JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — As the outer bands of Hurricane Dorian whipped up water along the beaches and the Intracoastal Waterway in Jacksonville Beach, sailboats near Beach Marine were seen drifting across the water. One of those boats quickly got stuck on a pile of rocks on the side of the waterway.
On Your Side found the red sailboat stuck on the rock pile early Wednesday afternoon. Soon, a car drove up to the scene and Issac Allan jumped out.
"It's my life, it's everything," Allen said. "My home."
Allan had gotten a call earlier from his friend who was staying at the marina. He had been staying with his girlfriend and their dog at a hotel in Jacksonville to ride out the storm.
"I woke up and raced here as soon as possible," Allan said.
Allan jumped on the boat and began maneuvering to try and get the anchor loose.
"I came to the boat and we were over there aground," Allan said. "I was doing my best to lift the anchor and get us to where we were so I could drift out more, but I couldn't do it."
As Allan jumped in the water to start pushing the boat, people nearby began to stop their cars and get in the water to help. Soon, multiple people were in the water pushing the boat.
"I've shaken every man's hand that came to help me," Allan said. "It's a blessing for everyone to help."
The group eventually freed the boat from the pile, but it drifted to another rocky area under the bridge soon after.
Now, Allan will have to take the boat downriver. There, he will inspect it for any structural damage.
"I'm just gonna sit here and hopefully once the storm dies down a little bit, we'll push her off and get anchored out down there, down the river," Allan said.
At least two other sailboats were seen loose in the water, with one later coming to rest in the same area where Allan's was found.
Allan said the boat is his home, and that he had sold his other boat to buy this one.
"I bought it, I just got done paying it off," Allan said. "Me and my girlfriend and my dog had been staying on it. It's everything."
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