Lenny Lopez, a Florida native with over four decades of experience living on boats, recently faced a harrowing experience during Hurricane Milton. Riding out the storm at a marina in Ruskin with his cat, Roscoe, Lopez feared losing his vessel of 25 years.
Despite his extensive experience in dealing with severe weather conditions, Lopez admitted that this was the first time he truly believed he might lose a boat. The intensity of Hurricane Milton, which made landfall shortly after Lopez celebrated his 67th birthday, caught him off guard.
As the storm raged on, Lopez described a moment of sheer terror when the winds suddenly shifted around 11 p.m. ET on Wednesday. The force of the wind was so powerful that it felt like being shaken like a rag doll, despite the water appearing calm.
Recalling the ordeal, Lopez likened the experience to riding a roller coaster for four hours, with the uncertainty of whether his boat would survive the relentless battering.
Fortunately, Lopez's sailboat sustained minimal damage in the face of Hurricane Milton's fury. Despite the close call, he emerged from the storm with his vessel intact, grateful for having weathered the ordeal.
