A 58-foot yacht burst into flames Wednesday on Tampa Bay, causing thick black smoke to swirl around the Sunshine Skyway bridge.
Owner Terry Ryder, 39, noticed the fire on his boat Destiny at about 3:20 p.m. and jumped into the water southwest of the bridge, according to the U.S. Coast Guard.
A passing boater helped Ryder aboard as authorities began working on the blaze. He was not injured, authorities said.
Ryder, of Nashville, Tenn., kept his 1985 Californian yacht at the Riviera Dunes Marina in Palmetto.
Wearing shorts, sunglasses and a life jacket, he returned to the marina at about 5 p.m. on a U.S. Coast Guard boat, but did not want to talk about what happened.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is investigating the fire, and was monitoring any pollution in the bay.
The fiberglass yacht was carrying about 150 gallons of diesel when it caught fire, although authorities did not know how much spilled into the water, said wildlife spokesman Gary Morse.
The accident occurred about a mile northwest of Terra Ceia Point in Manatee County, Morse said. The Coast Guard sent a helicopter from its Clearwater station, as well as rescue boats from two stations.
Records show that Ryder is a licensed physical therapist in Tennessee. The boat was registered under the name of his lifelong partner, David Reifschneider, who died in 2001.
