Fisherman Plucked from Sea Has Fort Worth Ties

Tressell Hawkins told his family he'll be a "city boy" for a few days. Not a bad idea since he and two of his fishing buddies just spent eight days floating around the Gulf of Mexico after their boat capsized.

The Coast Guard searched roughly 86,000 square miles before calling off the search on Friday. The men were found Saturday by a fisherman.

Hawkins spent the day in Fort Worth with his mom and family members, telling them what happened over the last few days.  On Monday, he visited with NBC's "Today Show"  and said that they saw helicopters in the area for several days after their 23-foot catamaran capsized. He said, "I have no idea why they didn't see us."

Hawkins said the men realized something was wrong with the boat when they woke up in the middle of the night with water in the boat.

"I had a bean bag just floating up and down the boat, and I said, 'Whoa, something is wrong.' I stepped down and the water was up to my knee," Hawkins said.

Moments later, Hawkins said the boat flipped. He said the men were able to grab a few bags of chips, some peanut butter crackers and chewing gum. They were forced to drink water from the boat, tainted by gasoline.

Hawkins said several boats and barges passed by the stranded men, but didn't stop because they didn't see them .Finally, one fisherman saw the stranded men and pulled up next to them.

"He said, "Are you guys all right? No, I know you're not all right! Get in the boat," 'Hawkins said. "The power of prayer is just amazing."

Hawkins said the men were hallucinating -- so much that at first they weren't sure if the private boat that came upon them Saturday night was real.

Hawkins did suffer minor injuries, including jellyfish stings to his legs. 

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