Booze Cruise Captain Called A Hero For Making The Most Of His Dream Florida Man Moment By Saving Drowning Man

Some heroes wear capes and some operate tiki boat cruises. Cole Kelly, the charter manager for Punta Gorda Adventures, falls into the tiki boat cruise operator category.

Not only did he and his crew save a man who was struggling to swim from drowning, they didn’t let the unexpected rescue ruin the fun the customers paid good money to enjoy.

"As we got closer, we saw the commotion on shore," Kelly told WLKY News. "Then it was apparent that he was bleeding really badly. Once I pulled him up, I could truly see the severity of his injuries. He was bleeding from head to toe. He had a terrible wound on his hand."

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The bleeding man had jumped a railing and smashed into the rocks on the shoreline near TT's Tiki Bar before landing in the water, according to Punta Gorda police.

When Kelly's booze cruise pulled up to the scene, the man was struggling to stay afloat and giving the finger to those on shore, as one would do in such a situation.

Kelly threw a life ring towards the man and pulled him onto the boat. The captain of the karaoke vessel said of the injured man, "He wasn't very talkative at all. He wasn't very coherent either. He was very intoxicated."

This is a tiki boat cruise that nobody on board is going to forget

Hero isn’t the word that Kelly, who told Gulf Coast News that he always dreamed of having a Florida man moment, would use to describe himself.

"I think we have an obligation to help each other, you know? I don't think I'm a hero. It was just a God thing," he said. "I was in the right place at the right time. And I feel like when I see someone in need, I have a responsibility to help them out."

The police report states, according to WLKY News, that the man was drinking and tried to impress his friends by jumping into the water. The tiki boat transported him to shore where paramedics were waiting, and he was taken to the hospital.

He was bruised and bloody, but will live to see another day. As for the tiki cruise, Kelly could have easily called it a day and returned the boat to where it had launched, but he didn’t.

"The show goes on. I scrubbed the blood off the boat, and we sang some awesome karaoke. We still had a phenomenal sunset," Kelly said.

"This is now the craziest thing that's happened on the boat. I've had lots of crazy stuff happen, but this takes the cake now."

Give this man a raise and the title of hero, whether he wants it or not. He saved a man from drowning and a cruise from having its trip ruined.