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Two Players Reportedly on Missing Boat

Two NFL players, defensive end Corey Smith of the Detroit Lions and linebacker Marquis Cooper of the Oakland Raiders, are among four people on a fishing boat reported missing off the Gulf Coast of Florida, according to broadcast and print reports in the Tampa area.

The reports, citing Coast Guard officials, say that the four people left the Clearwater, Fla., area on a 21-foot fishing boat around 6:30 a.m. Saturday.

The boat is believed to be in distress, according to the reports. The waters there in the Gulf of Mexico reportedly are extremely choppy and Coast Guard crews are searching a 750-square-mile area for the boat.

Search efforts began about a half-hour after the boat was reported missing at 1:30 a.m. today, the Tampa Tribune reported.

Both Smith and Cooper began their NFL careers with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

http://views.washingtonpost.com/theleag ... -boat.html

I hope and pray everyone involved is alright.

They will need a lot of prayers. Bad weather and miising at sea almost always equals dead.

I really hope not. As good as the Coast Guard is, it is like findin a needle in a haystack the size of a fooball field.

Jake wrote:I hope and pray everyone involved is alright.

Me too but it doesnt sound good. Supposedly there were 14 foot waves and the wind gusts were up to 50 mph.

I hope and pray that they make it.

i hope they are all ok......

They found one guy, alive. Keep your fingers crossed for the other 3.

BearSkins wrote:They found one guy, alive. Keep your fingers crossed for the other 3.

Thats a good sign. They said that all 4 were wearing life jackets so that is good too.

I definitely saying a prayer for these cats.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090303/ap_on_re_us/missing_boaters_nfl

Well they are ending the search and it doesn't look good at all. They said that the man they found was already showing signs of hypothermia so if they were in the water 24 hours longer than him and an extra night the chances are slim.

Why cut off the search?

That really sucks, in my opinion. Even if the chances are slim for survival, isn't only right to bring their bodies back so that the families can have a normal funeral and have some sense of peace of mind so they don't have to wonder "were they still alive when the search was cut off?"

I know the Coast Guard has been working their asses off for this search but it seems a bit premature. Give it at least another day or two at least to find their bodies.

Considering their life jackets were on as well makes it very unlikely that they have sunk, making it a little easier to find them.

I hate seeing things like this.

This is sad... but, there is really no other option.

There are still 10-13 foot seas. The water is cool enough that hypothermia would have resulted in death at this point. Hypothermia is almost certainly the reason they were unable to remain with the boat. If they were at the point that they were unable to stay with the boat, they were already pretty far gone at that time.

It is not reasonable to ask the Coast Guard to continue to risk their lives once it has become hopeless. It's that simple. There's a point at which the risk of having to conduct a second search and rescue operation outweighs the wish to find bodies.

No one takes more risks to save the living than the Coast Guard. Do we really want them taking the same risks to find the dead?

Countertrey wrote:This is sad... but, there is really no other option.

There are still 10-13 foot seas. The water is cool enough that hypothermia would have resulted in death at this point. Hypothermia is almost certainly the reason they were unable to remain with the boat. If they were at the point that they were unable to stay with the boat, they were already pretty far gone at that time.

It is not reasonable to ask the Coast Guard to continue to risk their lives once it has become hopeless. It's that simple. There's a point at which the risk of having to conduct a second search and rescue operation outweighs the wish to find bodies.

No one takes more risks to save the living than the Coast Guard. Do we really want them taking the same risks to find the dead?

Yes, they really don't have an option at this point. This is a tragic event, but the search and rescue team is to be lauded for their heroic efforts, not criticized because they believe it is beyond the point of hope.

This news is truley saddening, my thoughts and prayers go out to their families and friends.

Countertrey wrote:This is sad... but, there is really no other option.

There are still 10-13 foot seas. The water is cool enough that hypothermia would have resulted in death at this point. Hypothermia is almost certainly the reason they were unable to remain with the boat. If they were at the point that they were unable to stay with the boat, they were already pretty far gone at that time.

It is not reasonable to ask the Coast Guard to continue to risk their lives once it has become hopeless. It's that simple. There's a point at which the risk of having to conduct a second search and rescue operation outweighs the wish to find bodies.

No one takes more risks to save the living than the Coast Guard. Do we really want them taking the same risks to find the dead?

First of all, this is really sad and I think Redskins fans understand what it's like to lose a beloved player, teammate and family member.

But you are correct, Trey. I live just south of the Tampa / St. Petersburg / Clearwater area of Southwest Florida and am an avid boater myself. The Coast Guard said they searched an area of over 24,000 miles with two helicopters and 4 cutters. They searched for over 60 hours, and with a water temperature of around 60 degrees, hypothermia will set in and take your life pretty quickly.

Although the Coast Guard has ended their search, there are dozens and dozens of good samaritans who are using their own private vessels to continue the search. The water here in the Gulf is pretty clear and teal in color, so finding someone floating in it is easier than finding someone in the Atlantic or the Pacific. But as horrible as this sounds, a body floating in the water for an extended amount of time will attract large fish and sharks, which are prevalent in the Gulf of Mexico. So even if they still have life preservers on, the chances of finding them are extremely thin.

On the Saturday that these guys went out on their boat, there were "small craft advisories" posted everywhere and all over the news, due to a cold front moving into the area, in fact, the tail-end of the very same front that dumped the snow on the Northeast. Living near the coast, we get these advisories and boating forecasts every day on the local news.

