Coast Guard searching for missing boat w/NFL players aboard (1 Viewer)

[moleculo]

Here's the latest rumor I'm reading:

link

I heard that they were pulling anchor and the anchor got hung up. They cleated the anchor line off the stern to try to pull it up. Gave it throttle, pulled the rear of the boat down just as a wave broke over the transom. Boat rolled.

for the benefit of the landlocked, sometimes when you are bottom fishing the anchor gets caught on a rock or something. The anchors typically used are the "danforth" These are excellent for holding onto a sandy bottom. The way they work is a heavy chain is attached to the end which keeps the shank down against the bottom, and the blades can dig into the sand. if the blades happen to get caught under a rock, you are kind of screwed. However, there are several ways to get a stuck anchor unstuck. The rookie method, which, it sounds like is what they were doing, is you tie the anchor line to a back cleat, you drive over the anchor and pull it from another direction. Sometimes pulling an opposite direction ,with a little pure horsepower, is enough to get the anchor to come out. Unfortunately, because the stern (back of the boat) is now tied to the bottom, when you throttle down, it causes the bow to rise and the stern down. In rough seas, you really want to take the waves on the bow, or an angle off of the bow. Taking a wave over the stern can flood the deck, makes the boat top heavy and likely to tip over - that is, if the wave doesn't tip the boat over directly.Better ways to get out of this jam are:

1. drill a hole in the Danforth where the blades attach to the shank, and mount the chain there. Then, you lash the chain to the loop on the tip of the shank several times with some really strong fishing line - 100lb test. When you put enough pressure on the line by driving it, the fishing line breaks and you are now pulling the anchor from the bottom end, allowing the blades to slide out easily.

2. cut the line. Anchors are about $20-$40. Let it go, live to fish another day.

 

[Wingnut]

great info Moleculo. Im looking to buy a boat later this year, and Im printing the above post to revisit and study later.

 

[Fighting Noles]

Listening to them talk about this on 1310 The Ticket in Dallas. They are talking about inaccurate oddities in the story of what happened to the other victims. They are now saying that Will Bleakley's dad is now saying Schuyler told him that Bleakley died in his arms and did not swim off. I've not read this anyplace just posting what they said they heard.

ProFootballTalk.com is now reporting this same thing (Bleakley dying in Schuylers' arms - not swimming away towards a light) & are also saying they'll be doing no more reporting on this until Schuyler talks to the media (due to the inaccurracies they feel have already been reported as fact by the local papers)....

 

[moleculo]

great info Moleculo. Im looking to buy a boat later this year, and Im printing the above post to revisit and study later.

I'm no expert - I'd suggest finding someone far more experienced than I am, and learn as much as you can from them.

 

[Wingnut]

great info Moleculo. Im looking to buy a boat later this year, and Im printing the above post to revisit and study later.

I'm no expert - I'd suggest finding someone far more experienced than I am, and learn as much as you can from them.

Oh definitely, but thats a nifty little anchor trick.

 

[QUEZILLA]

A relative of one of the guys just called into Bubba, and gave a few more details. Not sure the validity, but this is what he said,

-boat was rented

-guys were advised not to go out that far

-wasn't a helicopter, but a light of another boat in the distance the guy swam to.

-The lone survivor has kidney & liver damage from being beaten into the boat.

 

[gump]

Listening to them talk about this on 1310 The Ticket in Dallas. They are talking about inaccurate oddities in the story of what happened to the other victims. They are now saying that Will Bleakley's dad is now saying Schuyler told him that Bleakley died in his arms and did not swim off. I've not read this anyplace just posting what they said they heard.

ProFootballTalk.com is now reporting this same thing (Bleakley dying in Schuylers' arms - not swimming away towards a light) & are also saying they'll be doing no more reporting on this until Schuyler talks to the media (due to the inaccurracies they feel have already been reported as fact by the local papers)....

That's really professional of Florio...especially considering he reported the other day that the search was called off when it wasn't and that the boaters left from 30 miles south of Clearwater in Seminole...when in fact they left from the Seminole Dock in downtown Clearwater. Good thing he's taking a stand against the local media.

