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A Florida man nicknamed “Lieutenant Dan” – after the character in Forrest Gump – is safe after making the decision to stay on his boat during Hurricane Milton.
The storm made landfall as a Category 3 hurricane on Wednesday evening near Sarasota County’s Siesta Key, bringing multiple tornadoes, 28-foot waves, strong winds, heavy rainfall, and devastating storm surge. Recently, videos by local journalists revealed that Lieutenant Dan, whose real name is reportedly Joseph Malinowski, showed that both he and his boat have survived the hurricane.
Local Fox 13 news anchor, Kevin O’Donnell posted a clip on X (formerly Twitter) of himself approaching Malinowski with a caption that read: “‘Lieutenant Dan’ UPDATE: He survived to talk about his wild night riding out Hurricane Milton on his 20 ft sailboat. #LieutenantDan #HurricaneMilton.”
“Hi, how you doing? It’s Lieutenant Dan,” he can be heard saying in the video, as the news anchor asked him: “How’s the ride?”
“The water’s gone?” Malinowski questioned, when O’Donnell told him: “Yeah it’s going out… It’s being pulled out.”
Malinowski told O’Donnell he was doing “fine” and that being on the water during the natural disaster was not as bad as he initially thought.
“Is the water coming back in or is it still going out?” he asked the news anchor.
“It’s going out,” O’Donnell told him. “You hang in there.”
“Alright, I appreciate that. I’ll see you tomorrow,” Malinowski responded.
Many people turned to the comments section to express how excited they were that “Lieutenant Dan” had survived the storm.
“He survived Milton on a boat he earned a promotion to Captain Dan,” one comment read.
Another commenter agreed, writing: “Hurricane Milton didn’t stand a chance against Lt. Dan’s sailing skills and grit.”
Malinowski had first gone viral on TikTok after user Terrence Concannon, also known as Tampa Terrence, posted videos of “Lieutenant Dan” claiming he would be riding out the storm on his boat.
When asked why he wouldn’t be evacuating the area, he told the TikToker that it largely had to do with his faith. “My faith in God. God told me to come out here and get a boat. I came out here and got a boat,” Malinowski said. “He’s been telling me in the last two days I’m doing the right thing. He’s got my back. I’m in good shape. We’re gonna ride this one out.”
He was then asked if he would be wearing a life jacket throughout the storm, to which he replied: “Hell no.”
Malinowski added: “The safest place in the world to be is my boat.”
Ahead of the hurricane, Malinowski was asked to leave the area by Tampa Police Chief Lee Bercaw, to which he refused.
During a press conference on Wednesday afternoon, Tampa’s mayor Jane Castor announced that “Lieutenant Dan” was rescued by the police and taken to a shelter that morning, but he was reportedly back inside his boat in the afternoon.
