4 rescued from ocean after boat capsizes near Long Beach

LONG BEACH, Calif. (KABC) -- Four fishermen were rescued from the ocean off the Long Beach Harbor after their boat capsized amid big swells.

What was supposed to be a fun outing among friends turned into a nightmare Wednesday morning when the four men ran into some rough waters.

The small fishing boat, named the "Breakfast Club," began taking on water and eventually capsized, sending everybody overboard.

"It was rough water, high winds, the tide was coming in hard, very hard. We tried to turn back, but the water was coming in too fast," said Kevin Frentescu. "Then all of a sudden, as soon as the water came in from the back, the engine stopped because of all the water."

For close to 1 1/2 hours, the four fishermen clung to the partially submerged hull, each one encouraging the other to hold on.

"We tried to stay positive as much as we can, and just hoping that somebody sees us, we wanted a helicopter to fly over us, just something," said Robert Terado. "We just need one person to see us, and once that one person sees us, we're in the clear."

Finally by sunrise around 6:20 a.m., a passing tanker spotted the men and called for help. Long Beach lifeguards raced to the scene.

"They're lucky they're in Long Beach, where we have multiple resources that can help out and they're lucky that all the teams worked together very well today," said Capt. Scott Dixon with the Long Beach Fire Department.

No one was injured. Rescuers say the situation could have ended differently, and the four men know it.

"I keep thinking about the holidays, my birthday is next month, and I'm like, great," Terado said. "But we made it OK, so we can't think about what could have happened, because it didn't happen."

The four fishermen say they are very glad to be back on dry ground.

Authorities emphasized that people should check weather conditions before heading out into the water, especially in a small boat.

A small craft advisory is in effect for Southern California. Swells up to 8 feet have been reported.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.