 

[simey]

at the north carolina state vs boston college basketball game last night in raleigh at the rbc center, they had a moment of silence for corey smith before the game began.

 

[Moe Green]

This whole story is just sad. Thoughts and prayers to families and friends of the missing.

 

[wadegarrett]

Wow.

Coast Guard blames NFL players' fatal boat accident on improper anchoring, mistakes

by Christine Armario / Associated Press writer

Friday March 27, 2009

TAMPA, Fla. -- An agency investigating a deadly boating accident involving two NFL players and their friends in the Gulf of Mexico has concluded it was a caused when the vessel was improperly anchored and the boat capsized after one of them tried to throttle forward to pry loose the anchor.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission's investigation also cited carelessness and operator inexperience as contributing factors. The combination of errors also came at the time a storm front was moving in, making conditions on the water very rough.

Oakland Raiders linebacker Marquis Cooper, free-agent NFL defensive lineman Corey Smith, and former University of South Florida players William Bleakley and Nick Schuyler departed from Clearwater Pass, Fla., early Feb. 28 to go offshore fishing for amberjack.

Schuyler, found clinging to the boat two days later, was the lone survivor. The other three men have not been found.

In an in-depth interview with the agency, Schuyler gave this account of the accident:

Early that morning, the men went more than 50 miles offshore in Cooper's 21-foot vessel. It was loaded with two large coolers filled with ice, drinks, food and beer. All of the friends were dressed in warm clothes, sweat suits and jackets.

Around 5:30 p.m., they went to pull up the anchor and head back to port, but the anchor was stuck. Bleakley suggested they tie it to the transom and use the boat's motor to pull it loose.

When Cooper tried to thrust the boat forward, the vessel became submerged and capsized, tossing the men overboard. They tried to upright the boat without success. Bleakley swam underneath and was able to retrieve three life vests, a large cooler and a makeshift flotation device.

Bleakley, whom Schuyler has credited with saving his life, used the makeshift flotation device, which has been described previously as a cushion. The other three wore the vests.

The men appear to have tried everything in their power to rescue themselves: Schuyler told the agency they tried retrieving and using flares without success. They also tried getting their cell phones, which were in plastic baggies.

They knew how many hours were passing because Schuyler had a watch with a light on and was able to keep track of the time. He said that around 5:30 a.m. the next day, Cooper became unresponsive. Schuyler and Bleakley tried to revive him without success.

Cooper's flotation device was removed and Bleakley put it on. The Oakland Raiders linebacker then became separated from the boat.

About an hour later, Smith started show "possible extreme symptoms of hypothermia." He removed his flotation device and also became separated from the boat.

The two college teammates were the only ones left. They hung on together for about 24 hours, until Bleakley grew weak and removed his life vest as well.

Schuyler said that his friend appeared to die as he was holding onto him. He let his friend go and Bleakley drifted away.

The Coast Guard released its records on the accident last week. According to the agency, Schuyler told them the boat capsized after their anchor got caught in a reef.

The accuracy of that account was somewhat unclear because Schuyler was suffering from hypothermia and spoke to them shortly after he was pulled from the boat. His doctor said he probably could have only lived another five to 10 hours.

The Coast Guard called off its search after three days of scouring 24,000 miles of ocean.

 

[Sonny Lubick Blowup Doll]

Wow, so sad to hear about those last moments. I wonder why their final act was to take off their floatation devices, as they gave in. Each of them. Weird. Drowning, of all things, must be a more desirable out, than hypothermia and/or exposure. That is frightening, to say the least.

RIP

 

[Toads]

Wow, so sad to hear about those last moments. I wonder why their final act was to take off their floatation devices, as they gave in. Each of them. Weird. Drowning, of all things, must be a more desirable out, than hypothermia and/or exposure. That is frightening, to say the least.

RIP

By this account, it's final put to bed as to what actually happened. When you die of hypothermia, your brain just fails. No oxygen to the brain produces destortions and halucinations.

