Barstool Sports Dave Portnoy claims he almost died at sea

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Andrew Feinberg

White House Correspondent

Barstool Sports’ founder Dave Portnoy has claimed he almost died at sea when his boat lost power off the coast of Massachusetts.

In a video posted to X, Portnoy recounted the scary ordeal which unfolded when he was out on his boat on Monday.

Referring to himself as Captain Dave and wearing a captain’s hat, Portnoy explained that he planned to take his mom out on the boat off the coast of Nantucket.

But after he unhooked it from the buoy, he discovered both the engine and the breakers were dead – and the boat drifted out to sea.

“Next thing you know, Captain Dave is lost at sea,” he said.

Portnoy, who did not have a radio, then tried to send distress signals with a flare gun and shouted for help.

Luckily, a woman in “what looks like a row boat” came to his aid and called the Coast Guard using her radio.

A US Coast Guard spokesperson said that it received a report of the roughly 28 foot pleasure craft drifting in Nantucket Harbor.

“Station Brant Point diverted from training and towed the vessel to its mooring,” the statement read.

The Coast Guard advised the public to “go out with various forms of communication like a personal locator beacon and/or VHF radio in case of an emergency”.

“There is no such thing as being too prepared,” the statement added.

In his social media video, Portnoy thanked the Coast Guard for “saving Captain Dave’s life.”

“Captain Dave may never go on a boat again,” he added.

Portnoy is the founder of sports media company Barstool Sports, which he re-acquired for $1 last year from Penn Entertainment, after selling the company for around $550m.

Portnoy, who faced backlash for making sexist remarks about Taylor Swift in 2023, announced in June that he had “beat” skin cancer.