Boats tossed by Colin squalls in Manatee Co.

BRADENTON (FOX 13) - Michael Patchkowski has seen both the good and bad of living out on the water.

"The freedom of living out on the water is great to me. It is tough when there's storms. There are ways you pay for it," he said.

He paid for it and so did others as Tropical Storm Colin moved through Bradenton Beach.

From the inside of his boat, he recorded the storm and watched as his neighbors' boats broke free; some of them sank.

"It was treacherous. It was non-stop treachery. I was on my boat. I was watching other boats come by my boat and was worried about them running into my boat, running into my anchor line, I was worried about my boat breaking free. I was watching other boats break free," he said.

The Coast Guard rescued a couple just at the right time. Within moments, the waves swallowed the boat and turned it over.

"Within 10 minutes, that boat had sank and was underwater. Within 20 minutes, it was completely destroyed and was down to a platform from a boat," he said.

Two other boats crashed into the Bridge Street Pier and caused minor damage.

"Yesterday, it seemed to be a perfect storm. We had extremely high winds, extremely high tide and a lot of rain," said Chief Sam Speciale.

Bradenton Beach Chief Sam Speciale said this was a warning for anyone living out on the water.

"Everyone knew the storm was coming. I think, even with the preparation everybody does, you never know what's going to happen. People get a little bit complacent," said Chief Speciale.

Even Michael admits he wasn't as on guard as he should have been.

"I do believe I will be a little more prepared next time. This time I felt like I was prepared, but I didn't know what I was in for," he said.

He is lucky. He only lost the dingy he used to travel back and forth, but he said he won't let anything change his dream home.

"One incident isn't going to scare me away," he said.