Anybody see this? Dosen't look good:( [URL]http://www.yahoo.com/s/1037324[/URL]

Re: 2 NFL Players Missing at Sea

this really sucks.. they found the boat upside down, 38 miles off shore, 1 of the 4 guys was clinging to it and has been rushed tothe hospital. at last report they widened the search area to 16,000 sq miles :(

Re: 2 NFL Players Missing at Sea

[quote=coleby761;716394]Anybody see this? Dosen't look good:( [URL]http://www.yahoo.com/s/1037324[/URL][/quote]

nope. they just found the boat. overturned.

Re: 2 NFL Players Missing at Sea

Ugh, this sucks. Heard they recovered one of the other guys they were with, clinging to an overturned boat. Good for him, bad for the others that were not clinging to the boat.

Who knows, though -- hoping for a miracle.

Re: 2 NFL Players Missing at Sea

hey hey captain 5 minutes ago ;)

it was 2 former Bucs players and 2 USF players

WTF were they doing 50 miles off shore in a 21 foot boat

Re: 2 NFL Players Missing at Sea

[QUOTE=Steve Graham;716659]

WTF were they doing 50 miles off shore in a 21 foot boat[/QUOTE]

^that.

Re: 2 NFL Players Missing at Sea

Me and my brother take his boat out every now and then into the Gulf. His boat is 21 feet, and we don't even try to take it past 5-10 miles. The Gulf is very unpredictable, and there have been times that it has scared the shit out of me.

Most people don't realize that waves over 3-4 feet can be a problem when navigating a small boat. It only takes that one wave to turn a fun time into a life threatening one like this, and most of the time the waves are not always coming and going in the same direction, making the captain have to focus 110% on what the hell is going on.

I have been Coast Gard certified since I was a kid, but the Gulf still scares me to this day.

Re: 2 NFL Players Missing at Sea

you can get 10-15 foot seas out that far and higher too.. I agree Dave... I always want to be able to see land when I'm out on a small boat

Re: 2 NFL Players Missing at Sea

my friend down in marco island, kinda near where this is all taking place, is telling me that it was a 21 foot everglades type of boat (with the fan in the back), or at least intended only for everglades travel.

ugh....

Re: 2 NFL Players Missing at Sea

nah, looking at the pictures it looks like the under side of a regular little fishing boat, the trailor looks like it would hold a typical centre consol type boat. it was launched the same place I used to transport people for my island parties. I couldnt imagine being out there alone, especially over night.. sharks all over the place

Re: 2 NFL Players Missing at Sea

[quote=Mariner1;716770]my friend down in marco island, kinda near where this is all taking place, is telling me that it was a 21 foot everglades type of boat (with the fan in the back), or at least intended only for everglades travel.

ugh....[/quote]

I used to live about 10 miles north of the island.

Everglades type boat is most likely a flats boat or some sort of skiff modified for bay and light seas.

Maybe something like this..

[IMG]http://www.floridasportfishingcharters.com/images/hale_boat.jpg[/IMG]

Or this..

[IMG]http://www.hetzlerboats.com/assets/images/skiff/dlx.jpg[/IMG]

Re: 2 NFL Players Missing at Sea

^^^ yeah, the pic looks like the under side of one of those two

Re: 2 NFL Players Missing at Sea

man this really sucks :( If they havent been found by now, as cold as that water must be... it's just sad

Re: 2 NFL Players Missing at Sea

yeah, growing up on the island here, i know enough... they had no clue what they were in for when they go out that far. and now, the search is off.

Re: 2 NFL Players Missing at Sea

if they were pro ballers....why the skimpy boat? could they not find something bigger?

Re: 2 NFL Players Missing at Sea

yup, 21 foot boat with almost 1200 lbs of cargo going probably 10 times further than they should have with a front coming in.. its sad, but for gods sake, you'd think some one in that group should have had the sense to say this is a bad idea.

what's worse is there were reports coming out yesterday afternoon that said they'd been found.. but of course were false reports

Re: 2 NFL Players Missing at Sea

yeah, it baffles me as to why they did that. very sad news, rip. :(

they should haver rolled with t pain

Re: 2 NFL Players Missing at Sea

ahh...they shoult have learned how to swim;..RIP or MIA or something

Re: 2 NFL Players Missing at Sea

Can't imagine how awful it must be for their families to have them missing, no closure and undoubtedly holding out hope. I know Cooper's married with kids. So tragic:(

Re: 2 NFL Players Missing at Sea

p.s I can be an insensitive prick when I am fucked sorry.........

