Missing Boaters - NFL Players

[islandhopper00]

Never, but here is how you do it.

You get along side a big slow truck. You keep your speed even with the truck so the person behind you is bottle necked. Then when you see Johnny Law ahead in the median you slow down and pull over into the right lane behind the truck.

The person you were holding up will fly past you at wide open throttle.



Works like a charm!

Shucks!!!! I went trolling and caught the wrong fish! LOL!!
So that's how I've been getting goat roped into a ticket.

 

[Asureyez]

Every now and again we'll see questions from owners wondering if they can make the crossing from Florida to Bahamas in the 18-24 footer. The subject of this thread leads me to reall those questions and the answers given at the time ... So much depends upon skipper experience and the condition of the boat. This sad circumstance illustrates the dangers possible for small lake boats operated in open seas.

 

[Presentation]

Making a decision that puts life in jeopardy and then following though on it seems to me to violate society's norms.

Frank, Frank, Frank. What am I going to do with you?

A few years ago I bought a Mercedes for my wife. Those German engineers at Mercedes must have been the last company in the freaking world to put a cup holder in their car. Well they put the dang thing right over the stereo.

My wife got a Coke at a drive thru. The cup sweated or dripped and it went into the stereo and wrecked it.

I took the vehicle back to the Mercedes dealer and complained that it was a piss poor design. The said they would look into it.

The response the dealer got from Mercedes was that there was no issue with the engineering of the cup holder. This issue was with the cup!

Rather then argue with you, something that I can tell will be pointless, I’d rather simply ask something else. Are you German?

 

[Nehalennia]

So, now the latest news I'm hearing is that since the USCG search has been suspended, fellow team members and friends are attempting to gather a group of boats to resume the search. I'm sure the USCG is excited to hear about this and as sad as it is, giving up hope is not an option for some. I can't say that I blame them, as I would feel the same way if it were local to me, but the last thing the USCG needs is 40-50 boats running out there looking for the 3 missing guys.

 

[Presentation]

So, now the latest news I'm hearing is that since the USCG search has been suspended, fellow team members and friends are attempting to gather a group of boats to resume the search. I'm sure the USCG is excited to hear about this and as sad as it is, giving up hope is not an option for some. I can't say that I blame them, as I would feel the same way if it were local to me, but the last thing the USCG needs is 40-50 boats running out there looking for the 3 missing guys.

Hey Todd,

I understand what you are saying. The USCG has calculated a window of reasonable survival time, etc. The volunteers are running on hope and emotion.

Of course I think I’d have the same reaction if it was a friend or relative.

 

[Nehalennia]

Yeah, it's been a big story here because Marquis Cooper went to the U of W.

 

[holdsworth333]

I'm curious how easy it would be for a 1996 270 DA to flip in rough seas and then what would happen once that occurs? Will the 270 (8ft 6 beam) sink or stay afloat. Just one of those things I always wondered about. She sways side to side pretty good sometimes.

 

[islandhopper00]

It would float like a lead brick! BUT, if you ask Sea Ray they'll tell you it's a hard thing to flip a boat. I asked them. Yea......hard thing.....yea.

 

[holdsworth333]

I just saw this article posted about 30 minutes ago....

