Cellphone Recording Captures Capsized Boat Rescue on Lake Michigan

The boat is owned by a company that offers timeshare programs.

Cellphone video shows the dramatic aftermath of a boat capsizing on Lake Michigan Sunday.

Shamaila Khan and her friend Cassandra Garcia were wrapping up a fun day on the water with six other friends when their boat stalled on the way back to 31st Street Harbor.

Suddenly, the boat’s captain, Sean Swank, ordered everyone to grab a life jacket.

“When I saw the water rushing in very rapidly I knew it was serious,” Khan said. “I looked down at that point and started grabbing life jackets and that’s when I saw the water just rush in under the cabin.”

“It’s so cheesy to say but it’s like the Titanic, where you see things splashing down there, your belongings are moving around and it’s rushing in,” Garcia.

The front of the boat began to lift out of the water just as a passing sailboat came to the rescue.

“If they didn’t show up—no more than five minutes after we boarded their ship that boat went under,” Garcia said.

The girls are speaking out because they want others to know how quickly a fun day at the lake can turn into a nightmare.

“I think all of us—young and old—everybody goes out in the city, in Chicago, to like go on a boat, have fun and no one’s really thinking your boat’s gonna sink,” Khan said.

Swank said the boat is owned through a company that offers yearly timeshare programs. The company declined to comment.

Contact Us