3 of the men lost at sea?

[ExiledInIllinois]

Yep it's been called off. If they haven't survived, which seems likely, I hope at least their bodies are found to give their family closure. I think this got a lot of media attention just because it was two NFL players and hopefully at least a few people have learned a lesson from this.

 

Bleakley only had the use of a cushion... Odds are he won't be found. Again, I can't stress the importance of the proper type AND FITTING of each and every crew member with their OWN PFD. And given how cold the water was, something more.

 

What would possess them to venture so far out with so small a boat?... They never had a fighting chance from the get go... Amazing there was one survivor.

[ExiledInIllinois]

Even more troublesome and problematic... The vessel WAS anchored to the floor... If anything they should have been using a sea anchor or drogue (act as a brake in the water).

 

FLA conservation may be out on Wednesday to retrieve the vessel.

 

From Wiki:

 

A sea anchor, used to stabilize a boat in heavy weather, anchors not to the sea floor but to the water itself, as a kind of brake.

 

Sea anchors can be used by vessels of any size, from kayaks to commercial fishing vessels, and were even used by sea-landing naval Zeppelins in World War I. While the purpose of the anchor is to provide drag to slow the vessel, there are a number of ways this can be used:

 

The first, and probably most well known use, of the sea anchor is to aid vessels in heaving to in heavy weather. A boat that is not kept bow- or stern-on to heavy seas can easily be rolled by the action of the waves. By attaching the sea anchor to a bridle running from bow to stern, the boat can be held at any angle relative to the wind. This is useful in sailboats in conditions too windy to use the sails to maintain a heading, and in motor vessels that are unable to make sufficient headway to maintain steerage.