PONCE INLET, Fla. -- A 45-year-old man and his 13-year-old autistic son were rescued Sunday morning, hours after being swept to sea while swimming in Ponce Inlet. Both were reported to be in good condition.

Walter Marino and his son Chris, of Winter Park, were caught in the swift current of the inlet and disappeared around 7:30 Saturday evening, according to a Coast Guard spokesman and the Volusia County Beach Patrol.

The spokesman said Walter Marino was picked up by a fishing boat just after 8:00am Sunday. He was dehydrated, but otherwise okay. His son was pulled from the water by a Coast Guard helicopter shortly after his dad's rescue. He was reported to be in good condition "but cold." The father was found eight miles out, his son nine miles.

A Beach Partrol spokesman expressed astonishment that both had survived their ordeal, saying it had to be "devine intervention."

Both father and son were taken to Halifax Medical Center in Daytona Beach. They were released Sunday.

Officials have been warning people to stay out of the ocean due to heavy currents produced by the recent tropical storms. Conditions have been especially dangerous in the inlet channel.