What began as a joyful fishing excursion for a father-son duo soon turned fatal when their boat collided with rocks off the coast of Boston. There was only one item that the two could cling to: their water cooler.

According to Good Morning America, the two went on a lobster fishing expedition at the end of the summer when their boat began sinking after striking a rock. The Boston Harbor police team received a report about a sinking ship while on patrol. When they arrived at the area, they couldn’t see the two but did notice a turquoise cooler with a pair of life preservers swinging from it.

It had only been 15 minutes since the two had been in the freezing Atlantic waters, which had almost caused hypothermia. They were thankfully saved just in time, and the spectacular rescue was captured on the police’s body cameras.

The son can be seen in the video demanding that the cops assist his father before him. Although it appeared to be a straightforward rescue attempt in which the two needed to be dragged into a boat, it was far more dramatic than that. Their muscles were stiff from being submerged in the cold water.

“You want them in the boat as soon as possible. And you could think, Yes, they’re right there; we’ve got them. Allow plenty of time to load them onto the boat. “However, if you take a big gulp of water, you can sink,” cautioned one officer.

The pair were eventually rescued from the water, and they seemed to be in bad shape. When they got to the shore, EMS checked them out and cleared them. The cooler, which finally saved their lives, may have been preserved for another journey.