A man known for enduring Hurricane Helene on his boat off Bayshore Blvd has not yet sought shelter as Hurricane Milton approaches. During her last press conference before the storm, Tampa Mayor Jane Castor mentioned that Lt. Dan was rescued earlier on Wednesday and had been taken to a shelter. “If we can get Lt. Dan to go into a shelter, we can get anybody to do that,” Castor stated.
Despite the warnings, Lt. Dan was spotted on his boat shortly before 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday, discussing cryptocurrency with someone over the phone. Though the winds made communication difficult, he showed no intention of leaving his vessel, adjusting its angle due to the wind’s direction.
Lt. Dan gained fame through a series of TikTok videos created by a Temple Terrace user, which captured his experience during Hurricane Helene and have garnered millions of views. Before Helene’s impact, he was filmed defiantly challenging the storm, proclaiming, “You want me? Come and get me.”
With Hurricane Milton threatening Florida, Lt. Dan has been in the spotlight again. Earlier this week, he claimed that God instructed him to be out on his boat and announced his intention to face Hurricane Milton without a life jacket. In a humorous TikTok post, he suggested that he had space for a companion on board.
Tampa’s police chief visited him to inform him about the evacuation orders and available shelters. Hurricane Milton is expected to make landfall along Florida’s west coast late Wednesday or early Thursday morning.