Re: 2 NFL Players Missing at Sea

yeah, that was a bit out of order

Re: 2 NFL Players Missing at Sea

but really these were educated people? 1200lbs and millions of dollars between them and they used a 20ft boat?? That baffles me. Why wouldn't they have at least a 45ft boat? It isn't like they were short on money

and who the hell goes fishing 50 miles off shore anyway? What can you catch that is 50 miles that isn't 5 miles off shore?

Re: 2 NFL Players Missing at Sea

[quote=runningman;717543]but really these were educated people? 1200lbs and millions of dollars between them and they used a 20ft boat?? That baffles me. Why wouldn't they have at least a 45ft boat? It isn't like they were short on money

and who the hell goes fishing 50 miles off shore anyway? [B]What can you catch that is 50 miles that isn't 5 miles off shore?[/B][/quote]

I dont know the specific fish, but off shore/deep sea fisherman go that far out for weeks at a time, obviously in a lot bigger boats why these guys felt the need to is beyond me.

Re: 2 NFL Players Missing at Sea

I used to have a 2000 18.5' Bayliner bowrider and that boat would sit deep in the water with 4 guys on it (average weight of each 220lbs) so a 20ft boat couldn't have been much better with 1200lbs on it.

Re: 2 NFL Players Missing at Sea

how wierd is this.... (from st.petetimes)

Schuyler told Coast Guard investigators a strange story about the fate of the others, according to family members of two of the missing men. However, they said, given Schuyler's condition when rescued after two days on the sea in cold weather, he may have been delusional. Schuyler told investigators that about two to four hours after their boat flipped in rough seas, one of the two National Football League players on board gave up hope and let himself be swept away, according to relatives briefed by the Coast Guard. A few hours later, the second one did the same. "We were told that Nick said the two NFL players took their life jackets off and drifted out to sea," said Bob Bleakley, whose son Will, 25, a former University of South Florida football player, is also still missing. With former Tampa Bay Buccaneers Marquis Cooper, 26, and Corey Smith, 29, gone, only Schuyler and Will Bleakley remained clinging to the boat. Then, sometime early Monday, Will Bleakley thought he saw a light in the distance. He decided to take off his life jacket and swim to it, hoping to get help, Bob Bleakley said Schuyler told the investigators. "I think he was delusional to think he could swim someplace," Bob Bleakley said. But the thought that his son may have died trying to save someone else brought tears to his eyes. "He was my hero," said the elder Bleakley, who lives in Crystal River. Ray Sanchez, a cousin of Cooper, who is a linebacker for the Oakland Raiders, said he was told the same story by Coast Guard officials. But like Bob Bleakley, he cautioned against taking Schuyler's word for what happened, given the circumstances. "We're not 100 percent sure where his head was at," Sanchez said. "He'd been through a lot." Schuyler was airlifted from the gulf about noon Monday and was in fair condition at Tampa General Hospital on Tuesday. He could not be reached for comment, and Coast Guard spokesmen said they could not comment on the specifics of their investigation. Schuyler's father, Stuart, said late Tuesday that his son is "slowly improving. It's going to be a while. He's been through a lot there." He would not comment on anything else. The four friends set out Saturday morning to fish for amberjack aboard an Everglades 211 CC, a small, deep-vee offshore boat that Cooper purchased in 2005 from Sun Ray Marine in Largo. By 2 p.m., a gorgeous weekend day had turned nasty, with heavy gusts and 6-foot waves. The men were anchored about 38 miles offshore Saturday afternoon when high waves flipped their boat, dumping them all in the frigid sea. At the time, none was reportedly wearing a life vest. Bob Bleakley said Coast Guard officials told him that Schuyler credited Will Bleakley with doing all he could to help the others. He said he was told Bleakley dove under the capsized boat several times to retrieve life vests for everyone, along with bottles of water and jackets. As the hours passed, the water's chill overwhelmed their bodies' ability to produce heat, and hypothermia set in. Symptoms can include a gradual loss of mental and physical abilities. That could explain the kind of erratic behavior Schuyler described, said Susan Bleakley, Will Bleakley's aunt. "Apparently when you have that, you're not thinking straight," she said. Hopes for the missing men's rescue surged Monday when the Coast Guard found Schuyler, but then dwindled again Tuesday. "We're still hoping for a miracle of all miracles, but we know the chances of Will being found alive are diminishing and getting close to zero," Bob Bleakley said. "We think he may be lost." Nevertheless, he said, the family had not started planning a funeral, contrary to some reports. Close said the Division 7 Coast Guard, which is based in St. Petersburg, is among the most active and experienced stations in the nation for search-and-rescue missions. He said Coast Guard officials had heard that some people might be mounting what he called "amateur search efforts." He cautioned well-meaning amateurs not to endanger themselves, saying the Coast Guard doesn't need to be called out on "any new search and rescue missions."

