TAMPA, FL — On his 20-foot sailboat, 54-year-old Joseph Malinowski, known on social media as “Lieutenant Dan,” has withstood Hurricane Milton, which set a new record.
Despite multiple attempts by authorities to safely rescue him, Malinowski, who attracted national attention and worry for his widely reported decision to ride out Hurricanes Helene and Milton on his yacht, decided to stay in the boat here.
Malinowski declined followers’ offers of refuge in their own houses and in motels in the area.
After Terrence Concannon, the developer of TikTok, uploaded a number of videos detailing his experience riding out Hurricane Helene, Malinowski shot to national prominence.
Malinowski on social media to allay the fears of his newfound audience while Hurricane Milton pounded Tampa, despite the fact that his yacht was rocking and shaking due to the rising wind and rain. When asked if he was okay after the storm, Malinowski responded bluntly to NBC News at roughly 8 a.m. Thursday.
“Yeah,” he said in a text message.
At least 11 people have been confirmed dead as a result of the storm, which tore through areas of the state, but Malinowski remained casual in his communications with NBC and his social media followers.
“I’m doing great!” he told NBC News on Wednesday around 7 p.m., approximately two hours before the storm was set to make landfall.
Officials warned residents in evacuation zones to evacuate or risk death due to the predicted storm surge and potentially fatal winds.
“If he chose to stay on a boat during a hurricane, our office has heavily, heavily advised against that,” a representative of the Tampa Police Department told NBC News Wednesday afternoon.
At Tampa Bay Harbor, Malinowski secured his boat to the pier and said that although the wind was coming from a different direction than he had anticipated, he was still fine.
“So far so good, bounced the bow off the dock a few times,” he told NBC News at around 8:30 p.m. ET Wednesday evening. “Right now the wind is picking up pretty heavy. I’m not concerned.”
“It’s not that it’s scary, it’s not that it’s damaging — it’s just weird,” he added on social media.
As the storm dragged on, “Lieutenant Dan” assured his worried fans that he was safe and uploaded multiple updates to his TikTok throughout the night.
“I haven’t even spilled my coffee yet,” he said on a TikTok story at around 10:30 p.m. Wednesday evening.
“Everything’s going to be fine,” he added.
Malinowski, nicknamed after the Forrest Gump character who survived a massive hurricane in his fishing boat, updated his TikTok followers at around 3 a.m. Thursday morning, commenting: “I’m alive, woowoo … God is good.”
Social media users were concerned about Malinowski’s safety both during and after the storm. Over $39,000 has been raised on a Go-Fund-Me page that was initially started to buy “Lieutenant Dan” a new boat, with over $17,000 of that amount pouring in since Wednesday afternoon.
Concannon, a senior at the University of Tampa who started the fundraising drive and initially publicized Malinowski’s tale online, also announced on social media Wednesday night that the contentious online streamer Adin Ross would be sponsoring the event.
Ross promised to give Malinowski a Kick streaming deal that would let him “stream entire voyages and all adventures,” in addition to contributing up to $100,000 for Malinowski’s new yacht.
“Thank you,” Malinowski responded. “That’s my dream.”
Malinowski later claimed in a different video that Ross had withdrawn the offer because of his criminal record. However, Ross subsequently stated on the internet that he would complete the transaction.
“If there are any funds left over after replacing Dan’s boat, the money will go towards supporting Dan’s every day living expenses and his general livelihood; things like groceries, furnishings for the boat, and maybe even a gym membership (something he’s wanted for a long time),” Concannon added to the GoFundMe page Wednesday.
After the hurricane is over, Malinowski said he is excited to use his new platform to capture his everyday life.
“I’m going to go back to doing my regular thing, which I think is pretty inspirational,” he told NBC News. “I want to be a content creator. [I want to] help people out, give them a reason to keep going, and just let everybody know that… we’re all in it together.”
