Viral boating blowup sparks mistaken identity mayhem for Florida captain
A North Palm Beach captain says angry callers and bad reviews are targeting him after a different charter captain went viral for an outburst on the water. His message: “It wasn’t me!”
RACHEL. THANKS. TONIGHT. A LOCAL CHARTER BOAT CAPTAIN GETTING SOME ANGRY CALLS AND A LOT OF NEGATIVE REVIEWS ONLINE. AFTER BEING MISTAKEN FOR CAPTAIN WHO WENT VIRAL FOR A FIT OF RAGE WHILE ON THE WATERS OFF PUNTA GORDA. INVESTIGATIVE REPORTER TERRI PARKER JOINS US LIVE WITH MORE ON THIS MIXUP IN THE FALLOUT FROM THAT, TERRI. RIGHT. YOU MAY HAVE SEEN THE VIRAL VIDEO. OVER 12 MILLION PEOPLE HAVE SO FAR, BUT ALSO, WE HAPPEN TO RUN ACROSS ONE FLABBERGASTED LOCAL BOAT CAPTAIN WHO ONLY HAS ONE MESSAGE TONIGHT, AND THAT IS, IT WASN’T ME ON THE WATER. THE VIDEO WENT VIRAL. CHARTER CAPTAIN BROCK HORNER SCREAMING AT A YOUNG FISHERMAN WHOM HE MISTOOK FOR SOMEONE ELSE WHO HAD EARLIER OFFENDED HIM OUT ON THE WATERS OFF PUNTA GORDA. OKAY. PLEASE, BRO. BUT MEANTIME, JACK PORCELLI, WHO USED TO RUN CAPTAIN JACK’S CHARTER FISHING IN NORTH PALM BEACH, STARTED GETTING IRATE PHONE CALLS FROM STRANGERS. ONE GUY WAS YELLING AT ME AND HE SAID, SAID, IS THIS THE FAMOUS CAPTAIN BROCK? AND THEN HE SAID SOMETHING ELSE. HE WAS SCREAMING AND I SAID, NO, YOU HAVE THE WRONG NUMBER. AND I HUNG UP AND BUT I DIDN’T KNOW WHAT THAT WAS OR WHO THAT PERSON WAS. JACK WAS MYSTIFIED. HE GAVE UP HIS CHARTER BUSINESS TO GO INTO REAL ESTATE A FEW YEARS AGO, BUT HE DECIDED TO CHECK HIS ONLINE REVIEWS AND WAS SHOCKED TO SEE FIVE NEGATIVE REVIEWS FROM PEOPLE LAMBASTING HIM ABOUT HIS SUPPOSED POOR BEHAVIOR. I THINK YOU HAVE THE WRONG PERSON AND I ASKED HIM TO TAKE IT DOWN. JACK SYMPATHIZES WITH PEOPLE WHO ARE UPSET AT HORNER, BRO. I’M A KID, BRO. PLEASE. THREATENING THE OTHER FISHERMAN, JUMPING INTO HIS BOAT, JAMMING THE THROTTLE FORWARD AND NOW FACING TWO INVESTIGATIONS. I MEAN, IT’S VERY UNSAFE, FIRST OF ALL. I MEAN, THAT’S THAT’S JUST IT’S NOT PROFESSIONAL. IT’S VERY UNSAFE. I MEAN, THERE’S THERE’S SO MANY THINGS THAT ARE WRONG WITH IT, AND IT’S REALLY JUST SAD. IT’S UNCLEAR WHY JACK’S NAME IS COMING UNDER FIRE FOR SOMETHING THAT HAPPENED ON THE OTHER COAST OF FLORIDA BY A GUY WHO HAS A TOTALLY DIFFERENT NAME. MAYBE IT’S SOMETHING IN THE GOOGLE SEARCH, BUT WHATEVER. JACK WOULD LIKE TO KEEP HIS FIVE STAR REPUTATION INTACT. JUST IF YOU HAVEN’T WRITTEN A REVIEW ABOUT CAPTAIN JACK’S FISHING CHARTERS IN NORTH PALM BEACH, PLEASE TAKE IT DOWN. AND OTHER THAN THAT, MAYBE WE COULD TURN THIS INTO SOMETHING POSITIVE. AND RIGHT NOW, OTHER BOAT CAPTAINS ARE ALSO GETTING MISTAKEN FOR HORNER AND GETTING THESE BAD REVIEWS AND IRATE PHONE CALLS. BUT THERE IS ONLY ONE PERSON WHO’S ACTUALLY INVOLVED IN
Viral boating blowup sparks mistaken identity mayhem for Florida captain
A North Palm Beach captain says angry callers and bad reviews are targeting him after a different charter captain went viral for an outburst on the water. His message: “It wasn’t me!”
