickly started taking on water.
Tuttle was able to swim 30 yards to rocks near Hen Island. He was confident that if he made it to the rocks, his family would find him.
"I knew somebody would be there," he told the Daily News. "I've got a lot of kids... I was thinking, 'It's not my time.'"
You can watch Tuttle describe his escape from the boat and his son Stewart tell how his family found him in the wonderful video that accompanies the Daily News story.
Tuttle was taken to Parkview Adventist Medical Center where he was treated for hypothermia and cuts and scrapes on his arms and legs. He was released at about 1:30 a.m. Sunday.
Hence, Tuttle and his family will celebrate yet another Father Day's together. To Tuttle and all you fisherman dads out there, here's wishing you a happy Father's Day.