Re: 2 NFL Players Missing at Sea

you're right runningman.. as I said in a previous post, we used to go out on my mates 21' boat and some of the swells we would hit just off shore were enough for my liking, there is NO WAY we would have went out more than a couple of miles in the gulf.

I think some people think just because it is the gulf of mexico or tampa bay and not an "ocean" that they can go out as far as they want and be okay in a little boat.. wrong

Re: 2 NFL Players Missing at Sea

This is the type of boat.

[IMG]http://www.boatingnews.com/images/EG211-runningside.jpg[/IMG]

Now, with this type, light offshore is probably going to be alright. Not like the flats boat that we thought it was...This boat has a deep v, which cuts through waves...Not that they should have ventured as far as they did, but this boat is decent for average sized waves, 2-4 feet.

38 miles offshore is a bit too far for this type of boat. When you are anchored and waves reach 6 or so feet like they did for these guys, you better get that anchor up real quick. That is probably what flipped their boat, a tight anchor line and an up swell of a large wave will pull the bow down. I've been in that type of situation, and it is scary as hell when you are out there and there are no other boats around.

Re: 2 NFL Players Missing at Sea

lol, of course they were not on a flat hull style boat deep sea fishing.:lol:

Re: 2 NFL Players Missing at Sea

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) - A doctor on Wednesday said it's a "miracle" that a man survived being in the cold Gulf water for nearly two days after the boat carrying him, two NFL players and another man capsized off the Florida coast.

Dr. Mark Rumbak said 24-year-old Nick Schuyler is in good condition but will remain in intensive care in case there are complications. Schuyler was in 63-degree Gulf of Mexico water for around 46 hours and probably could have lived only another five to 10 hours if he wasn't rescued Monday, Rumbak said. "To stay in the water for 46 hours and to be alive afterwards, I think it is a miracle," Rumbak said. "I really do." The Coast Guard's search for the three others who had gone out on the fishing trip ended Tuesday. Still missing are Oakland [URL="http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/team/oakland-raiders"]Raiders[/URL] linebacker [URL="http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/player/200403"]Marquis Cooper[/URL], who owned the boat, free-agent NFL defensive lineman [URL="http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/player/105978"]Corey Smith[/URL] and former South Florida player William Bleakley. Bleakley's mother said Schuyler gave her a harrowing account of the men's fight to survive after the boat capsized Saturday evening. Betty Bleakley said Schuyler told her the men swam back to the overturned boat after being repeatedly hurled by strong waves. "To listen to Nick, they fought real hard to come home," Betty Bleakley said. "Nick said that all of them fought, just fought to stay alive." Bleakley and Schuyler, college teammates, managed to stick together for about 24 hours. She says they talked about how they would live their lives differently. Cooper's family is still hoping to find him alive. "We're not quitters," said his grandfather, Joseph Davis. "Even though they may stop the search, the search is going to go on." They set up an e-mail address — nflsearchandrescuegmail — and are asking experienced pilots and boaters who can help to contact them.

Re: 2 NFL Players Missing at Sea

I heard that the boat was anchored which in heavy waters could have flipped the boat easily. When you are in major chop you have to use the motor to drive over the waves. All it takes in one wave to come in side-like to flip you. Anchor was def a bad idea.

Re: 2 NFL Players Missing at Sea

Sea anchor. Not many use them, but would have helped in this situation.

[url]http://www.seaanchor.com/seaanchor.htm[/url]

Re: 2 NFL Players Missing at Sea

[QUOTE=lilsensa;717710]Sea anchor. Not many use them, but would have helped in this situation.

[url]http://www.seaanchor.com/seaanchor.htm[/url][/QUOTE]

^good work finding this, I am fwd'ing this on to friends who frequently fish in these same waters.

Re: 2 NFL Players Missing at Sea

^^^ good idea.. [url]www.weather.com[/url] is a good one to check before going out also

Re: 2 NFL Players Missing at Sea

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) - Two NFL players may have died just a few hours after their fishing boat capsized in rough seas and possibly before rescuers were even alerted that they and two others were lost off the west coast of Florida, according to Coast Guard records.

