Gasoline on boats.

Do you have an atomic 4 ?
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By Ryan Mills (Contact)

Wednesday, January 24, 2007

Jonah Stringfield's head popped out of the water on Monday afternoon
and he immediately began scanning the horizon.

In the distance he saw his good friend and boss, Cameron Elliott of
Naples, floating lifelessly.

"He didn't look like he was moving at all," Stringfield said.

Moments earlier Stringfield, 22, and Elliott, 35, were preparing to
take Elliott's 42-foot sailboat, the Ocean Song, back to the Marco
River Marina. They had spent some time that sunny afternoon playing in
the water about three miles offshore in Big Marco Pass and taking
turns towing each other in a yellow dinghy they had tied behind the
sailboat.

Stringfield said he's been working with Elliott's company, Island
Magic Contracting, for about a year.

Just after 2 p.m. they decided to head in.

For most of the afternoon, Stringfield said, they had been sailing.
But they were having trouble getting the main sail up, so Elliott
decided to use the motor. Stringfield said he was standing in the back
of the boat pulling in ropes while Elliott tried to start the engine,
which they had been having trouble with earlier that afternoon.

"As I'm pulling the ropes on the boat, the next thing I know I'm being
blown into the water," Stringfield said. "When I came up I was looking
around and I jumped in the life raft on the back of the boat. At that
time I saw Cameron in the water."

Stringfield pulled the dinghy up to the sailboat, where it was still
tied, untied the knot and pushed himself away, he said.

"As fast as I could I pulled Cameron out of the water," Stringfield
said. "After I pulled him into the boat, all he was saying was, 'What
happened? I'm hurt.'¤"

"I didn't know what to do," Stringfield said.

Captain Robert Fiermonti of Six Chuter Charters was out in Big Marco
Pass fishing with two other men when he heard the explosion in the
distance. Fiermonti, who knows both Elliott and Stringfield because
they docked Elliott's sailboat near his, said he pointed out to
Elliott that afternoon that his engine was smoking a little too much.

Elliott yelled back to him that he had a fire extinguisher on board,
Fiermonti said.

"They were basically burning some old fuel out of the tank because
it's been sitting for a while," Fiermonti said. "All of the safety
gear was in order. The fire extinguisher was there. They had a little
trouble getting the boat started."

When Fiermonti heard the explosion he immediately cut all the fishing
lines and headed off to help. Stringfield said he didn't know how long
it took Fiermonti to get there, but said "it was pretty fast."

When Fiermonti's boat arrived on scene, he and his passengers worked
to move the yellow dinghy away from the burning sailboat, he said.

"The fuel was in the water and we didn't want our boat to go up,"
Fiermonti said. "We started towing them away."

One of the men on Fiermonti's boat was talking with the U.S. Coast
Guard, who gave them permission to bring Stringfield and Elliott
aboard, Fiermonti said. Stringfield said he got aboard first.

"At first I went in there and I assisted in helping the other guys
bring Cameron into the boat, the big boat that came and got us,"
Stringfield said.

The Sheriff's Office escorted Fiermonti's boat into the Snook Inn,
1215 Bald Eagle Drive, where Stringfield and Elliott were treated by
paramedics. Elliott was eventually taken to Tampa General Hospital via
air ambulance with second- and third-degree burns on his arms, legs,
chest and face.

Hospital officials said Tuesday night that Elliott, who has a wife and
two children, remained in critical condition.

"It was as bad as it sounds," Fiermonti said. "He'll be in the
hospital for a long time if he makes it through. The guy is a great
guy."

Stringfield only suffered minor burns on his armpits and on his back,
and received one stitch in the back of his head, he said.

"I'm traumatized just seeing my friend get burned up so bad,"
Stringfield said. "I send the best out to his family. I know his wife
and kids must be taking it hard."

Elliott had been restoring the 35-year-old sailboat for about eight
months, Stringfield and Fiermonti said. They both described the vessel
as his dream boat. Elliott also had another boat he was restoring,
they said.

"He definitely is an experienced mechanic and an experienced boater,"
said Dani Mochella, spokeswoman for the Florida Fish and Wildlife
Conservation Commission. The FWC is the lead agency investigating the
explosion.

She said that reports that there was a third person on the boat when
it exploded were incorrect.

"It appears this was just a terrible accident," Moschella said.

Two boats from the Marco Island and Isles of Capri fire departments
extinguished the fire on the sailboat, which eventually sunk in the
Marco River while Sea Tow of Marco Island attempted to tow it back to
shore. It is still unclear why the boat exploded, Moschella said.

"That's a basic tenant of boating safety, to make sure everything on
your boat works before you go out in the water," Moschella said.
"Sometimes you can't tell by looking at the equipment if there is
going to be a problem. Mr. Elliott may have done a complete safety
check and this happened anyway."

John McLaughlin, owner of Sea Tow Marco Island, said it hasn't been
determined if anyone is going to retrieve the sailboat.

"I know they are contemplating whether to leave it or take it,"
McLaughlin said. "I guess they're trying to determine if it is a
hazardous situation."

Elliott is the son of longtime Marco Island residents Gary and Sandra
Elliott. Gary Elliott is president-elect of the Marco Island Area
Chamber of Commerce. The Elliotts are owners of Interiors, Interiors,
Interiors on North Collier Boulevard.