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Family and friends refused to give up the search for two NFL players and a third man missing four days in the Gulf of Mexico, enlisting private boats and planes to comb the waters off the Florida coast.
The Coast Guard called off the official search Tuesday for Oakland Raiders linebacker Marquis Cooper, free-agent NFL defensive lineman Corey Smith, who played for the Detroit Lions last season, and former South Florida player William Bleakley. The friends have been missing since their boat overturned Saturday in rough seas.
Authorities were done, but about a dozen charter boats motored out Wednesday, some with friends of the families aboard, to try to locate some signs of the men, according to dock workers at John's Pass near St. Petersburg. Three private planes also flew over the endless stretch of water, according to Cooper's father.
"Everyone around here, they've either known someone or heard of someone who's been lost out at sea," said David Scott, who works at a marina at John's Pass. "It's just one of those situations. Everyone really comes together in times like these."
A fourth man on the fishing trip, Bleakley's former South Florida teammate, Nick Schuyler, was rescued Monday after a Coast Guard cutter crew found him clinging to the hull 35 miles off Clearwater. His doctor said it's a "miracle" Schuyler survived in the 63-degree Gulf water for nearly two days.
Dr. Mark Rumbak said the 24-year-old was in good condition but will remain in intensive care in case there are complications. Schuyler probably could have lived only another five to 10 hours, Rumbak said.
"I think he is extremely fortunate," Rumbak said. "I can't explain it. Some divine providence, I really think."
Authorities located 26-year-old Cooper's 21-foot boat, which had drifted 50 miles west of Sarasota, said Jim Manson, an investigator with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. It took two private boats three tries to right the vessel and it appears to be in good shape, Manson said. Inside were 5-gallon gas cans, a life jacket, water bottles and some bagged sandwiches.
The boat was pulled ashore about 8:30 p.m. at a boat ramp in St. Petersburg. There was little visible damage, although an engine cover appeared to be missing, exposing wiring and parts.
The men left Clearwater Pass in calm weather, but heavy winds picked up through the day and the seas got heavy, with waves of 7 feet and higher, peaking at 15 feet. A relative alerted the Coast Guard early Sunday after the men did not return as expected.
The missing men's families have set up an e-mail address for experienced pilots and boaters to contact them to help. Coast Guard Capt. Timothy Close said the agency wouldn't prevent private searches, but discouraged them, saying they could be dangerous. He said authorities believed if there were more survivors, they would have been found.
Free-agent defensive tackle Tank Johnson, a childhood friend and college teammate of Cooper at Washington, was taking a lead role in the renewed search. Johnson, who played for the Dallas Cowboys last season, said the family has not given up hope that the men are still alive.
"I truly believe he is out there somewhere being strong," Johnson said.
Raiders coach Tom Cable described Cooper as a good teammate and strong leader.
"In our opinion, they're still fighting, they're still battling, they're still doing everything they can to survive to be found," Cable said.
Even if the men aren't found alive, it's important to recover their remains so families can have closure, Johnson said.
"This kid is going fight to the bitter end," said Cooper's father, Bruce Cooper. "And so in my heart of hearts, I just believe he's out there somewhere just waiting to be found."
Schuyler told Bleakley's mother the harrowing account of the friends' fight for survival, describing how they swam back to the boat despite repeatedly being slammed by waves. Bleakley and Schuyler managed to stick together for about 24 hours and they talked about how they would live their lives differently, Betty Bleakley said.
"He said they huddled together, they just kept climbing back on the boat after getting knocked off," she said. "They fought. They fought."
She said her 25-year-old son's actions were heroic, including swimming underneath the boat to get life vests for the other men and then using a cushion for floatation himself.
"That was Will," she said. "Will was calm and levelheaded and would just try to think things through. As painful as it was talking to Nick, it's providing some closure for us."

 

[highslice]

"That was Will," she said. "Will was calm and levelheaded and would just try to think things through. As painful as it was talking to Nick, it's providing some closure for us."

If only he had thought through the wisdom of going into open waters on a small boat with dangerous condtions bearing down...truly sad.

 

[chuck1]

If only he had thought through the wisdom of going into open waters on a small boat with dangerous condtions bearing down...truly sad.

Ditto,
Just wait until the wrongful death suits start.

 

[wingless]

If only he had thought through the wisdom of going into open waters on a small boat with dangerous condtions bearing down...truly sad.

Correct!

My father would say: "You don't have to leave the dock under bad conditions".

With weather radio, satellite and Internet there is no excuse for ignorance about the front that was pushing across Florida last weekend.

Active brain usage is the requirement for safety on-board. That beats flares, rafts, vests, radios and EPIRBs.

 

[hack4alivin]

Correct!

My father would say: "You don't have to leave the dock under bad conditions".

With weather radio, satellite and Internet there is no excuse for ignorance about the front that was pushing across Florida last weekend.

Active brain usage is the requirement for safety on-board. That beats flares, rafts, vests, radios and EPIRBs.

Delete.... wrong post My Bad

 

[Rich122]

This is a tragic event. Being "preventable" makes it more so, but then again most accident and events such as these are preventable in some way, often simply.

But just a few observation I'm sure everyone may be thinking.

