STAYING PUT

Florida Man Refuses to Evacuate Boat in Tampa Bay: ‘I’ll See You Friday’

Jay previously stayed on his boat through September’s Hurricane Helene.

A Tampa man nicknamed Lieutenant Dan is sticking out Hurricane Milton from his boat in a Tampa Bay harbor. The man, who appears to go by Jay on his own TikTok account, spoke to The Weather Channel on Monday about his plans to stay on the water during the storm. “I know that God didn’t bring me this far for something to happen to me,” Jay said in a video of the interview shared on TikTok. Jay, who is also an amputee, previously rode out Hurricane Helene, which ravaged the state at the end of September. According to Jay, rising water isn’t a large concern, rather it’s the strong winds that could blow his vessel out to sea that worry him. “The more you go through it, the more you learn,” Jay told the reporter. “I’m confident in my ability to ride it out unless it turns into a Wizard of Oz-type situation, and I wind up in Kansas.” Jay reports that he has been asked to leave by law enforcement, but with his motor not working and the high winds, he’s staying put. “I’ll be here. I’ll see you Friday,” Jay said at the end of the interview.