Viral Florida Man ‘Lt. Dan' Is Safe After Riding Out Hurricane Milton in His Boat

Mar. 15, 2025

Joseph Malinowski, nicknamed “Lieutenant Dan”.Photo:Spencer Platt/Getty

Spencer Platt/Getty

A Tampa man nicknamed“Lieutenant Dan”is safe after riding outHurricane Miltonin his sailboat.

Kevin O’Donnell, an anchor for local media outlet FOX 13 News, posted aclipwith the caption, “Lieutenant Dan" UPDATE: He survived to talk about his wild night riding out Hurricane Milton on his 20 ft sailboat. #LieutenantDan #HurricaneMilton.”

In the video, O’Donnell zooms in on the boat as the man — whose real name is Joseph Malinowski — asks, “Hi, how you doing? It’s Lieutenant Dan.”

“How are you doing?” O’Donnell responds. “How’s the ride?”

“Lieutenant Dan” on his sailboat.GoFundMe

GoFundMe

“The water’s gone?” Malinowski replies.

“Yeah it’s going out … It’s being pulled out,” O’Donnell adds, before asking him how he is doing.

“I’m doing fine,” Malinowski responds.

“Was it as bad as you thought?” O’Donnell asks, to which he replies, “No. Is the water coming back in or is it still going out?”

“It’s going out,” says O’Donnell. “You hang in there.”

“Alright, I appreciate that. I’ll see you tomorrow,” Malinowski responds.

“Lieutenant Dan” with the Tampa Police.Spencer Platt/Getty

“I’m fine,” he responds as he appears from a hatch.

“I think you made it through the worst of it,” Entin adds.

“I’m doing fine, I’m stuck here,” Malinowski replies.

Explaining why he wanted to stay put in the video, Malinowski said, “My faith in God. God told me to come out here and get a boat. I came out here and got a boat. He’s been telling me in the last two days I’m doing the right thing. He’s got my back. I’m in good shape. We’re gonna ride this one out.”

The interviewer then asked Malinowski if he would be wearing a life jacket to brace for Milton, to which he responded, “Hell no,” later adding, “The safest place in the world to be is my boat.”

Amid the attention on Malinowski, his past legal troubles have also come to light.

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In February 2023, he was separately accused of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon after a woman claimed he put gasoline on her while she was smoking a cigarette, a probable cause affidavit states. Malinowski told police at the time that he “had thrown the gasoline straight up into the air,” according to the affidavit, and court records show the case was subsequently dropped, though it’s not clear why.

PEOPLE’s attempts to reach Malinowski for comment were not successful.

Along with posting about Malinowski, Concannon has started aGoFundMefor him, which has so far raised more than $39,000.

Milton made landfall near Siesta Key, Florida at 8:30 p.m. ET on Wednesday, Oct. 9, after passing through the Gulf of Mexico, theNational Hurricane Center reported.

Adam Carlson

source: people.com