Tioga High graduate among crew rescued from ship sinking in Gulf

For two hours 23-year-old John Robinson clung to a life raft in the middle of the Gulf of Mexico.

Diesel fumes burned his eyes and skin, and 12- to 15-foot waves crashed over him. He and his 11 fellow crewmen called each other’s names, praying that each name would get a reply.

It was close to 2 a.m. on Jan. 18 that Robinson, a senior deckhand on the research vessel Seaprobe, was awakened by a crew member saying “we have a situation.”

“At first I thought he was joking,” Robinson said. “And then I saw the looks on everybody’s faces. It was no joke. The ship was sinking, and we had to move fast.”

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