PALM CITY, Florida (3 June 2008) — He grew desperate when the sun set. "That's when I realized I was going to spend some considerable amount of time out there," Palm City resident Pat Scartozzi said. Already, the Fort Lauderdale firefighter and father of three had spent nearly nine hours in the ocean, watching as a helicopter flew overhead about a half-dozen times. But no one could see him. The water was too rough. Scartozzi, who got separated from his friend Friday morning while spear fishing about 7 miles off Jensen Beach, would spend nearly 22 hours in the water, floating less than a mile from shore at one point, before a helicopter spotted him Saturday morning and rescuers pulled him from the water. Early into the ordeal, Scartozzi tried to lighten his load by dropping his weight belt and spear gun. But while fumbling with the gear, the former commercial diver also dropped the bag he had brought to store his catch - and a flashlight. As the sun started setting, "It just hit me: Maybe they can see this," Scartozzi said, referring to his powerhead, a firearm attachment for the spear gun. Though he already had dropped his gun, Scartozzi, 43, had held onto the powerhead, a small metal contraption that, when pressure is applied, fires a bullet and creates a spark. "It was a desperate, last-ditch effort," he said. "It was, 'I don't feel like spending the night out here tonight.' " Scartozzi put a bullet inside the barrel of the powerhead, then slammed the contraption against the end of his scooter, a small motorized device that helps propel divers through the water. There was a flash. A painfully loud bang. And blood. "I knew it was going to kick back," Scartozzi said of the powerhead's base. Like the discharge of a gun, the base flew in the opposite direction of the bullet, lodging itself between Scartozzi's fingers. Despite the pain, he quickly yanked the metal piece from his hand and watched the blood drip from his glove into his wet suit. His rescuers still couldn't see him, so Scartozzi flipped onto his back and continued his slow, steady kick toward shore, where the light of condos served as a beacon. His scooter had lost power hours earlier, and his hand, which he later learned had broken bones, swelled so much he could barely move his fingers. "There were a couple times when I had that overwhelming feeling of desperation," Scartozzi said Tuesday from his home, where he still was recovering from sunburn and chafing on his neck from his wet suit. His hand was bundled in gauze. The desperate feeling "lasted maybe 10 or 15 seconds, then it was back to normal. You have no choice," Scartozzi said. "I had to stay alive for my kids and my family." The worst part of the ordeal was the "freezing cold," Scartozzi said. "Every second or third wave crashed over my head, and I was just shivering so bad." Though he wore a watch, Scartozzi said he didn't let himself look at it too often, knowing time would move much slower than it felt. At 3 a.m., he felt a large fish hit his leg. About two hours later, a pod of squeaking dolphins surrounded him. Sharks weren't a concern. "They don't really mess with you," Scartozzi said. His thoughts centered on his wife and children, who he realized wouldn't know he was still alive. "I'd rather be in my position, because I knew I was alive," he said. "They didn't." Scartozzi also "talked to the Lord a couple of times. I said, 'I'll do anything.' " | | Fort Lauderdale firefighter Patrick Scartozzi of Palm City, got separated from his buddy when they were scuba diving Friday off Jensen Beach. He was in the water for almost 22 hours and only when he finally swam close to shore did a coast guard helicopter spot him and rescue him Saturday. His wife Chris looks aver his shoulder as he explains how he injured his hand trying to signal the Coast Guard with a bullet-tipped spear gun. (Paul J. Milette). About 10 a.m. Saturday, Scartozzi's prayers were answered. A Coast Guard helicopter passed overhead, then made a sharp turn, backtracking to Scartozzi's spot. The helicopter dropped a steel basket, Scartozzi rolled inside, and the helicopter took the exhausted diver to St. Mary's Medical Center in West Palm Beach, where he was treated for dehydration and had surgery on his hand. Scartozzi didn't say much to his rescuers. The helicopter was so loud, he said, that it hurt his ears. At the emergency room, a nurse handed him a phone so he could talk to his wife, though he confesses he doesn't remember the conversation. "He was pretty out of it," his wife, Chris, said Tuesday. Scartozzi, who has been certified to dive since 1983, said he typically takes a float with him when he dives, but on Friday, he intended to be underwater for only 10 or 15 minutes. He and his buddy, who was still on the boat, could see one another, so Scartozzi didn't bother with the float, a large, bright orange signal to others that a diver is present. While he was underwater, a group of fishermen came to the artificial reef Scartozzi was exploring, so his friend, Clay Brand, moved his boat, trying to get the fishermen to back away. While he was doing that, Brand didn't realize his buddy had surfaced about 75 to 100 yards away, Scartozzi said. The diver saw his friend motoring away from him, but his shouts didn't carry in the wind and strong waves. Brand called the Coast Guard, which launched a search, but with the water so rough, Scartozzi said he wasn't surprised that he couldn't be seen in the whitecaps. "It was a nightmare, an absolute nightmare," Chris Scartozzi said of waiting for her husband to be rescued. Scartozzi said he plans to dive again once his hand heals and he gets new gear. That will include a strobe light that he can attach to his wet suit should he run into trouble again. "You try to make it as safe as possible," he said of diving, "but at the end of the day, it's still dangerous." |
