Lieutenant Dan defying the odds.
All the haters said he couldn’t do it, and all of the meteorologists and authorities in Tampa said this Florida Man had a death wish. But guess what? Joseph Malinowski (A.K.A. Lieutenant Dan) made it through the night and successfully survived Hurricane Milton in his 20-foot sailboat.
You love to see an underdog story.
When the hurricane hit the coast of Florida, it was classified as a category 3 storm. Obviously that’s still a strong storm, but nothing close to what some were fearing as Milton spun around and powered up in the Gulf of Mexico. Some were saying the winds would be so strong that it could be considered a category 6 – which actually doesn’t exist on the scale. Also, based on where Lt. Dan was parked, and where the hurricane hit, it seems like the worst of it was a little south of him.
Regardless of what the weather men and women were saying, Lieutenant Dan was determined to stay in his boat in the Tampa Harbor and ride it out. The Florida Man insisted that God wanted him to be there, and that a boat would be the safest place to be when the water started to rise. And considering he rode the storm out and the S.S. Florida Man is still okay… I guess he was somewhat right?
The first update we got after the worst of the storm had moved through was around midnight last night in Tampa, when a NewsNation correspondent wandered out onto the dock where Lieutenant Dan had his boat tied up to check on him:
Lieutenant Dan is okay! pic.twitter.com/0uthxRigRT
— Brian Entin (@BrianEntin) October 10, 2024
And just a short time ago, someone with a view of the dock where Lieutenant Dan has been tied to ride out Hurricane Milton (and Hurricane Helene) took a video and posted it, which seemed to show the sailboat in good condition, and most importantly still afloat.
The hurricane weakening to a category 3, along with the worst of it hitting a bit north of Tampa, undoubtedly helped Malinowski brave the weather in his boat.
@seashells420 Lieutenant Dan lives!#hurricanemilton #fyp #LieutenantDan #tampa ♬ original sound – Barefoot420
Lieutenant Dan beat the hurricane… so that means he’s going to either have a feature film made about him, or he’s going to have his own podcast by the end of the year. That’s just how these things work now.
But before people start seeing more Lieutenant Dan than they can handle, they are celebrating that the Florida Man willingly braved a category 3 hurricane in a small sailboat and lived to tell the tale:
Me seeing Florida Lieutenant Dan is okay after Hurricane Milton pic.twitter.com/Qoguq25qDY
— Conald Peterson (@WhyGarth) October 10, 2024
Put Lieutenant Dan and this person together and they can go through ANY STORM pic.twitter.com/96uChiG7b2
— Scott (@Scottgolfguy76) October 10, 2024
I can’t even sit on a stationary boat for dinner without being nauseous and Lieutenant Dan made it through a hurricane.
— Elle Woulds (@LeBitchilante) October 10, 2024
Lieutenant Dan survives! pic.twitter.com/NT2SQTQ7zc
— Señor Charlton Banx (@SenorCharlton) October 10, 2024
Viral TikToker Lieutenant Dan survived Hurricane Milton in his 20ft boat after refusing to evacuate
Now he’s been offered a new $100k boat and a Kick deal by Adin Ross pic.twitter.com/vpWuqEfMwF
— Dexerto (@Dexerto) October 10, 2024