It looks from an account that was published elsewhere that the second and third guys became irrational, removed their jackets and tried to swim for land, the third guy being convinced that he saw Land on the horizon in the early dawn. The second guy evidently swam away during the night.

When you own a boat, safety classes are mandatory. The instructor will now have a example of how not to free a stuck boat anchor. What the guy running the boat did seemed like a good idea at the time but it turned out to be fatal in the post-mortem.

 

[moleculo]

When you own a boat, safety classes are mandatory. The instructor will now have a example of how not to free a stuck boat anchor. What the guy running the boat did seemed like a good idea at the time but it turned out to be fatal in the post-mortem.

link

Anyone 21 years of age and under who operates a vessel powered by 10 horsepower or more must pass an approved boater safety course and have in his/her possession photographic identification and a boater safety identification card issued by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. A person is exempt from this requirement if there is a person on board who is not affected by this law or is at least 18 years of age and holds a boater education I.D. card. This person must be attendant to and take responsibility for the safe operation of the vessel.

I posted above other ways to free a stuck anchor. I have taken boater safety classes and this was not covered - I learned this from reading forums, magazines, and talking to old timers, and having stuck anchors in the past. boater safety classes cover rules and regulations, basic navigation, maybe some knots, but not stuff like this.

 

[Hipple Long Ware & Peete]

Wow.

Coast Guard blames NFL players' fatal boat accident on improper anchoring, mistakes

by Christine Armario / Associated Press writer

Friday March 27, 2009

TAMPA, Fla. -- An agency investigating a deadly boating accident involving two NFL players and their friends in the Gulf of Mexico has concluded it was a caused when the vessel was improperly anchored and the boat capsized after one of them tried to throttle forward to pry loose the anchor.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission's investigation also cited carelessness and operator inexperience as contributing factors. The combination of errors also came at the time a storm front was moving in, making conditions on the water very rough.

Oakland Raiders linebacker Marquis Cooper, free-agent NFL defensive lineman Corey Smith, and former University of South Florida players William Bleakley and Nick Schuyler departed from Clearwater Pass, Fla., early Feb. 28 to go offshore fishing for amberjack.

Schuyler, found clinging to the boat two days later, was the lone survivor. The other three men have not been found.

In an in-depth interview with the agency, Schuyler gave this account of the accident:

Early that morning, the men went more than 50 miles offshore in Cooper's 21-foot vessel. It was loaded with two large coolers filled with ice, drinks, food and beer. All of the friends were dressed in warm clothes, sweat suits and jackets.

Around 5:30 p.m., they went to pull up the anchor and head back to port, but the anchor was stuck. Bleakley suggested they tie it to the transom and use the boat's motor to pull it loose.

When Cooper tried to thrust the boat forward, the vessel became submerged and capsized, tossing the men overboard. They tried to upright the boat without success. Bleakley swam underneath and was able to retrieve three life vests, a large cooler and a makeshift flotation device.

Bleakley, whom Schuyler has credited with saving his life, used the makeshift flotation device, which has been described previously as a cushion. The other three wore the vests.

The men appear to have tried everything in their power to rescue themselves: Schuyler told the agency they tried retrieving and using flares without success. They also tried getting their cell phones, which were in plastic baggies.

They knew how many hours were passing because Schuyler had a watch with a light on and was able to keep track of the time. He said that around 5:30 a.m. the next day, Cooper became unresponsive. Schuyler and Bleakley tried to revive him without success.

Cooper's flotation device was removed and Bleakley put it on. The Oakland Raiders linebacker then became separated from the boat.

About an hour later, Smith started show "possible extreme symptoms of hypothermia." He removed his flotation device and also became separated from the boat.

The two college teammates were the only ones left. They hung on together for about 24 hours, until Bleakley grew weak and removed his life vest as well.

Schuyler said that his friend appeared to die as he was holding onto him. He let his friend go and Bleakley drifted away.

The Coast Guard released its records on the accident last week. According to the agency, Schuyler told them the boat capsized after their anchor got caught in a reef.

