Moments before it capsized and tossed its three occupants overboard, the tiny boat was circling out of control near the Boynton Beach Inlet.
Witnesses on the nearby jetty and docks were waving and signaling from a distance to any boater in the choppy water who could help.
There at the right place and time to render aid were Steven Fern, 47, and his son, Josh Fern, 20, both of Wellington. They navigated their 25-foot boat toward the woman and two men who fell in the water and pulled them aboard, they said.
"It didn't look like they had anything left to give," Steven Fern said.