CAPE CANAVERAL -- A New Smyrna Beach man who spent 24 hours in the Atlantic Ocean without a life jacket after falling off his boat was in fair condition in a hospital Wednesday night, authorities said.
Brian Wallschlaeger, 34, wasn't wearing a life jacket when a wave knocked him off his 32-foot Albamarle sport fisherman boat around 8 a.m. on Tuesday as he was traveling from Ponce Inlet to Fort Lauderdale on Tuesday.
The Coast Guard said the boat was about 10 miles off shore when a large wave came by about 11 a.m. Wallschlaeger's Labrador retriever slid across the deck and knocked him into the ocean, Petty Officer 1st Class Mark Carstens, of U.S. Coast Guard Station Port Canaveral, said.
About 8 a.m. Wednesday, Cape Canaveral authorities found the boat beached with the motor still running and Wallschlaeger's black Labrador aboard. The dog was dead, apparently from the stress of seeing its owner in distress, the U.S. Coast Guard said.
After finding the boat, the Coast Guard and the Navy started searching for Wallschlaeger. About noon Wednesday, he was found walking out of the ocean about two miles from where the boat beached and about three miles north of Port Canaveral.
Wallschlaeger has two prosthetic hips, which made it difficult for him to get back on his boat, said Coast Guard Petty Officer Donnie Brzuska. Instead, he hung onto his boat until he saw land and then swam.
"He had just managed to swim to shore," Brzuska said. "He's a lucky, lucky man to be alive."
"I'm thankful to the U.S. Coast Guard for saving my life and to Holmes Regional Medical Center for taking care of me," Wallschlaeger said on Thursday in a statement. Hospital officials said Wallschlaeger did not want to be interviewed while he was recovering.
He should be released from the hospital this afternoon or Friday, said spokeswoman Laura Manning.
Wallschlaeger was suffering from hypothermia and dehydration but was conscious and responsive when he was airlifted to the hospital's emergency room, said Coast Guard Petty Officer Donnie Brzuska.
Brian Wallschlaeger, 34, wasn't wearing a life jacket when a wave knocked him off his 32-foot Albamarle sport fisherman boat around 8 a.m. on Tuesday as he was traveling from Ponce Inlet to Fort Lauderdale on Tuesday.
The Coast Guard said the boat was about 10 miles off shore when a large wave came by about 11 a.m. Wallschlaeger's Labrador retriever slid across the deck and knocked him into the ocean, Petty Officer 1st Class Mark Carstens, of U.S. Coast Guard Station Port Canaveral, said.
About 8 a.m. Wednesday, Cape Canaveral authorities found the boat beached with the motor still running and Wallschlaeger's black Labrador aboard. The dog was dead, apparently from the stress of seeing its owner in distress, the U.S. Coast Guard said.
After finding the boat, the Coast Guard and the Navy started searching for Wallschlaeger. About noon Wednesday, he was found walking out of the ocean about two miles from where the boat beached and about three miles north of Port Canaveral.
Wallschlaeger has two prosthetic hips, which made it difficult for him to get back on his boat, said Coast Guard Petty Officer Donnie Brzuska. Instead, he hung onto his boat until he saw land and then swam.
"He had just managed to swim to shore," Brzuska said. "He's a lucky, lucky man to be alive."
"I'm thankful to the U.S. Coast Guard for saving my life and to Holmes Regional Medical Center for taking care of me," Wallschlaeger said on Thursday in a statement. Hospital officials said Wallschlaeger did not want to be interviewed while he was recovering.
He should be released from the hospital this afternoon or Friday, said spokeswoman Laura Manning.
Wallschlaeger was suffering from hypothermia and dehydration but was conscious and responsive when he was airlifted to the hospital's emergency room, said Coast Guard Petty Officer Donnie Brzuska.