Two fishermen are sharing a remarkable story of survival. They were stranded in Galveston Bay for two days, but even when most others would have given up hope, they were determined to make it.
"It went right here, boom! And we went that way," explained Raymond Jacik, one of the fishermen.
All of a sudden, their boat flipped.
"It was cold as all get out," said Michael Watkins, the other fisherman.
These friends found themselves treading water.
"Thank God the Igloo cooler popped up right in front of Mike, cause Mike can't swim," Jacik said.
They floated to some old pipes sticking out and held on.
"That first day, we started immediately trying to flag down the big ships," Jacik said.
"We had two bottles of water or three in the cooler. There was a half of a half of a Valero sub," Watkins said.
When the next morning came, they decided it was time to make a move.
"There was a platform that was about a mile away from us, that had a building up there," Watkins said.
They jumped back into the water, but it didn't go as planned.
"I panicked. I got back up on the thing, and he floated on," Watkins said.
That night storms rolled in.
"It was deafening, wasn't it? Just deafening out there," Jacik said.
They were separated.
"When I lost site of the cooler, I thought he was gone," Watkins said.
But neither gave up.
"I was bound and determined to come home to my wife, and he was bound a determined to come home to his little girl," Watkins said.
Sure enough, the next morning, the Coast Guard came to the rescue.
"I knew I was sitting there saying, 'Thank God, thank God," Jacik said.
First it was Watkins rescued, then Jacik.
"We can't stress enough the thanks to the Coast Guard," Jacik said. "They go above and beyond."
It's an adventure these seaside friends may have lost a little comfort from, but not their sense of humor or their sport.
"We're fisherman, starting to get the itch, I want to go fishing," Watkins said.
"But closer to land," Jacik said.
The Coast Guard helicopter was actually running out of gas when it made a last pass and spotted the fisherman. They were both checked out at hospitals.
Jacik told us he was treated for hypothermia and actually had a heart attack out on the water.
Friends and family of the fishermen have setup a Go Fund Me page to help cover medical expenses. The American Legion Post #291 they belong to also plans to hold a fundraiser on May 14.