Abandoned boat drifts 200 miles to Galveston, after stranding boaters near Louisiana

GALVESTON, TX (KTRK) -- The story behind a boat, which washed ashore in Jamaica Beach, is quite the tale. Police officers found the 18-foot Bayliner vessel early Monday morning.

They then traced the owner through a registration number.

The craft had floated more than 200 miles from the Louisiana before being spotted on Galveston Island. Tom Tang spoke with Eyewitness News. He was onboard the boat before it was abandoned last Tuesday.

"The day was real nice. There was no wind," recalled Tang. "So we drive real far, about 40 miles from the coast."

Tang explained he and two others went fishing. He said their boat's battery stopped working way out in the Gulf of Mexico. They floated for an hour.

Somehow they found cell phone service and called for help.

Tang said two and half more hours passed before they spotted a big boat. As they started paddling over, Coast Guard helicopter arrived on scene. The three boaters eventually got onboard a ship working for an oil rig. They made it home safely.

"I'm lucky," said Tang. "That's a lucky day."

Tang made the four and a half hour drive today to pick up the boat. He said he still can't believe how far it traveled in the open water.