I thought I was watching a movie Towering Inferno at first and then I looked real close and I noticed it was the World Trade Center I was compelled because I'm a Ty of person that can't stand by and watch other people suffer and to me they were suffering they wanted to get off the island and there was no way for them to get off the island other than the water and I had noticed when I was watching the television I saw a lot of you know the fairies going up into the slips and taking people
off I say fine we could do the same thing I could take people on my boat get in there take them where they have to go and that's what we did [Music] on the morning of September 11th when the towers came down millions of people ran for safety hundreds of thousands of them ran South to the waters's edge that's when they realized that Manhattan is indeed an an island and that they were trapped they were feeling helpless and that's the worst feeling in the world what was a person on the ground going to do buildings
were down there were people laying under the rubble of the building firemen civilians my wife was there and I turned around I says I've got to go do something just like that and she looked at me she says what are you going to do you maniac I says I'm going to take the amberjack up into the City and help she says but what if they're attacked again I says well then that's something I have to live with I says I have to do what I have to do I says and nobody can stop me right
now even if I save one person or I rescue one person that's one person less that will suffer and die everybody about the evacuation they were trying to evacuate Manhattan because nobody knew what was going on you know you didn't know something else was going to happen it was just a you know a Madness on one side and you know and wanting to help people on the other side they were just streaming out of the buildings and the first mode of transportation they saw was a ferry boat that's when they knew this is how I'm
getting out of here they didn't even care where the boat was going there wasn't panic in New York in the beginning just volume it wasn't until the first building fell that there was Panic you heard the building go down but we're in the slip so we can't see it that's when we started letting go then all of a sudden engulfed you couldn't see anything in people were actually jumping into the river and swimming out of Manhattan Boats were very nearly running them over wait wait wait wait wait wait these people wanted out of Manhattan on
out any way they could somebody wants you to go over there every mode of transportation out of Manhattan was shut down all the Subways were shut tunnels were all closed they closed the bridges they closed everything immediately but usually an afterthought in most New Yorkers Minds were for the first time in over a century the only way in or out of lower Manhattan yes we're going to start evacuating people anybody can get over here we're going to evacuate them the process actually had already started there were some boats that were grabbing people that people were
lined up at the walls there people running on the left on the left on the left it's just human nature you see people in distress on the seaw wall in Manhattan begging you to pick them up you have to you have to pick them up they didn't know what was going on they seen the building getting hit with these two planes as far as they was concerned you know we've been bomb I was wondering if they were going to come on the boat if if they were had people with bombs or if they were going
to come on we're a big orange Target in the middle of that Harbor my job is to keep the boat safe the passengers safe my crew safe everybody was in shock running around they didn't want to leave the family they had loved ones running around sitting anybody has a baby nobody has it there was one guy ran from the apron and jumped onto the boat he grabbed onto the metal climbed up right next to the pil so I'm going out there to say something he slides down to the next deck so the the deck can
got him and go what you know what are you doing he goes I'm jumping for my life so you know you couldn't argue with him that there was a small boat that was uh at the lower tip of Manhattan I thought the boat was going to flip over cuz so many people were trying to get on and as I look behind there there were just 10 Deep that's kind of what gave us the idea we decided that this has to get better organized and we better do it and that's what we did so we decided
to make the call on the radio all available boats this is the United States Coast Guard board the pilot boat New York andone want to help with the evacuation of lower Manhattan report to Governor's Island [Music] when that call came on the radio they were coming I was uncertain of who was going to respond about 15 20 minutes later there just boats all across the Horizon literally 100 targets converging on the lower part of Manhattan when we came out of that dust clap tugboats I've never seen so many tugboats all at once there was just
like a fleet of tugboats handed to Manhattan if it floated and it could get there it got there all different size shapes and form I mean and they were zooming across this water fairies private boats party boats I walked on the water for 28 years I've never seen that many boats come together at one time that fast one radio called and it just came together just that fast hundreds of boats converged on the city leaving leaving the sunbathed harbor behind them Dead Ahead the [Music] unknown that was something I won't forget it was just low
dark accurate black smoke it's like there was a big chimney in Manhattan when we pulled into pure 11 the dust was unbelievable and then out of nowhere they just kept on seeing people coming they look like zombies coming through the fog and you knew that they were those were human beings don't leave us please don't leave us here take us you need help do you need help do you need help at that point the Coast Guard said not how many people are you allowed how many people can you fit come on guys anybody coming you
get your ass over here now now come on boats started hanging literally would take a bed sheet off a bunk and and a can of spray pain and paint their destination on some of these people never been in the water never been on a boat before Housewives workers that do WIS we had Executives wait and the thing that was the best thank you everyone help everyone I want you to hold my hand come on board get one time I saw four businessmen lifting up an old woman with a seeing eye dog a German shepherd and
they lifted her up like a surfboard and passed her over the handrails when we would carry a load of people over and there was somebody standing there that seen her husband or wife you know that made us feel even better you know well at least we got two back together you know keep on going you know the guy that works at the ferry he's a a welder his son was on my boat he he actually came up uh he thanked me we went back and forth all day long carrying boat loads as many as our
our boat would hold and it's a lot of people a lot of people you couldn't have planned nothing to happen that fast that quick no training this was just people doing what they had to do that day you forget all about what you're supposed to do what the teach in school and you say you know what morally this is the right way to go and deep down this is what I'm going to do average people they stepped up and uh when they needed to they showed me you know when the American people need to come
together and pull together they will do it I do feel away honored that I was a part of it that was the greatest thing I ever did with my life the Great greatest day that I've ever seen in all my boating I mean my life on the water the great boat lift of 911 became the largest sea evacuation in history larger than the evacuation of dunker in World War II where 339,000 British and French soldiers were rescued over the course of 9 days on 9/11 nearly 500,000 civilians were rescued from Manhattan by boat it took
took less than 9 hours I believe somebody has a little hero in them you got to look in and it's in there it'll come out if need to be I have one theory in life I never want to say the word I should have if I do it and I fail I tried if I do it and I succeed better for me and I tell my children the same thing never go through life saying you should have if you want to do something you do it [Music]
