BOSTON (WHDH) - The father and son who were rescued nine miles away from shore Wednesday met up with the Boston Police officers who saved them.
“When I see those guys, it’s like thanks to god,” said Joseph Azeredo, who was rescued from the harbor. “I’ve never seen in my life better cops than this.”
Joseph and Tommy Azeredo say they were pulling up lobster traps near Graves Light when a lobster line got caught in one of the boat’s propellers.
“I went inside the cabin, then I heard a big bang,” said Joseph Azeredo. “When I come out, he’s in the rocks and the boat is in the rocks there.”
Tommy Azeredo got into the water to try to cut the line free.
“I was in the water for about 25 to 30 minutes before I got back in the boat, so I was already wet and beat up from the rocks,” said Tommy Azeredo. “The boat was on top of me. I was trying to cut it. Trying to do something.”
The 41-year-old from Somerville said he freed the propeller, but the boat, damaged from the rocks, began to sink.
His father, 76, still gets emotional talking about the frantic moments when he could not find his son in the water.
“We see the boat, it’s sinking, turning. We went in the water, I looked around, I started yelling for him, I didn’t see him. “
“I was actually drowning in there because the life vest was pushing me up in the cabin,” said his son. “So I had to rip it off and luckily I made my way out.”
When he made it out, he spotted a floating cooler and clung on to it in the cold water.
“I was so beat up from getting banged up on the rocks,” he said. “That’s what actually saved my life. I swam to my father. I was just bear hugging him and trying to keep him calm.”
Boston Police officers Garrett Boyle and Stephen Merrick raced to the rescue, as the Azeredos feared for the worst.
“I was thinking about my family,” Tommy Azeredo said. “I didn’t think I was going to see them again. I could hear my father screaming for me. It was terrifying, man. It was very terrifying.”
Officer Merrick described reaching the father and son, saying “the looks on their face, you can tell…it’s a harrowing experience, not knowing how far away help is or how quickly you’re going to get out of the water.”
Joseph Azeredo says he was also rescued from the water near Logan Airport decades ago.
“That’s the second time. I don’t know. I don’t think I’m going to have a boat no more,” he said.
“It’s definitely a life-changer…no more lobster,” his son said. “We’ll just stick to fishing. That’s what we’ll do.”
He said the family lost his sister to COVID-19 in the winter and is grateful to avoid more tragedy.
(Copyright (c) 2024 Sunbeam Television. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)