A Florida deputy was filmed taking a daring leap to board a runaway speedboat which was traveling at around 41mph after its driver fell.
Footage taken last Sunday showed the bravery of the quick-thinking deputy – and his ability to channel his inner swordsman into boarding and stopping the wayward ship.
Identified as Deputy Travis Fernandes – an officer with the Marine and Environmental Lands Unit of the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office – the man managed to stick the landing after he and a partner responded to a call from distress off the central west coast.
The call came from the US Coast Guard, which asked for help with the fleeing vessel. Officials said the driver, who has not been named, was rescued by a bystander, but the Coast Guard was unable to stop the boat.
Video released by the sheriff’s office showed how the deputy succeeded where he failed, with his boat seen racing alongside the empty boat. In the Facebook reel showing Fernandes’ stunt, officers correctly superimposed Van Halen’s 1984 tune “Jump.”
A Florida deputy was filmed taking a daring leap to board a runaway speedboat which was traveling at around 41mph after its driver fell.
Footage taken last Sunday showed the bravery of the quick-thinking deputy – and his ability to channel his inner swordsman
“The Coast Guard attempted to deploy poultry hunting devices to stop the vessel, but they were unsuccessful,” the sheriff’s office said of the incident.
The office went on to describe how Ferndandes’ partner, Deputy Constant, intercepted the fleeing vessel – “matching its speed (about 41 mph)”.
Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office Marine Unit Deputy Travis Fernandes managed to pull off the landing – after he and a partner responded to a Coast Guard distress call off the Central Coast – west
This maneuver, the department said, allowed “Deputy Fernandes to jump aboard and take control of the vessel”, ultimately stopping it.
Referencing the heart-pounding footage, the sheriff’s office added, “And yes, Deputy Fernandes is doing his own stunts.”
The office captured the hug through the officer’s body camera.
Towards the start of the clip, the two boats can be seen moving parallel to each other, Constant seen speeding up to follow.
Eventually, the officers’ boat approaches within a few feet of the ghost ship, to the point where the two almost touch.
“You got it, I don’t care if I get wet, you got it,” Fernandes hears his partner say as he watches the gap between the boats.
Then, seemingly without hesitation, Fernandes takes the leap and slows the boat to a stop.
The deputy and the Coast Guard were then seen cooperating to untangle a line that had become wrapped in the boat’s propeller on its unplanned trip – at the time many marveled at what the deputy had just done.
“Is there something stuck in there?” a member of the Coast Guard is heard asking Fernandes, now aboard the other ship.
The office captured the hug through the officer’s body camera
Towards the start of the clip, the two boats can be seen moving parallel to each other, Constant seen speeding up to follow.
Eventually, the officers’ boat approaches within a few feet of the ghost ship, to the point where the two almost touch.
“I think I just did, I didn’t even know there was a queue there. Oh yeah, I just wrapped them nicely,” he replies, surprisingly calm considering the stunt he just did.
Another Coast Guard member continues jokingly, “That’s what we needed 45 minutes ago.”
The joke makes the deputy and the other officers at the scene laugh.
Costant is then heard hailing his partner for his actions – telling him ‘good job’ – although Fernandes, who only joined the force in 2021, seemed to ignore the praise. As a true hero, he rather compliments his assistant colleague for her conduct.
During the back and forth, a member of the Coast Guard is heard saying, “That was pretty bad a**.”
Then, seemingly without hesitation, Fernandes takes the plunge
Once on the boat, Ferndandes – who has only been with the force for two years – was able to stop him. The driver was rescued by an anonymous ‘good Samaritan’
After the ordeal, Fernandes’ assistant partner, Deputy Costant, is heard hailing his partner for his heroism – telling him “good job” – although Fernandes, who only joined the force in 2021, seemed ignore the praise. A Coast Guard member is then heard saying, “That was pretty bad a**”
As for the fate of the driver, cops said he fell from the boat, but did not say how.
In a statement, they revealed it was a “good Samaritan” who saved him, the sheriff’s office said.
Coast Guard efforts to stop the boat by deploying propeller-trapping devices failed, the sheriff’s office said.
“Always connect your kill cord,” the office wrote alongside the video, referring to another way that could have stopped the boat.
