'The Bachelorette' Contestants Aaron Schwartzman & Brayden Bowers Rescued After Fishing Boat Sinks

Aaron Schwartzman and Brayden Bowers are luckily OK after a scary boating incident.

The two reality stars, who both competed on Charity Lawson‘s season of The Bachelorette, and three of their friends had to be rescued after their boat sank while fishing 15-20 miles off the coast of San Diego, Calif.

Keep reading to find out more…

“It’s like being trapped and helpless because there’s no service, we weren’t able to send a distress signal at all, and the only thing you have out there is hope, hope that somebody finds you, hope that a helicopter flies over,” Aaron shared with Fox 5 on Monday, Sept. 18.

“I finally bought the boat of my dreams, or so I thought, for it to sink on me,” Aaron added.

As for what led to their boat sinking, Brayden explained, “My buddy Gavin, he got his line stuck on the engine propeller, so Aaron just went to the back of the boat to lift the engine up and try and untangle it… all of a sudden, as soon as he stands on the swim deck…the boat literally just sunk.”

In an attempt to paddle to shore, Aaron, Brayden, their friends linked arms and “started kicking.”

“You think of the next steps…but…what are the next steps when you’re 15 miles in the ocean, in a wind swell?” Aaron questioned.

Luckily, the group was saved by two men that were also out in the water fishing. The men, cousins Chris and TJ Keeran, saw something reflective in the water and went to see if it was a boat holding fish.

“For whatever reason, we came to look to see if it was holding fish and that’s when we saw the guys in the water,” TJ said.

“We were looking for yellowfin tuna and then found a school of men,” Chris jokingly added.

After meeting and competing on The Bachelorette, Aaron and Brayden will next be appearing on the new season of Bachelor in Paradise, which premieres on Thursday, Sept. 28.

We’re glad to hear Aaron, Brayden, and their friends are safe after the scary incident!