SKOOBY Posted March 6, 2009 Share Posted March 6, 2009 Oh man, this is aweful: But two to four hours after the boat capsized, one of the NFL players removed his life jacket and let himself be swept out to sea, the St. Petersburg Times reported. A few hours later, the other one followed suit. Click here for photos. "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 Bleakley, 25, is also still missing. http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,504464,00.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chalkie Gerzowski Posted March 6, 2009 Share Posted March 6, 2009 Bleakley supposedly decided to swim towards a light he saw....lighthouse? hallucination? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RayFinkle Posted March 6, 2009 Share Posted March 6, 2009 Sometimes, well a majority of the time, I hate the f-cking media. This type of story is for family, not the general public. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kota Posted March 6, 2009 Share Posted March 6, 2009 Hypthermia can cause this kind of behavior. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuffalOhio Posted March 6, 2009 Share Posted March 6, 2009 "Life Jackets: They float, you don't" Sponsored by the US Coast Guard. Why in the world would they take them off? They will probably never be found. And yes, I'm in the Coast Guard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fewell733 Posted March 6, 2009 Share Posted March 6, 2009 first off there have been some conflicting accounts of what he's said happened - not surprising considering what he's gone through. second off, I would take his estimation of how much time had elapsed as likely to be extremely inaccurate considering how long he was in the water and ridiculous stress of the situation. Also, its not like you're in a swimming pool, there are big swells and if you swim even a little distance from the boat you may quickly lose sight of it and it will drift quickly. If you leave the boat's side there is a good chance you won't be able to correct your mistake. how he stayed strong is pretty remarkable. Many people often drink sea water because they get so thirsty and lose their minds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manateefan Posted March 6, 2009 Share Posted March 6, 2009 Oh man, this is aweful: But two to four hours after the boat capsized, one of the NFL players removed his life jacket and let himself be swept out to sea, the St. Petersburg Times reported. A few hours later, the other one followed suit. Click here for photos. "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 Bleakley, 25, is also still missing. http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,504464,00.html I live just south of where their boat left from. This has been major news down here. Even after the Coast Guard stopped their search some private boaters went out. But after hearing what the survivor said, I find it hard to believe that the other three will be found. The waters down here are cold (by Florida standards) and hypothermia will set in even if the waters are warmer than the air. This past cold front did bring some very chilling winds and temperatures near freezing here in central Florida. My thoughts and prayers go to the families and I thank God for the survival of at least one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKOOBY Posted March 6, 2009 Author Share Posted March 6, 2009 I live just south of where their boat left from. This has been major news down here. Even after the Coast Guard stopped their search some private boaters went out. But after hearing what the survivor said, I find it hard to believe that the other three will be found. The waters down here are cold (by Florida standards) and hypothermia will set in even if the waters are warmer than the air. This past cold front did bring some very chilling winds and temperatures near freezing here in central Florida. My thoughts and prayers go to the families and I thank God for the survival of at least one. The water in the gulf is freezing right now, I live even farther south (SW FL). If this happened in the summer, they could of spent days out the and just been dehydrated / burnt. A real shame in general but 4 large men in a 21' boat is a little to tight for me. A friend of mine had a 32' foot boat and 6 of us (4 adults / 2 kids) we're cramped, so 4 in a 21' is packing them in Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExiledInIllinois Posted March 6, 2009 Share Posted March 6, 2009 Hypthermia can cause this kind of behavior. Drinking sea water (salt) when you are dehydrated can too. I knew something was a miss (follow the earlier thread). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExiledInIllinois Posted March 6, 2009 Share Posted March 6, 2009 "Life Jackets: They float, you don't" Sponsored by the US Coast Guard. Why in the world would they take them off? They will probably never be found. And yes, I'm in the Coast Guard. Bingo! Especially in hypothermic conditions... You want as much protection as possible. Notice nick had on his foul weather gear when rescued. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ramius Posted March 6, 2009 Share Posted March 6, 2009 I don't care what happened out there, some things should be taken to the grave. If i'm the only survivor and 3 of my friends did in fact give up hope, that's never getting out. I'd make us some BS story to feed to the press and families. Some secrets simply should never come out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Caveman Posted March 6, 2009 Share Posted March 6, 2009 I don't care what happened out there, some things should be taken to the grave. If i'm the only survivor and 3 of my friends did in fact give up hope, that's never getting out. I'd make us some BS story to feed to the press and families. Some secrets simply should never come out. It's not that they gave up hope. Hypothermia causes people to do crazy things, which they would never do in their right mind. Lost hikers in winter weather are often found completely naked; one of the stages of hypothermia is to feel extremely hot, leading to the removal of whatever clothing the victim might be wearing. It's unfortunate, but it shouldn't be taken as an indication of the character of these men. