At a Glance
- Ignacio Siberio, 80, spent 18 hours adrift after his boat vanished while he spearfished alone off the Florida Keys on December 11, 2005.
- He clung to five small buoys overnight, cutting them free and wrapping them around his body to stay afloat.
- A Coast Guard search launched by his nephew located him swimming toward shore the next morning.
- Why it matters: The story highlights how quick thinking and mental resolve can turn a solo maritime mishap into a remarkable survival tale.
An 80-year-old civil attorney with a lifelong passion for spearfishing, Ignacio Siberio set out from the Florida Keys in his 25-foot boat for what should have been a routine dive. His nephew, a frequent companion, canceled at the last minute. Gusty winds and choppy water made the solo outing risky, but Siberio pressed ahead.
The Dive That Went Wrong
Siberio entered the water with his speargun and spent three hours hunting beneath the surface. When he surfaced, the boat was gone. A passing storm front had ripped the vessel from its anchors, sending it drifting beyond reach.
He tried to swim after it for hours. The distance never closed.
Exhausted and alone seven miles offshore, he faced the real possibility of being swept into the swift currents of the Straits of Florida.
Buoys in the Dark
Treading water to conserve energy, Siberio scanned the fading light. After an hour he spotted five one-foot-long buoys floating together. He swam to them, clutched the cluster, and resolved to wait for dawn.
Temperatures dropped overnight. To stay warm he cut the buoys loose and wrapped their cords around his body, keeping the floats pressed against his chest.
“I realized the only way I was going to make it… was with my mind,” he later told News Of Losangeles.
The Search Begins
Back on land, his nephew and a friend had raised the alarm. They contacted the Coast Guard and directed crews to Siberio’s favorite fishing spots.
Early the next morning searchers spotted movement in the water: Siberio, buoy bundle strapped to his torso, was swimming toward shore. They pulled him aboard roughly 18 hours after he had first surfaced to find the boat gone.
He refused hospital treatment and asked to be taken straight to his Tavernier, Florida, home. His wife Gloria, then 68, greeted him alongside relieved family and friends.
Reflections on Luck and Preparedness
Speaking to News Of Losangeles months later, Siberio admitted, “I shouldn’t have been there.” Still, the ordeal did little to dampen his enthusiasm for the water; he returned to fishing within weeks.
“My lesson is you have to be careful,” he said. “Fortunately I was able to bring happiness instead of sadness by coming home.”
In a separate interview with CBC Radio he pointed to one final coincidence: the buoy that kept him alive bore the number 731-matching his birthday, July 31.
“Can you imagine that?” he asked.
Key Takeaways
- Solo maritime outings demand backup plans; weather changes quickly.
- Simple flotation aids-even small buoys-can mean the difference between survival and tragedy.
- Mental resolve and conserving energy are critical when rescue is hours away.
