wow they found one... I thought that they were done for. I can believe after this much time they are still alive. Thats good news.

yeah...and the stupid local news reported that Cooper was also found and they called his parents to get a comment but then figured the report was false when the parents knew nothing then had to retract the statement. Stupid!

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“I'm here" You're welcome!" - Kenny Powers

They found the guy who was with the boat. The number one rule when a boat capsizes is stay with the boat. The Coast GUard regulations even make the boat builders build boats that will not sink completely. The main reason is, it is much easier to find a boat then a person. Unfortunately finding these guys without a boat or any debris in the gulf of Mexico, is the old needle in a hay stack. It sucks it has gotten so cold for these guys out there. Pray for them!

They said they were not able to hold on to the boat and drifted off...the boat was anchored. There were 14 ft seas on Sunday. They have been out there since Saturday.

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“I'm here" You're welcome!" - Kenny Powers

Agree with your comment about the media being stupid, eesti.

The problem is that we are so used to being on land where you do not change position until you decide to or until something moves you. In the sea, you are moving constantly without knowing it and to keep the same position requires effort, the exact opposite of what happens to you on land. It could even be a struggle to hang on to the boat.

I heard a report that he last saw them around 2 a.m. last night, i.e., sunday night/Monday morning. So it's not as bad as the last sighting was Saturday. I hope and pray.

Growing up in Florida, I've considered it a pretty boring, humdrum place, but for everyone else it's the LSD of the united states. All kinds of crazy stuff happens down here. Celebrities get arrested, or shot, or go missing. OJ of course made it down here, the 911 hijackers, a guy who shot and killed Versace, Anna Nicole Smith...the list goes on. So anyone on vacation, I'd say be careful and keep your head about you. If these guys went fishing in Maine, nothing would have happened. But you do it in Florida, you'd better bring your rosary beads.

Seriously though, I hope they find them all. The weather's been unpredictable all around the nation, and it can get pretty windy and cold here in Florida during our winter months. Give me a hot, boring summer anyday.

It is looking more hopeless by the minute now. Not much chance of survival after the cold night we just had. The only reason the one guy survived was because he was able to get out of the 65 degree water and sit on the upside down boat. What a drag.

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“I'm here" You're welcome!" - Kenny Powers

eesti Wrote:
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> It is looking more hopeless by the minute now.
> Not much chance of survival after the cold night
> we just had. The only reason the one guy survived
> was because he was able to get out of the 65
> degree water and sit on the upside down boat.
> What a drag.


Yeah. The truly sad thing is that this story wouldn't have gotten nearly the publicity if it hadn't involved NFL players (or someone else famous). I'm still holding out hope that they'll be found, but the prospects are NOT good.

I dunno Montequi. I think that if any four people were lost at sea that there would be publicity, particularly if one were found clinging to the boat days later.

You just gotta stay with the boat. I hope these souls have a chance.

Maybe if they were dressed warm that day. Maybe 1 layer could keep their body temperature near sustainable levels. And if they were together it might help to have someone else there. If they had lifejackets on I especially think its a travesty not to continue the search.

Alot of IFs. Keep hope alive.

I agree Daytona, if they had life jackets on it is pretty heartless to stop the search. These are athletes in good condition. What could take us out in a shorter time, may not close the case on them as early.

