Oakland and Detroit players missing

[Davestone]

Lost some NFL players near Tampa on a boat this weekend,don't have a link yet, but i can tell you it was rough out there today..

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[ddmoit]

I heard the story, and also heard how rough the seas are. That doesn't bode well.:(

[ceramictec]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090302/ap_on_re_us/missing_boaters_nfl

[ceramictec]

22 minutes ago



TAMPA, Fla. (AP)—A missing boater found clinging to an overturned boat was rescued Monday off Florida’s Gulf Coast, but the search continued for two NFL players and another man aboard who didn’t return from a weekend fishing trip.

Survivor Nick Schuyler, a former University of South Florida player, told rescuers that the 21-foot boat was anchored when it flipped Saturday evening in rough seas and that the others got separated from the boat, Capt. Timothy M. Close said. Schuyler, who was wearing a life vest, had been clinging to the boat since then.

The boat belongs to Oakland Raiders linebacker Marquis Cooper, who along with free-agent defensive lineman Corey Smith and former South Florida player William Bleakley, remained missing.

Television footage showed Schuyler conscious but weak as he was being taken off a helicopter at Tampa General Hospital and placed on a stretcher. The hospital declined immediate comment.

Close said the Coast Guard would search for the three missing men for “quite awhile.”

The four left Clearwater Pass early Saturday 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 on Sunday. A relative alerted the Coast Guard early Sunday after the men did not return as expected.

The Coast Guard had searched about 16,000 square miles of ocean for the Everglades-manufactured boat by Monday morning. Everglades boats are built with compressed foam encased in Fiberglas, which makes them difficult or impossible to sink.

Waves had subsided to 6 to 8 feet, still enough for a small craft advisory, National Weather Service meteorologist Todd Barron said.

[Davestone]

I don't think peoiple realize how rought it gets out there.I have a 21 footer and it's a cork out there in rough water.I was on a 42 footer in great weather when a little wind kicked up and we tossed like the Titanic,it was pretty scary bein 40 miles out.It's pretty chilly and windy i don't have much hope for them i'm afraid.

[ceramictec]

the wind up there does kick up pretty good.
especially in the Tampa bay area I have seen 3-4 footers in the bay.
good thing is the winds blow west to east which should head them to shore.

[ddmoit]

On the Great Lakes - lakes, mind you - they say don't lose sight of shore unless you have better than a 35 foot boat.

[Davestone]

Yeah Brian but that can't fight the tide which will take you right out.Dan, i have been over the Lakes going to Macinac and i was scared to death,i had no idea they were that rough.:o

[ceramictec]

I have been to Muskegon and it was like a bay there

[Levi the Tile Guy]

It's a tragedy for sure, but what gets on my nerves is that the news doesn't even mention the names of the other two guys on the boat. Just the ball players.

[Davestone]

That's the good old news for ya, always giving you the utmost in coverage.My favorite is when they get so politically correct they won't give you a description of the bank robbers, other than they were wearing clothes had guns and masks.

[Beaux]

1300ft lng. is too, way too small! for the big pond. Everything is a a Cork.
:shades:

[cx]

Spent most of five years flyin' over large pieces of salt water for Uncle Sam's Coast Guard, couple of'em around that same piece of Florida gulf coast. Always been amazed at what sorta little bitty boats folks'll take out miles and miles from shore. And how little they'll prepare and how foolish they'll be when they get there. :shake:

Like keepin' all them life jackets securely stowed up under the bow hatch so's you'll be sure to have'em if the Coast Guard should inspect you leavin' port.

And everybody wants to paint his boat a real pretty blue on top, and white onna bottom. That way if somebody gotta search for'em, they'll look zackly like the water if they're sittin' right side up and just like the white-caps if they're trunt upside down.

And everybody checks the batteries inna emergency lights at least once every ten years, or when he buys a new boat, whichever comes latest. But some don't check their fire extinguishers quite so often.

Ol' ocean just eats'em up like popcorn.

Hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of hours in the air lookin' down at nothin' have I spent. Sometimes we even knew where the boat was and still searched for days without seeing it. Scary bidness, that.

I agree with Beaux, ain't no boats big enough sometimes.

[ddmoit]

Waves, washing the deck of a flat top....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZoBZUQLBrp8

[ceramictec]

AP - 1 hour, 45 minutes ago

TAMPA, Fla. (AP)—An agency investigating a deadly boating accident involving two NFL players and their friends in the Gulf of Mexico has concluded it was 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 came at the time a storm front was moving in, making conditions on the water very rough.