'That was a hell of a time to learn how to swim'

But instead of fish, the men and Tuck's three sons brought home a harrowing story of being rescued after their boat overturned in 20 feet of water in the mouth of the Chester River north of Kent Island on July 24.

Four good Samaritans who were fishing and county police who were patrolling the Magothy River on the department's Boston Whaler, The Whaler, pulled the men and children from the water. Avent, who describes himself as a "large guy," was exhausted and hardly hanging onto a fishing boat when police arrived.

He says he owes his life to the fishermen and police who saved him.

Avent, 68, of Philadelphia, has been fishing since he was a child.

"I'm basically a pier fisherman, a shore fisherman," he said. "But it's been so hot I know the fish are in deeper water. My friend (Tuck) kept telling me how successful he was on his fishing trips, so I decided to go out with him in the deep water to try to catch some myself."

The men and Tuck's sons, ages 13 and 10-year-old twins, left the dock at Rock Hall and sailed about 12 miles out on Tuck's 20-foot Sea Ox. They anchored the outboard boat and started fishing.

"Suddenly, the tide changed and the water became a little rougher," Avent said. "The wind sort of picked up."

Avent noticed water getting into the boat. As he told Tuck, 39, of Boyertown, Pa., the news, another swell of water came up.

"It was too late to react to get the motor started to get the bilge pump to work," he said. "The boat began to go down."

The boat overturned and the five aboard were tossed into the water. The three children were wearing life jackets, but Avent and Tuck were not.

Cpl. Dan Sereboff and Cpl. Adam Koch of the county police Special Operations Unit were patrolling the Magothy River across the Chesapeake Bay for the third annual Bumper Bash event off Dobbins Island when they heard a mayday call over the radio around 9:30 a.m.

"We heard 'Mayday' real loud and clear on the radio, which meant whoever was hailing was close," Sereboff said. "The mayday came out that a boat was sinking and there were five people in the water." It took Sereboff and Koch about 10 minutes to get to the distressed boaters.

By the time they arrived, good Samaritans Mike Hoyt of Aberdeen, Dan Hops of Abington, and brothers Ron and Bob Burghauser of Forest Hill had come to their aid on two fishing boats and plucked the children and Tuck from the water.

Bob Burghauser said he and his brother were fishing when they heard a group yelling for help.

"I looked over and they were screaming and waving," he said. "The back of the boat looked way too low. But the time I got my anchor up they were swimming. We got four of them on my boat. We had to pull them up. Two of the kids had life jackets on and the other two men and one boy were hanging onto the upside-down boat."

Once Tuck and the children were aboard, the good Samaritans threw a rope to Avent, but he was unable to get aboard the back of either fishing boat.

He was worn out when police arrived.

"I could tell from looking at him, he was just exhausted," Sereboff said. "He couldn't move any further. He was just clinging. There was no way he was going to get on the back of that boat without any help."

As police and the good Samaritans tried to pull Avent aboard, water poured over the transom of the fishing boat.

"This really increased the urgency to get him aboard," Sereboff said. "He was unwittingly sinking the rescuer's boat."

Sticking to land

Avent's large build and exhaustion were just part of the problem. He also doesn't know how to swim.

"That was a hell of a time to learn how to swim," he later said.

Police said Tuck tried to get a life jacket on as the boat filled with water. But as it overturned, the life jacket got caught in the boat and he lost it. Avent was never able to reach a life jacket as the boat flipped.

Within a few minutes, police and the good Samaritans were able to pull Avent aboard.

He was beat.

"I was so exhausted and just thankful to be alive," he said. "I'm very thankful for those gentlemen who helped me. I'd like to talk to them and thank them ever so much for saving our lives."

Avent was taken to Easton Memorial Hospital, where he was treated and released.

Sereboff said last weekend could have had a deadly ending.

"If the citizens hadn't stepped up and done the humanitarian thing, this could have turned out tragic," he said.

Avent, who worked for the state as an equipment officer for 25 years, is now retired. He said he's seen some close calls on land for his job, but never anything like this.

"I made a vow to myself that never will I get back on a boat," he said. "I'll continue fishing on land as I've always done."

hrawlyk@capitalgazette.com