GREENSBURG (KDKA) — Two men from the Pittsburgh area were rescued from a sinking fishing boat in the Atlantic Ocean.

John Wargofchik, of Greensburg, and Albert Kristoff, of Glenshaw, were on “Southern Comfort,” a $400,000 38-foot fishing boat near Barnegat Light, N.J.

“I was pretty much looking into the face of death,” Wargofchik said. “The boat’s going down, I’m a fairly accomplished swimmer, but with these rocks in play, you’re doomed.”

Kristoff and Wargofchik were entertaining customers from their company, KT Grant. Minutes into their fishing trip, the boat struck some rocks and started to sink.

“We found a raft and nobody know how to open it,” Wargofchik said. “I remember – I think it was from ‘The Perfect Storm’ or something – I remember somebody pulling a cord, so I pulled the cord, this thing blows up.”

They say the captain panicked and they were left on their own to find life jackets and a life raft.

“We get all the life jackets out and the first mate and the captain really weren’t any help,” Kristoff said. “They were in panic mode.”

The Coast Guard, which happened to be nearby, was able to quickly rescue the group.

It was a happy homecoming for Kristoff, but his wife laid down the law.

“No more fishing for you,” she said.

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