The accuracy of that account was somewhat unclear because Schuyler was suffering from hypothermia and spoke to them shortly after he was pulled from the boat. His doctor said he probably could have only lived another five to 10 hours.

The Coast Guard called off its search after three days of scouring 24,000 miles of ocean.

also makes a case for at least one waterproof cellphone on board, preferably one that floats.

 

[Norseman]

also makes a case for at least one waterproof cellphone on board, preferably one that floats.

I am pretty sure that most cell phones wouldn't work 50 miles out in the gulf of Mexico.

 

[moleculo]

also makes a case for at least one waterproof cellphone on board, preferably one that floats.

I am pretty sure that most cell phones wouldn't work 50 miles out in the gulf of Mexico.

I'm positive they would not.

 

[moleculo]

When you own a boat, safety classes are mandatory. The instructor will now have a example of how not to free a stuck boat anchor. What the guy running the boat did seemed like a good idea at the time but it turned out to be fatal in the post-mortem.

link

Anyone 21 years of age and under who operates a vessel powered by 10 horsepower or more must pass an approved boater safety course and have in his/her possession photographic identification and a boater safety identification card issued by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. A person is exempt from this requirement if there is a person on board who is not affected by this law or is at least 18 years of age and holds a boater education I.D. card. This person must be attendant to and take responsibility for the safe operation of the vessel.

I posted above other ways to free a stuck anchor. I have taken boater safety classes and this was not covered - I learned this from reading forums, magazines, and talking to old timers, and having stuck anchors in the past. boater safety classes cover rules and regulations, basic navigation, maybe some knots, but not stuff like this.

I also wanted to add - getting an anchor unstruck like they did isn't inherently dangerous - I've done it many times. The problem was rough seas - that makes this maneuver especially dangerous.The real problem here is that the weather forecast was for rough seas later on in the day, and these guys got caught in some nasty stuff. Either these guys didn't check the weather, or they failed to head back in soon enough. It there's any lesson to be learned from this - it's to respect Mother Nature, particularly 50 miles off shore.

 

[Sonny Lubick Blowup Doll]

also makes a case for at least one waterproof cellphone on board, preferably one that floats.

I am pretty sure that most cell phones wouldn't work 50 miles out in the gulf of Mexico.

I'm positive they would not.

How far will they go?So all boaters, that travel far, should have some sort of satellite phone, no?

 

[T Bell]

also makes a case for at least one waterproof cellphone on board, preferably one that floats.

I am pretty sure that most cell phones wouldn't work 50 miles out in the gulf of Mexico.

I'm positive they would not.

How far will they go?So all boaters, that travel far, should have some sort of satellite phone, no?

They should bring a truck so that they can tow their boat home if it runs into trouble.

 

[moleculo]

also makes a case for at least one waterproof cellphone on board, preferably one that floats.

I am pretty sure that most cell phones wouldn't work 50 miles out in the gulf of Mexico.

I'm positive they would not.

How far will they go?So all boaters, that travel far, should have some sort of satellite phone, no?

it's a curvature of the earth-line of sight thing, and of course, it varies by phone manufacturer, antenna type, and how much power the cell station broadcasts at. I wouldn't count on a phone working > 5 miles from land (remember - the cell antenna's usually aren't directly on the beach - they are going to be inland a few miles). A problem with cell phone communication is you can't talk directly phone-to-phone - all calls go through a fixed tower, so the limiting factor is how close you are to that.the primary form of communication for a boat out at sea should be VHF - that's what the Coast Guard monitors, that's what other boats monitor. VHF gives you the ability to go ship-to-ship - even if the shore is out of range, there's a good chance that someone else will be near by. With a good antenna and a CG VHF antenna mounted say 250 ft high, you can get about 28 miles.

 

[T Bell]

the primary form of communication for a boat out at sea should be VHF - that's what the Coast Guard monitors, that's what other boats monitor. VHF gives you the ability to go ship-to-ship - even if the shore is out of range, there's a good chance that someone else will be near by. With a good antenna and a CG VHF antenna mounted say 250 ft high, you can get about 28 miles.