These guys went out 30+ miles offshore on a 21' Everglades boat. That is a very small boat and not meant for 'open ocean' use. There were reports of 14' - 16' swells and even boats twice that size can't handle waves of that size. I get just a few miles offshore and when I can't see land very well, even I start to get a little nervous, and I'm an experienced boater. They probably tipped the scales against them by going out that far on such a small boat with a strong cold front bearing down on them.

But this is very sad and I pray for their families.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=3949959

"He told me, 'When we've determined there's no survivors, we don't look for bodies,'" Bleakely said.

This is what the Coast Guard Captain told one of the guys father. And if the Coast Guard says they arent on the surface of the water, I'll take their word for it because if they were on the surface the Coast Guard wouldve found them, they are great at what they do.

I'm not an expirienced boater, but didn't I hear they were anchored?

It would seem to me that being anhored would contribute to the boats instability in large waves wouldn't it?

Tragic story, I feel awful for the families. It's hard when you are put in a position where you have to abandon hope. There's no closure.

Even though you tell yourself that it's over, there's still that nagging little voice that says they're out there somewhere.

Really sad turn of events. Praying for their families!

Bob 0119 wrote:I'm not an expirienced boater, but didn't I hear they were anchored?

It would seem to me that being anchored would contribute to the boats instability in large waves wouldn't it?

That's true, especially with a smaller boat. It would also depend on the depth of the water as well. They may have been better off pulling the anchor. Assuming they had engine power, they could've pointed the bow of the boat directly into the oncoming waves. Keeping the boat perpendicular to the oncoming waves is the proper technique for negotiating waves and high surf.

Well now I know if I'm ever lost at sea, they'll look for me for 3 days and thats it. Ridiculous, I think more resources should be utilized, the coast guard needs beefing up but its unlikely to happen under this administration.

30 miles out with a 21 ft boat is not wise. Dropping anchor is idiotic and most likely the reason they capsized.

What I don't understand is why the one guy could get up on top of the boat and the others couldn't?

Gibbs4Life wrote:What I don't understand is why the one guy could get up on top of the boat and the others couldn't?

Dementia caused by hypothermia. All four were with the over-turned boat for about 8 hours. But due to the onset of hypothermia, they weren't able to hang on. A report today said the survivor told authorities that one of the guys thought he saw lights in the distance and swam off, most likely due to dementia caused by hypothermia. The others may have lost their strength due to hypothermia and simply couldn't hold on in 14' - 16' swells.

Again, the water temp was about 60 degrees and after the front passed through, overnight lows dropped in the 30's and 40's. When wet and in temps like that, hypothermia will kill you very quickly and you probably won't last in the water for more than 12 hours, if that. And they don't waste huge amounts of money and risk lives to search for dead people at sea. Unfortunately, a dead person floating, or sinking, at sea will become fish bait long before they ever would find you. Sitting on an over-turned boat is one thing, floating in the open ocean is another. As sad as it is, those guys were most likely dead the next day, Sunday.

And for the record, the Coast Guard spent twice as long and three times the resources searching for these NFL players. If you were lost at sea, you wouldn't get half that attention. It's just too costly, too risky, and the Coast Guard knows the life expectancy out there, and it isn't very long. Once they find the vessel, it's basically over if there are no survivors with the boat. A person simply can't survive floating in the open ocean at temps like that.

Gibbs4Life wrote:Well now I know if I'm ever lost at sea, they'll look for me for 3 days and thats it. Ridiculous, I think more resources should be utilized, the coast guard needs beefing up but its unlikely to happen under this administration.

If you look at even the most extreme of windows for survival, they did more than enough. By the time they gave up the search there was no hope.

But why could'nt they all climb up onto the boat?

Gibbs4Life wrote:But why could'nt they all climb up onto the boat?

My thinking is the 12-14ft. swells prevented that.

Gibbs4Life wrote:But why could'nt they all climb up onto the boat?

Did you read my last post?

REPORT: THE THREE MISSING BOATERS TOOK OFF THEIR LIFE VESTS
Posted by Mike Florio on March 4, 2009, 1:28 p.m. EST


Rarely if ever do I struggle to start writing one of these items. But I’ve spent the past several minutes at a complete loss for words.

Apparently, Nick Schuyler has informed authorities that each of the other three men who were on the 21-foot fishing boat that capsized off the Gulf Coast of Florida voluntarily removed their life jackets.

Within two to four hours after the boat flipped, one of the two NFL players, Marquis Cooper of the Raiders and Corey Smith of the Lions, removed his life jacket and allowed himself to drift out to sea.

Then, a few hours later, the other NFL player did the same.

Finally, on Monday morning, Bleakley thought he saw a light in the distance. So he removed his life jacket and swam to it in an effort to get help.

“I think he was delusional to think he could swim someplace,” Bob Bleakley said.

This news makes the tragedy even more horrific. If they only had stayed together on the hull of the boat, they all would have been saved.

But the psychological burdens of such circumstances are surely very heavy, and reality likely becomes twisted and distorted very quickly.

So, again, pray for the families of the men who were lost. But also pray for Nick Schuyler, who will carry the guilt that goes along with being the only survivor of the tragedy, and that goes along with the fact he wasn’t able to convince three of his friends to refuse to surrender.

http://www.profootballtalk.com/2009/03/ ... ife-vests/