Florida pilot applies some lessons learned from his brush with death

摘要

Capt. Frank Knowles says he owes his life to four fellow mariners and the design of his association's pilot launch. Knowles, a 35-year veteran of Florida's St. Andrew Bay Pilots Association, slipped and fell into the water during a disembarkation from a freighter Jan. 16 near Panama City.It was a perilous slip-up. The water temperature was in the 50s and the air temperature was 41° F, with rain and winds gusting up to 25 mph. The 67-year-old pilot struggled in the cold water for almost a half-hour before a trio of men were able to lift him back into the pilot boat.