You're 20 miles south of Key West on a sailboat. There's a Category 4 Hurricane closing in fast. You're having engine trouble. A Coast Guard C-130 happens to spot you and offers assistance.  What would you do?  "Hell yeah, I need help!", I'd reply in my VHF.  But maybe that's just me. 

Here's a report about a guy who turned down the offer and decided to ride out the storm.  The report does not give a LOA for the sailboat, but to me, any boat is too small to ride out a storm like that!  Seas were reported at 20+ feet!  Not surprisingly, the boat sank and the guy ended up in the drink.  Fortunately for him, he made it ashore alive.  So here's my thought: the guy was either hoping to avoid a tow bill, or he was hiding something.  The whole story seems fishy to me, especially the part about swiming for 10 hours to reach shore.

Check out the Coast Guard Press Release.

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