Adrift In The Harbor, Barstool Sports' Dave Portnoy Rescued By Nantucket Coast Guard

Barstool Sport’s Founder Dave Portnoy was excited to take his mother out for a leisurely boat ride Monday afternoon when he suddenly noticed his 28-foot pleasure boat drifting away from the shore after he undid his boat from the mooring and the vessel subsequently failed to start. It eventually led to members of Coast Guard Station Brant Point responding to the harbor to conduct a rescue and tow him to shore.

"He didn't have an anchor. He didn't have a handheld radio. His batteries were dead, and he unclipped from his mooring and with the wind, you know, the wind picked up a little bit today,” Station Brant Point Master Chief Lance Wiser told the Current. “So he was just drifting through the mooring fields. Obviously, that's not the harbor you want to be drifting in with no power, no engines, no way to communicate, and no way to anchor.”

Portnoy gave a detailed account of the incident on his social media pages saying that “Captain Dave was almost lost to mother ocean.”

“No power, no radio, no anchor, no nothing,” Portnoy said. “Heavy, heavy winds and next thing you know, captain Dave is lost at sea. Just blowing, trying not to crash into ships in the harbor.”

Portnoy said he shot off his flare gun as a distress signal to get the attention of someone, and eventually Wiser said an individual with a radio did come in contact with Portnoy and the Coast Guard was called. Portnoy said it was a girl in a rowboat who approached him as he was yelling for help.

“Captain Dave had to be halfway to the Caribbean just rocking,” Portnoy said. “No power, no boat. Thankfully the Coast Guard tied me up, bring me back to my thing, and captain Dave lives to tell another tale.”

"He was drifting quite a ways,” Wiser added. “But somebody came along with a handheld radio, got ahold of the station, and we went up there to check things out and towed him back safely. Nothing too crazy. I think he dramatized it just a little. It's one of those things that, you know, it's a good lesson for boaters to have an anchor, have a radio, communications, and obviously the rest of the safety gear that is needed.”

Wiser said that while Portnoy’s boat never drifted out of the harbor, he can understand the nerves of drifting away from your mooring.

"It seemed like he was having a good time but it's probably pretty nerve-racking for him though because like I said, it's not the harbor you want to just be drifting in with the shoals, rocks, other boats, ferries - it's super busy,” Wiser said. “But he is all good and back home. We are glad he is safe and like I said, it is a good lesson to have an anchor and a battery powered radio or cell phone with you in addition to the required safety gear.”

Portnoy purchased a waterfront estate on Monomoy Road for $42 million in September of 2023 - the largest real estate transaction in both island and Massachusetts history. He has been outspoken about his love for Nantucket, calling it "his favorite place on earth" while confirming the real estate purchase on his X account.