1-As Pseudomind asked "captain"? As boaters we all refer to each other as captain, sometimes for no other reason then we don't know someone's proper name. Yes we own the boats, are responsible for all aspects of it's being operated safely, and are ultimately responsible for all on board. But how many boat owners are truly "captains" with all the knowledge and experience that comes with the title? I for one, after 25 years of boating still ask questions in the persuit of learning more and bettering myself.
For the many people reading news articles and listening to the news broadcasts, they invision "captain" as a licensed professional and this will not fair well in the public eye. Vocabulary is a powerful tool.

2. Looking at the pictures of the recovered boat. I see the engine cover is missing. They are secured well and this may point to some type of engine failure, and the reason they may have been out there instead of heading back. Conjecture only.
I don't see a VHF antena, but then again it may have ripped away when the boat flipped. But VHF is line of sight and is only good for 5 miles or so that far out on a small boat. So they may have called, but nobody heard.

With that said, all coastal boaters whether fishing off shore fishing or cruising EPIRBs are a must!

My prayers are with all the families.

 

[islandhopper00]

Ya'll can kick me for saying this or whatever I don't care.

You people are pretty hard on the guys whom we're probably just in need of some fun or needed to let some crap roll off their backs, and chose fishing as the event to accomplish it. Sure they could have made some better decisions but jeeze...do ya'll need to be so 20/20 hind sight snobs? Have you never made a bad decision or found yourselves doing something and realized how dumb you were? Then, then realized how lucky you were that noone got hurt. Do you need to kick them around to make your point of, "small boats don't belong in the ocean". "they should have planned better" " shouldn't go out before a predicted storm". JEEZE!!!! Ok, you guys are so smart and boy your familys are so lucky you don't overestimate your abilitys. (scarcasm intended) Come on, cut the guys a break. They just went thru the biggest life changing decisions in their lives and one will carry the guilt of all of it for the rest of his! Maybe we should engrave their head stones with how stupid and irresponsible they were.

I appologize in advance for the rant, and believe it or not, compasion is not one of my strong points. However, I'm not ready to kick these fellows. I still think it's a tragedy when someone loses their life in the persuit of happiness, no matter how dumb I think their decision making was.

Ok, your turn, kick me.

 

[hack4alivin]

Ya'll can kick me for saying this or whatever I don't care.

You people are pretty hard on the guys whom we're probably just in need of some fun or needed to let some crap roll off their backs, and chose fishing as the event to accomplish it. Sure they could have made some better decisions but jeeze...do ya'll need to be so 20/20 hind sight snobs? Have you never made a bad decision or found yourselves doing something and realized how dumb you were? Then, then realized how lucky you were that noone got hurt. Do you need to kick them around to make your point of, "small boats don't belong in the ocean". "they should have planned better" " shouldn't go out before a predicted storm". JEEZE!!!! Ok, you guys are so smart and boy your familys are so lucky you don't overestimate your abilitys. (scarcasm intended) Come on, cut the guys a break. They just went thru the biggest life changing decisions in their lives and one will carry the guilt of all of it for the rest of his! Maybe we should engrave their head stones with how stupid and irresponsible they were.

I appologize in advance for the rant, and believe it or not, compasion is not one of my strong points. However, I'm not ready to kick these fellows. I still think it's a tragedy when someone loses their life in the persuit of happiness, no matter how dumb I think their decision making was.

Ok, your turn, kick me.

No kicking here, I completely agree with you. That was the reason behind my post on “Are you prepared”. Things happen, accidents happen, there is no turning back the clock. You can’t guess on what happened, you can judge what happened, and most of all you can’t change what happened. The only thing we can do is to learn from it. I will tell you, it made me think!

 

[Presentation]

ya'll can kick me for saying this or whatever i don't care.

You people are pretty hard on the guys whom we're probably just in need of some fun or needed to let some crap roll off their backs, and chose fishing as the event to accomplish it. Sure they could have made some better decisions but jeeze...do ya'll need to be so 20/20 hind sight snobs? Have you never made a bad decision or found yourselves doing something and realized how dumb you were? Then, then realized how lucky you were that noone got hurt. Do you need to kick them around to make your point of, "small boats don't belong in the ocean". "they should have planned better" " shouldn't go out before a predicted storm". Jeeze!!!! Ok, you guys are so smart and boy your familys are so lucky you don't overestimate your abilitys. (scarcasm intended) come on, cut the guys a break. They just went thru the biggest life changing decisions in their lives and one will carry the guilt of all of it for the rest of his! Maybe we should engrave their head stones with how stupid and irresponsible they were.

