A one-legged Tampa Bay man went viral this week for saying he’s going to ride out Hurricane Milton on his houseboat docked in the Port of Tampa.
Joseph Malinowski, who locals named Lieutenant Dan after the beloved Vietnam vet character in “Forrest Gump” played by Gary Sinise, explained his reasoning to TikToker Terrence Concannon on Tuesday.
“The safest place to be is on a boat during a flood,” he said, referring to Noah’s Ark. ‘Anyone who stayed on land drowned. Noah and the animals lived.”
The police have already been out to see him, and even Weather Channel rock star Jim Cantore tried to talk some sense into him.
“You seem to be at peace with it,” the TV meteorologist said during a visit to the area on Tuesday.
“God didn’t bring me to this point where this happened to me,” Dan said, similarly ripping off Helene.
Concannon set up a GoFundMe for his friend to get a bigger, sturdier ship.
“Ahoy, comrades!” says the online fundraiser for the ‘real pirate’ that has already raised more than $20,000. “He is the kindest soul, never asks for anything but is always ready to lend a hand.”
Is Dan worried at all?
“This is nothing compared to what I went through,” he told Concannon. “This doesn’t scare me.”
But someone must have reached him. According to TMZ, the intrepid sailor finally said he was leaving the boat on Wednesday afternoon, hours before Milton was scheduled to make landfall.
A representative from the Tampa Police Department told the outlet that they do not forcibly remove people, but confirmed that Dan said he was leaving the mandatory evacuation zone.
