Three men, left to float in the waters of Trinity Bay on Monday after their boat was swamped, thought they were going to die.

Charles Drover is recounting the harrowing details today.

Drover, his brother and a friend—all from the Blaketown and New Harbour area—were out jigging a few cod when water got over the back of the boat and into the hold, pulling the vessel down.

He says they had only moments to call for help before they ended up in the water. He’s thankful they were wearing life jackets.

They were in the frigid water for a half-hour, and Drover says none of them thought they were going to make it. He could see his brother, but lost sight of his friend who had drifted away. None of the three could swim, and Drover says only for their life jackets, they would have drowned.

They got a call out to friends and were rescued by some men from Spread Eagle.

Drover gave thanks to the many people who came to their aid, including the Norman’s Cove- Chapel Arm Fire Department, area residents, RCMP, and Smith’s Ambulance Service.

Drover says he’s not sure if he’ll go back on the water again. He did offer a word of advice to those who do go out in a boat.

He was wearing a black life jacket and his rescuers couldn’t immediately see him lying on the surface of the water. The other two men were spotted right away in their brightly-coloured life jackets.

Earlier Story:

Three men were lucky they were wearing life jackets after their boat started taking on water off Chapel Head on Monday.

The men, from the Blaketown/ New Harbour area, were cod jigging and ended up in the frigid ocean waters for about a half-hour.

They were located by others who were out cod jigging.

The fire chief of the Norman’s Cove-Long Cove Volunteer Fire Department, Stan Reid, says he received the call at around 4:20 p.m.

The Coast Guard was asking for help in meeting the men at the wharf and helping them stay warm. Body temperatures drop rapidly in cold water.

Reid says his crew reacted calmly and did everything they needed to do to keep the men warm.

The crew did very well with the situation and one of his members even took off his warm socks to give to one of the men while they waited for the ambulance.

Reid stresses the importance of having bright-coloured Personal Flotation Devices when heading out on the water.

He says one man was wearing dark clothes and a dark life jacket, so he was harder to spot in the water. Reid says “if they can’t see you, they can’t get you.”

Reid shares that these are the little things people need to keep in mind when they are heading out on the water.