I appologize in advance for the rant, and believe it or not, compasion is not one of my strong points. However, i'm not ready to kick these fellows. I still think it's a tragedy when someone loses their life in the persuit of happiness, no matter how dumb i think their decision making was.

Ok, your turn, kick me.

+1

 

[unlvrebel]

Ya'll can kick me for saying this or whatever I don't care.

You people are pretty hard on the guys whom we're probably just in need of some fun or needed to let some crap roll off their backs, and chose fishing as the event to accomplish it. Sure they could have made some better decisions but jeeze...do ya'll need to be so 20/20 hind sight snobs? Have you never made a bad decision or found yourselves doing something and realized how dumb you were? Then, then realized how lucky you were that noone got hurt. Do you need to kick them around to make your point of, "small boats don't belong in the ocean". "they should have planned better" " shouldn't go out before a predicted storm". JEEZE!!!! Ok, you guys are so smart and boy your familys are so lucky you don't overestimate your abilitys. (scarcasm intended) Come on, cut the guys a break. They just went thru the biggest life changing decisions in their lives and one will carry the guilt of all of it for the rest of his! Maybe we should engrave their head stones with how stupid and irresponsible they were.

I appologize in advance for the rant, and believe it or not, compasion is not one of my strong points. However, I'm not ready to kick these fellows. I still think it's a tragedy when someone loses their life in the persuit of happiness, no matter how dumb I think their decision making was.

Ok, your turn, kick me.

OK, I'll kick. Would you feel the same way if they had went drinking, drove home and got into an accident? That is certainly a tragedy. Would be pretty life changing too. And most folks response to a D&D would be the responses that the majority gave here.

Like I said, I feel for these families losses. I really do. BUT, it was poor, poor judgement. They should have chosen something else to blow off steam. There was a complete lack of respect for mother ocean here. Have I done stupid things and made it through? You bet. I am far from perfect. Ask my wife. Should the fact that I made it through allow me to be subjected to a lesser standard or greater standard of scrutiny simply because I got lucky? No. We learn from stupid mistakes. I generally try not make life-threatening stupid mistakes.

Let me look at it another way... If the engine had blow up (through no lack of maintenance) and killed these kids, you bet I would feel nothing but sorrow and sadness for them. Same as the victim of a drunk driver. But this was PREVENTABLE. That is the difference.

 

[wingless]

Four adults walked into a stiff wind from the parking lot to their small boat. They then cast off and endured crashing waves and spray while underway. Then things got even worse.

At any time any one of them could have decided to not leave or decided to turn around and return to safety.

It is horrible and sad, but momma nature is unforgiving.

Understanding the failures of this event is as important as the FAA determining why flight failures occur, so learning and problem prevention may be applied.

 

[islandhopper00]

unlvrebel, I guess I feel differently between drunk driving and bad decisions. Drunk driving is a bad decision but generally they hurt themselves AND/OR other innocent people around them. In this bad decision, or most likely overconfidence, they hurt themselves. Now if going out into the ocean somehow hurt other unsuspecting persons beyond the obvious people involved and family members, then I might feel differently.
I take small boats into the ocean and to the islands regularly, but...BUT, I recognize the danger, and plan accordingly. Does that mean it won't happen to me. No! I would hope the good people around me would say he knew the dangers, did his best to be prepared but Shit happens. At least he died doing something he loved!
I lost my brother to a boat trip to the islands, doesn't stop me, and never once did I kick him around, because he did eveything in his power to be prepared. Boat didn't get him, weatehr didn't get him, PIRATES got him. Maybe we should kick all the good folks whom travel to the islands by boat because they are so stupid that they think it can't happen to them. OR how about the people whom were trying to sell their yacht and on the check out trip the buyers overpowered them and tied them to the anchor and dumped them over the side. How stupid are they?

Wingless.....you wonder why folks have a bad opinion of you.....huh.

I'll stop, I'm getting all worked up. Ya'll got me!