90-year-old Maine lobsterman not put off by boat sinking

LONG POINT, Maine, June 12 (UPI) -- A 90-year-old Maine man who jumped from his sinking lobster boat and swam to a small island said he plans to soon be back out on the water.

Philip Tuttle grabbed a display buoy and swam about 30 yards to Hen Island when his 26-foot boat, the Queen Tut, sank Saturday while he was checking his family's lobster traps off Long Point,

"I kept thinking, 'I've gotta get to that next rock,'" Tuttle said Tuesday. "That's how I got kind of scarred up."

Tuttle said he was not frightened during his hourlong wait for help to arrive on Hen Island.

"I knew somebody would be there," he said. "I've got a lot of kids ... . I was thinking, 'It's not my time. I've got to get ashore and they'll find me.'"

Tuttle, who was treated for hypothermia and cuts and scrapes to his limbs, said he's planning to be back out on the water to check his family's traps soon.

"On Thursday, I think. I'm ready. I'm going to be. I'll be all right," he said.

However, his son, Stewart Tuttle, said his father won't be taking any more solo trips out on the water.

"He's dreaming," Stewart Tuttle said. "And he's not going to be driving anymore."