Man , may god rest there souls, I am really bummed about this. Being a native Floridian, fishermen, who owns a center consoles and fishes in rough seas regularly. A couple things bother me about this story. One you should never anchor up in real rough seas in a small boat, especially if you don't have that much scope in the anchor line, meaning the line pulls more at an angle then straight up and down, which makes the boat act more violent, in rough seas. SO they should have known to not do this, or at very least when it started to blow hard the violent action would tell you to untie from the anchor and to not do this. Next , you have 4 large athletes on a 21 foot boat, 2 of which at least being in the 275- 300 pound range, that is alot of weight in 21 foot boat. If they had a fish on or went to gaff a fish and another take pictures and another angling, that alone could probably capsize the boat in flat seas. Next if you flip, 90 percent of lifejackets, are not made to keep a 275-300lb person floating head above water if unconscious. SO that was defintely a problem. Next well trained athletes, who can with stand grueling NFL 2 a day workouts, wanted to quit and give up there lives after just 4 hours in the water with life jackets holding onto the boat. FInally, if they were in that bad of shape and wanted to give up, why would,nt you tie them to the boat, or put them up ontop of the over turn vessel, like the survivor when he was found. I know you could get at least one or two strong guys up on the hull, if not all four of them. There are many stories of guys treading water with nothing for days before being found., These athletes had a boat to get up on. I don't know but this story does not make any sense and sounds extremely suspicious to me. These guys would have all had to have been extremely drunk for this story to pass the bullshit test to me. Something is not being told to us, the general public. IMO

I really hate to say this but how this story sounds, I think it is their duty to look into the survivor.... did he owe any of these guys alot of money. Please dont curse me if you are friends with the guy.I just dont buy the story he is telling people and what has been reported he said. maybe he is in shock and just not making rational statements, but defintely not the whole truth.

Crowder52 Wrote:
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> I really hate to say this but how this story
> sounds, I think it is their duty to look into the
> survivor.... did he owe any of these guys alot of
> money. Please dont curse me if you are friends
> with the guy.I just dont buy the story he is
> telling people and what has been reported he said.
> maybe he is in shock and just not making rational
> statements, but defintely not the whole truth.

I thought the same thing. Anyway, since he was the last one to see them alive, he's automatically a suspect.

Hmmm.................I must confess, Crowder52, that what you say has thrown some dry kindling on something that has been smouldering in my mind from the time I heard there was one survivor.

It is natural to be suspicious in this day and age but the guy almost died himself. His body temp was 86 degrees and he is still in serious condition. He was stranded 35 miles out to see and would have died if they hadn't found him when they did. He only survived because he was able to get most of his body out of the water.

The two pro football guys were thought to be suffering from hypothermic induced dimentia and decided, after over 24 hours in the 65 degree water and facing another cold night, that they were doomed and they let go of the boat and drifted out to sea. The other guy (former USF player) saw a flashing light and took off his life vest to swim out to find it and was never seen again.

There is no denying the fact that they were in a 21 foot boat in 15 foot seas and I doubt any of them would have put themselves in that position had it been anything other than a surprise change in weather.

Of course there will be an investigation. The coast guard brought the boat back today.

Who knows what happened but all of these guys were known to be very good friends and good people.

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“I'm here" You're welcome!" - Kenny Powers

This is the story eest? Where did you find this info?

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"When you suck long enough, you get a Hickey"

A lot of it was on NFL network last night but it is on the local news as well.

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“I'm here" You're welcome!" - Kenny Powers

secondly, these guys should have been able to get up on the hull, helping the hypothermia, like the survivor did, His hypothermia and core body was not that bad when they picked him up, but the other guys who had more mass, which should mean core temperature would last longer, were so hypothermic, that lost their minds took of their only survival equipment and gave up after a few hours? Sorry don't buy it. Why didn't they take turns getting up on the hull and resting and warming up with the foul weather gear, the survivor was wearing when found? ANyone who has real experience on the water in this type of situation is gonna call bullsh*t. I am telling you this story does not add up at all.

Do you think the time of year could have been a factor? The boy was rescued in early September. What is the water temperature at that time versus end of February/early March?

Right off Daytona IS the gulf stream, over 80 degree water. Big difference from 65 degrees. I doubt that a person could survive more than 8 or 10 hours in 65 degree water.

If you know so much about the gulfstream, then you would know that the gulfstream is very , very far offshore of Daytona Beach much farther the 8 miles, Water temp in Daytona aroun that time was nowhere near being in the 8o's. More like the difference between 73 and 66. Just for refernce. And we are talking a 12 year old scrawny autistic child with no floatation device. Schuler told some peope he held Bleakley in his arms when he died. He also said Bleakley took of his life jackect and swam for help. He also said there was only 3 lifejackets ad Bleakley was on a cushion. Maybe it is all shock talking but , this is not right.

