Lake St. Clair charter captain saves 3 fishermen from sinking boat
Harrison Twp. Captain saves three from sinking boat
It was a case of being in the right place at the right time. This all happened Sunday morning. The southern channel of the lake near the Detroit River was pretty empty, but luckily for these guys, Captain Zach Gaza was out fishing for musky and was able to save the day.
MACOMB COUNTY, Mich. (FOX 2) - Just in the nick of time, a charter fisherman and his clients are credited with saving three other fishermen from a sinking boat.
It happened in the middle of Lake St. Clair on Sunday.
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It was a case of being in the right place at the right time. This all happened Sunday morning at the southern channel of the lake near the Detroit River. The area was pretty empty, but luckily Captain Zach Gaza was out fishing and was able to save the day.
"We saw one of the guys' arms go up, and I said, 'We've got to pick up and head straight over there.' I didn't think it was too bad, but as we got closer, I saw the lower end of the boat kick back, and they were ready to jump ship," said Captain Gaza.
Video taken aboard Zach's charter boat shows him and the clients who hired him out in a slightly bigger boat when they spotted the three people in distress.
Captain Zach says the three were in an older 17-foot fiberglass bass boat. They were traveling with the wind, but when they turned into the wind, the 3- to 4-foot waves caused the boat to take on water.
The video shows just how close they were to losing the vessel completely.
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Gaza says he's been a musky charter boat captain for about five years, and this sort of rescue happens from time to time. He was just happy to be in a position to help.
"I'd be lying if I said I didn't get into situations like that from time to time. Sometimes that's what it takes to get big fish. Other times, it's not that important compared to potentially not having your loved ones return home," he said.
After the three men were pulled safely onto Captain Zach's boat, a tow boat was able to salvage the sinking vessel before it went under.