Updated: 6:56 PM EDT Apr 4, 2025
You may have seen the video — more than 12 million people have. A charter captain exploding in anger, screaming at a young fisherman off Punta Gorda, threatening him, even jumping aboard the man’s boat.The backlash online was swift. But for one completely unrelated Florida man, it’s been a baffling nightmare.Former charter captain Jack Porcelli used to run Captain Jack’s Charter Fishing in North Palm Beach. These days, he’s in real estate. But suddenly, strangers started calling him—angry, confrontational and convinced he was Captain Brock Horner, the man in the viral meltdown.“One guy was yelling at me—said, ‘Is this the famous Captain Brock?’ And then he started screaming,” Porcelli recalled. “I said, ‘No, you’ve got the wrong number,’ and hung up. I didn’t know what it was about.”Then came the real surprise — five scathing online reviews trashing Porcelli’s once-stellar reputation.“I told them, I think you have the wrong person,” he said. “And I asked them to take it down.”Porcelli watched the video and was as stunned as everyone else. Horner is now under investigation for his behavior, which includes ramming the other man’s boat and speeding off in a rage.“It’s very unsafe. Not professional. It’s just sad,” Porcelli said.He’s not sure how his name got tangled in the drama. Maybe it’s a glitch in a Google search. Either way, he has one request:“If you’ve written a review about Captain Jack’s Fishing Charters in North Palm Beach, please take it down. And maybe we can turn this into something positive.”Turns out, he’s not the only one getting confused for Captain Horner. Other Florida captains are feeling the heat, too — collateral damage in a viral video storm.Top Headlines:EXCLUSIVE: No criminal charges for WPBPD commanders accused of overtime abuseStay up-to-date: The latest headlines and weather from WPBF 25 Get the latest news updates with the WPBF 25 News app. You can download it here.
NORTH PALM BEACH, Fla. —You may have seen the video — more than 12 million people have. A charter captain exploding in anger, screaming at a young fisherman off Punta Gorda, threatening him, even jumping aboard the man’s boat.
The backlash online was swift. But for one completely unrelated Florida man, it’s been a baffling nightmare.
Former charter captain Jack Porcelli used to run Captain Jack’s Charter Fishing in North Palm Beach. These days, he’s in real estate. But suddenly, strangers started calling him—angry, confrontational and convinced he was Captain Brock Horner, the man in the viral meltdown.
“One guy was yelling at me—said, ‘Is this the famous Captain Brock?’ And then he started screaming,” Porcelli recalled. “I said, ‘No, you’ve got the wrong number,’ and hung up. I didn’t know what it was about.”
Then came the real surprise — five scathing online reviews trashing Porcelli’s once-stellar reputation.
“I told them, I think you have the wrong person,” he said. “And I asked them to take it down.”
Porcelli watched the video and was as stunned as everyone else. Horner is now under investigation for his behavior, which includes ramming the other man’s boat and speeding off in a rage.
“It’s very unsafe. Not professional. It’s just sad,” Porcelli said.
He’s not sure how his name got tangled in the drama. Maybe it’s a glitch in a Google search. Either way, he has one request:
“If you’ve written a review about Captain Jack’s Fishing Charters in North Palm Beach, please take it down. And maybe we can turn this into something positive.”
Turns out, he’s not the only one getting confused for Captain Horner. Other Florida captains are feeling the heat, too — collateral damage in a viral video storm.
Top Headlines:
EXCLUSIVE: No criminal charges for WPBPD commanders accused of overtime abuse
Stay up-to-date: The latest headlines and weather from WPBF 25
Get the latest news updates with the WPBF 25 News app. You can download it here.