70–80° F (21–27° C)
Exhaustion or Unconsciousness 3–12 hours
Expected Survival TIme= 3 hours – indefinitely

60–70° F (16–21° C)
Exhaustion or Unconsciousness 2–7 hours
Expected survival time = 2–40 hours

ANd the number one rule they tell you when a boat flips to avoid hypothermia, get up on the Vessell to warm up. These guys should have been doing this from begining. WHich apparently only the survivor did once the other guys were gone or how he was found?

I would say the boy should be on the shorter side of survival and the athletes should be able to push the longer side

How is that story any different from the one I repeated? Other than the amount of time before they drifted out to sea? Everything is the same.

You have been watching too many conspiracy movies or something.

You think it is easy to sit on an overturned boat in 15 foot seas? That is just riduculous but I guess with all your "real experience" at sea, you have done it a hundred times right?

The survivor was sitting on the boat holding on to the outboard when they found him but the water was calm by then.

Your news arcticle about the boy in water for 12 hours means nothing. It was quite a task for a kid but the water in Florida in September is in the mid 80's. It is like sitting in a sauna...and it was calm water, not waves 15 foot high. The water temp in the gulf was 60 degrees.

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“I'm here" You're welcome!" - Kenny Powers

Yes i have been flipped over in sailboats in waters off of Mystic Connecticut and off Annapolis Maryland, the Naval academy, WIth water much much colder and having to continue to sail and race for 8 hours soaking wet. I also used to surf year round in college ST Augustine FLorida, as cold as 56 degree water.
Life fines a way to survive and these guys seem to have alot ways to try and do that, but instead they choose to just give up. ANd the survivor stories do not add up at all. Period. Maybe they were drunk, Maybe he is just dillusional. But why was his body temperature, not nearly that bad after more then 30 something hours? WHen the others were insane from it after just a few? 4 athlets. I guess the survivor had superhuman strenght and the others were super weak...these are the numerous things that do not add up.

I am not sure what happen, but something just does make sense. I agree it is a stretch,to think the guy killed three guys then flipped the boat on his own and then waited to be found. But there are also alot of question about this story and seems like the survivor is not telling something

No offense but continuing to sail for 8 hours soaking wet and being submerged in 60 degree water with 7-15 foot waves is not even close.

There is also a difference between knowing someone from the Naval Academy is there to save you and being 35 miles out at sea in a storm with no one around. The only people that go out there are grouper fisherman and grouper season is closed.

Everyone questions "why didn't they do this or that" but unless you are in that situation, you can only imagine what you would do. In a normal state of mind it isn't hard to decide the right thing to do.

89 degrees is in fact a breaking point where people stop shivering and start dying, cells will stop functioning after awhile. At this body temperature people usually can't use their hands and start falling down.

Most people tolerate mild hypothermia (32-35°C/90-95f body temperature) fairly well, which is not associated with significant morbidity or mortality.

In contrast, a multicenter survey found a 21% mortality rate for patients with moderate hypothermia (28-32°C / 82- 89* F) body temperature).

Mortality is even higher in severe hypothermia (core temperature below 82 degrees F). Despite hospital-based treatment, mortality from moderate or severe hypothermia approaches 40%.

Initial Signs (Mild Hypothermia)
Bouts of shivering
Grogginess and muddled thinking
Breathing and pulse are normal

Danger Signs of Worsening Hypothermia
(Moderate Hypothermia)
Violent shivering or shivering stops
Inability to think and pay attention
Slow, shallow breathing
Slow, weak pulse

Signs of Severe Hypothermia
Shivering has stopped
Unconsciousness
Little or no breathing
Weak, irregular or non-existent pulse

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“I'm here" You're welcome!" - Kenny Powers

"Inability to think and pay attention". That is key. It's safe to say that those men were unable to make sound decisions in that situation. Beyond that, it is unlikely that the survivor will ever be able to recall exactly what happened.