Couple sells everything for sailboat. It sinks on day 2

Ryan W. Miller | USA TODAY

A Colorado couple said they sold everything they owned to buy a sailboat and set out for the open seas together.

Within two days, their dream became a nautical nightmare.

On their way to Key West, Tanner Broadwell and Nikki Walsh's voyage abruptly ended in John’s Pass off Madeira Beach, Fla., when their 28-foot sailboat struck something underwater Wednesday night.

"We hit something in about 8 or 9 feet of water and it stopped the boat completely," Broadwell told TV station WFTS.

Water flooded into the cabin, starting to sink their fantasy life. The couple grabbed social security cards, cash, IDs and their pug Remy as they called for rescue.

A ship arrived about an hour later, the Tampa Bay Times reported, but the water was too shallow for it to approach.

So the couple and Remy jumped in, leaving their dream vessel behind to capsize.

"Everything I've worked for, everything I've owned since I was a child, I brought with me. It's just floating away and there's nothing I can do," Walsh told WFTS.

Broadwell and Walsh left Colorado last year after selling off all their belongings, including a car, to buy Lagniappe for $5,000. It took a year and another $5,000 to get the boat ready to sail, Tampa Bay Times reported.

Now, it could cost thousands to remove Lagniappe from the channel.

Even with no savings and no place to live, the couple said they're not giving up on sailing again one day.

"The boat sank," Walsh told WFTS, "but our dreams didn't sink with the boat."

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