[B]Tragedy at sea[/B]

[IMG]http://msn.foxsports.com/id/9282432_51_1.jpg[/IMG] [B][URL="http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/pgStory?contentId=9289432"]Photos:[/URL][/B] Corey Smith and Marquis Cooper made their mark on the NFL. We look at [URL="http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/pgStory?contentId=9289432"]images of them on the field[/URL]. [IMG]http://msn.foxsports.com/id/9291774_51_1.jpg[/IMG] [B][URL="javascript:msnvDwd('33', '069a3491-a9e6-45b3-aa4d-0b8e718d3fc2', 'us', '', 'm1490', 'foxsports', _mlc);"]Video:[/URL][/B] Nick Schuyler's doctor called it a 'miracle' that he survived at sea for two days. Hear what else the doctor said about [URL="javascript:msnvDwd('33', '069a3491-a9e6-45b3-aa4d-0b8e718d3fc2', 'us', '', 'm1490', 'foxsports', _mlc);"]Schuyler's medical condition[/URL].

The lone survivor, Nick Schuyler, told the Coast Guard that one by one, the other three men took off their life vests and disappeared during the ordeal that began the evening of Feb. 28, according to a 23-page report provided to The Associated Press Monday under a Freedom of Information Act request. The Coast Guard report, which redacts the men's names, says the group went roughly 70 miles - or 62 nautical miles - to fish for amberjack. Besides the 24-year-old Schuyler, also aboard the 21-foot Everglades boat were Oakland Raiders linebacker Marquis Cooper, free-agent NFL defensive lineman Corey Smith, who played for the Detroit Lions last season, and former University of South Florida player William Bleakley. The bodies of Cooper, Smith and Bleakley have not been recovered. Around 5:30 p.m., the report said the group ran into trouble: Their anchor was stuck. Schuyler told investigators that he believed it was caught in a coral reef and they tried to free it, but water filled the boat and it capsized. Tossed into the frigid water, the men managed to grab their life vests. Schuyler, also a former South Florida player, said they held on to the boat for four hours. But as the night wore on, their will to survive appears to have weakened and the effects of hypothermia were likely setting in. Schuyler told the Coast Guard that one of the men "freaked out" and took off his life vest and disappeared that night. Another started getting unruly, throwing punches and later took off his life jacket, dove under the water and was never seen again. The third man thought he saw land nearly two days after the boat capsized and decided to swim for it. That man said his life jacket was too tight and he took it off, Schuyler told the Coast Guard. Officials have said they found three life jackets: one on Schuyler, another near the boat and a third underneath. It's unclear how accurate the account is. Schuyler, who was found clinging to the overturned boat about 35 miles off Clearwater and nearly 48 hours after the accident, was suffering from hypothermia and he has provided different accounts to the men's relatives. For example, Bleakley's family said Schuyler told them that their son held on to the boat with his college teammate until he weakened and died. Schuyler has also said that Bleakley helped him survive by talking to him and encouraging him during their last night together. Marquis Cooper's father has questioned Schuyler's account that his son removed his life jacket. Schuyler has not responded to interview requests. [B][URL="http://msn.foxsports.com/pgStory?workingCategoryId=0"][/URL]

As time passed, their relatives grew worried because the group was expected home around sunset. One of the men's relatives contacted the Coast Guard around 1:30 a.m. on March 1 and a search began. [/B]

Records document the Coast Guard's repeated attempts - and frustrations - as rescuers tried to find the small white boat in a stormy sea with heavy cloud cover and whitecaps making it tough to spot. One person who called the Coast Guard reported that one of the men, presumably Cooper, had one week left before he was expected in California for football practice. The caller, whose name was redacted from the report, said the group "could have possibly tried to go farther out to fish." One of the men's wives was able to find a handheld GPS device that he had left at home and had apparently used in previous trips to record the coordinates of favorite fishing spots. The Coast Guard used that data to refine their search, placing the likely location of the men about 10 nautical miles south of their expected destination. The Coast Guard contacted the men's cell phone companies for help tracking their whereabouts, without success. They also sent them text messages, stating that, "the CG is looking for you request you to contact us immediately." "Being that these guys are inexperienced, don't look just at 50 NM offshore, there might be a possibility that they wisened up and stayed close to shore, at least within visual of land," a Coast Guard officer wrote in one e-mail. The same e-mail added that, "It might be worth considering getting the story out to media earlier than later more people on the lookout both on land and water." During the search, the Coast Guard reported 14-foot seas offshore and wind gusts up to 30 mph. More than 24 hours after starting their search, a sign of hope finally emerged. The Coast Guard cutter Tornado spotted Schuyler, looking small in the vast ocean and clinging to the boat's hull. At Tampa General Hospital, Schuyler's doctor called it a "miracle" that he survived in the 63-degree Gulf water for nearly two days, and said he probably could have lived only another five to 10 hours.

Re: 2 NFL Players Missing at Sea

[B]NFL players missing at sea[/B]. The Off-[B]Topic[/B] board is a place for you to gather and chatter about anything 'other' than video games! [B]...[/B]