Of course, if your boat has overturned, then the antenna would be 250 feet deep.

 

[BaBastage]

the primary form of communication for a boat out at sea should be VHF - that's what the Coast Guard monitors, that's what other boats monitor. VHF gives you the ability to go ship-to-ship - even if the shore is out of range, there's a good chance that someone else will be near by. With a good antenna and a CG VHF antenna mounted say 250 ft high, you can get about 28 miles.

Of course, if your boat has overturned, then the antenna would be 250 feet deep.

Not to mention, a 250 ft antenna on any boat smaller than a yacht probably isn't feasible either. I'm not a boater, but I would imagine some the best insurance would be : 1) Knowing your limits (including your hardware (boat, radio) and software (experience), 2) Share and adhere to your boating plan (tell someone exactly where you're going to be, when you're due back, etc), 3) adequate Safety Gear / Life preservers, etc, and 4) some sort of emergency locator beacon so when the coast guard sends up a chopper, they can rely on more than pure visual.

 

[identikit]

the primary form of communication for a boat out at sea should be VHF - that's what the Coast Guard monitors, that's what other boats monitor. VHF gives you the ability to go ship-to-ship - even if the shore is out of range, there's a good chance that someone else will be near by. With a good antenna and a CG VHF antenna mounted say 250 ft high, you can get about 28 miles.

Of course, if your boat has overturned, then the antenna would be 250 feet deep.

Not to mention, a 250 ft antenna on any boat smaller than a yacht probably isn't feasible either. I'm not a boater, but I would imagine some the best insurance would be : 1) Knowing your limits (including your hardware (boat, radio) and software (experience), 2) Share and adhere to your boating plan (tell someone exactly where you're going to be, when you're due back, etc), 3) adequate Safety Gear / Life preservers, etc, and 4) some sort of emergency locator beacon so when the coast guard sends up a chopper, they can rely on more than pure visual.

And 5) Respect the weather and shorten your excursion as necessary

 

[Carolina Hustler]

If this was indeed a rented boat, I hope they were give some instruction and weather info as they arrived at the marina. But an experienced boater may rather depend on his own intuition and experience. I can't help but try and play the events out in my head.

They must have been pretty confident that they'd be able to pull the anchor. Either that or maybe this all happened early on in the attempt to full free. I think if things were getting really bad and my anchor was stuck I wouldn't hesitate to let it go and find a new anchor later.

How do most low-jack systems work? Are they tracked by satellite? Wouldn't be a bad idea to have low-jack installed in your boat for desperate situations like this.

 

[thatguythere]

the primary form of communication for a boat out at sea should be VHF - that's what the Coast Guard monitors, that's what other boats monitor. VHF gives you the ability to go ship-to-ship - even if the shore is out of range, there's a good chance that someone else will be near by. With a good antenna and a CG VHF antenna mounted say 250 ft high, you can get about 28 miles.

Of course, if your boat has overturned, then the antenna would be 250 feet deep.

Not to mention, a 250 ft antenna on any boat smaller than a yacht probably isn't feasible either. I'm not a boater, but I would imagine some the best insurance would be : 1) Knowing your limits (including your hardware (boat, radio) and software (experience), 2) Share and adhere to your boating plan (tell someone exactly where you're going to be, when you're due back, etc), 3) adequate Safety Gear / Life preservers, etc, and 4) some sort of emergency locator beacon so when the coast guard sends up a chopper, they can rely on more than pure visual.

Uh guys, the 250 ft. antenna would be on land, probably at the Coast Guard Station. Boat anchors are kept on the bow for a reason. DON'T anchor your boat from the stern anywhere with potential rough seas.

If you are going out past the where you can see land (your cellphone probably will not work), especially in a small boat you should have a marine radio and and handheld marine radio that is waterproof or in a waterproof bag.

This technology SPOT is nearly a must for anyone venturing where rescue would be difficult....land or sea. The check-in feature is pretty nice.