Posted on 03/02/2009 12:06:36 PM PST by Reagan69
Nick Schuyler was taken via helicopter to Tampa General Hospital. Officials are still searching for former Buccaneers Corey Smith and Marquis Cooper, along with ex-USF football player William Bleakley.
(Excerpt) Read more at baynews9.com ...
That’s right! Always stay with the boat. I had that drummed into my head as a kid.
This is so insane. 35 miles out! How are you going to swim that with 14 foot waves?
And why didn’t they head back to shore earlier? The heavier those seas got, the longer it was going to take that small boat to get back —especially if they were traveling against the wind.
I might enjoy that in a sail boat! As long as I’m not at the helm...LOL! In a cruiser trying to get back in is a pain in the wazoo!
Water temp high 60’s.
I am surprised anyone could survive due to hypothermia.
____________
They can’t. Unless they had a way to get out of the water, there is no chance they survived.
No shiite!...And the forecast is the most important line of defense...I wouldn’t go out in a man made lake without it...Looks like they had no way to communicate during MOB...Sheez! Red sky at night...sailors delight..Red sky in the morning, sailors warning!!!
As amazing as Schuyler’s story is, it’s not a surprise to former Bulls defensive tackle Richard Clebert, who was his teammate in the spring and preseason of 2006. Clebert said he had stayed in touch with Schuyler, who worked as a trainer at L.A. Fitness in Tampa.
“Not even a month ago, I went out there to work out with thim,” said Clebert, who still owns some of USF’s bench-press records. “I’m the strongest guy in the weight room, and I hurt my back working out with him. He completely destroyed me. When my wife told me he was one of the four guys lost out there, I told her ‘I guarantee if there’s anyone that makes it out there, it’s going to be Schuyler.’ He’s that tough.”
http://blogs.tampabay.com/usf/2009/03/clebert-on-schu.html
Manufacturer says yyou can get 13 people on a 21 foot boat? Are they nuts? It is a little open fisherman. If they were 50 miles out or even 5 miles out they are insane. It is a small boat and a single engine at that. It may not sink but if it turns over you are screwed.
4 men and no one thought to check the weather?
No beacon, radio, survival raft.
They could have bought a survival raft to hold 6 for $1500. These ball players throw that much around on a weekend partying. Sad.
http://www.gotheregps.com/detail.asp?product_id=RS1501
Here is one for under $1300
http://www.defender.com/product.jsp?path=-1|135|320549|81609|322481&id=81828
35 miles out.
And why didn’t they head back to shore earlier? The heavier those seas got, the longer it was going to take that small boat to get back —especially if they were traveling against the wind.
______________
It was a fast moving cold front. A small line of storms followed immediately by cold, very gusty winds. They should have been easily able to see the front as it approached and unless they had boat trouble or ran out of gas, they could have outrun it unless the boat was underpowered. When they saw the sky get dark to the NW, they should have listened to the weather on their boat radio, if they had one, and if they didn’t they should never have left shore. Clearly a case of irresponsible boating. No excuses whatsoever that this had to happen.
Boston Whaler... but even a 21 footer would be real rough way offshore.
Hypothermia causes people to take their clothes off in snow because they are hallucinating. They think they are hot.
They may have imagined they were close to shore.
Many times, it is the "coming in" that does you in. Boats handle following seas much differently than opposing.
There is simply no way to navigate yourself thru those seas in that boat safely. The best way to captain yourself thru it is to not go at all.
Will Bleakley is/was a star football player for the high school team in our town before he went to USF. Prayers for him and his family.
That would be a "Boston Whaler".... can't sink em... :)
Aviation has the same guiding principle: 'It's better to be down here and wishing you were up there than it is to be up there and wishing you were down here'.
Very similar thought crossed my mind earlier. The other men may have removed their life vests while hypothermic and confused.
Lake Erie is the one that scares me the most. It’s so shallow and it can whip up to a fury in a very short time. More than once I have chickened out and just stayed another day at Put In Bay. Call me gutless, but gutless and ALIVE.
Can you imagine the weight in that little tiny boat? Not only that, but the kind of body mass that foot ball players have does not float well. They probably couldn’t even tread water very easily. I wonder if they had life jackets.
True. You could blow one up with a 20 lb. satchel charge and the pieces would float. Still wouldn't want to be out in one in conditions like that.
They said that they were wearing life jackets.
I would also worry about sharks...
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.