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DazedandConfused Posted March 6, 2009 Share Posted March 6, 2009 It's not that they gave up hope. Hypothermia causes people to do crazy things, which they would never do in their right mind. Lost hikers in winter weather are often found completely naked; one of the stages of hypothermia is to feel extremely hot, leading to the removal of whatever clothing the victim might be wearing. It's unfortunate, but it shouldn't be taken as an indication of the character of these men. The other hypothermia and dehydration thing that should be factored in here is that not only may have the lost boaters done something deranged that led to their death, but the survivor's account of what happened post accident is unreliable at best. He had almost two days of being alone, cold, scared, falling asleep, being without food, water, and drinking sea water inadvertently to fantasize all sorts of images about what happened. The survivors accounts are useful information for the immediate search and to be correlated with physical evidence, but any testimony he gives upon being plucked from the waters should simply not be accepted as reality without other pieces of evidence. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steely Dan Posted March 6, 2009 Share Posted March 6, 2009 It seems weird to hear about big tough NFL players just giving up but that just goes to show how important it is plan ahead for the elements because they are a lot tougher than we are. I know nothing about boats but it seems that maybe they could put a covered hatch on the bottom of the boat that opened to a sort of padded bed that has a heater for the padding and several gallons of fresh water that can be sucked out through a straw and a little closed cabinet with some food stored away. They would have one on each side of the boat to balance it out for two people and if only one person is on board there is a way to move some ballast over to even out the floating. It could even have a folded umbrella to keep the sun out. This would be an extremely expensive option but for those who could afford it they would be smart to include it. If that's even viable. Just a thought. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gordio Posted March 6, 2009 Share Posted March 6, 2009 It seems weird to hear about big tough NFL players just giving up but that just goes to show how important it is plan ahead for the elements because they are a lot tougher than we are. I know nothing about boats but it seems that maybe they could put a covered hatch on the bottom of the boat that opened to a sort of padded bed that has a heater for the padding and several gallons of fresh water that can be sucked out through a straw and a little closed cabinet with some food stored away. They would have one on each side of the boat to balance it out for two people and if only one person is on board there is a way to move some ballast over to even out the floating. It could even have a folded umbrella to keep the sun out. This would be an extremely expensive option but for those who could afford it they would be smart to include it. If that's even viable. Just a thought. Do you really think those are viable options????? The boat fuggin capsized. What good would a covered hatch on the bottom of the boat that opened to a sort of padded bed that has a heater for the padding and several gallons of fresh water that can be sucked out through a straw and a little closed cabinet with some food stored away do???? What would they do. Swim underneath the boat & pry the hatch open under water get in & not let any water in? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrDawkinstein Posted March 6, 2009 Share Posted March 6, 2009 Do you really think those are viable options????? The boat fuggin capsized. What good would a covered hatch on the bottom of the boat that opened to a sort of padded bed that has a heater for the padding and several gallons of fresh water that can be sucked out through a straw and a little closed cabinet with some food stored away do???? What would they do. Swim underneath the boat & pry the hatch open under water get in & not let any water in? well steely, YOUR fishing trip was successful Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Real Posted March 6, 2009 Share Posted March 6, 2009 Absolutely heartbreaking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steely Dan Posted March 6, 2009 Share Posted March 6, 2009 Do you really think those are viable options????? The boat fuggin capsized. What good would a covered hatch on the bottom of the boat that opened to a sort of padded bed that has a heater for the padding and several gallons of fresh water that can be sucked out through a straw and a little closed cabinet with some food stored away do???? What would they do. Swim underneath the boat & pry the hatch open under water get in & not let any water in? The "bottom of the boat" I was talking about is the bottom that becomes exposed upon capsizing. Not the bottom of the boat when it's standing right in the water. I guess I didn't explain it well enough. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DasNootz Posted March 6, 2009 Share Posted March 6, 2009 Do you really think those are viable options????? The boat fuggin capsized. What good would a covered hatch on the bottom of the boat that opened to a sort of padded bed that has a heater for the padding and several gallons of fresh water that can be sucked out through a straw and a little closed cabinet with some food stored away do???? What would they do. Swim underneath the boat & pry the hatch open under water get in & not let any water in? I think he meant that the hatch would open from the bottom of the boat... so that when it capsized it would now be above water. It really doesn't seem like that crazy of an idea. Another option would be an inflatable raft. Build a system into a boat that when sensors realize that the boat is upside down, triggers release an inflatable raft. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steely Dan Posted March 6, 2009 Share Posted March 6, 2009 I think he meant that the hatch would open from the bottom of the boat... so that when it capsized it would now be above water. It really doesn't seem like that crazy of an idea. Another option would be an inflatable raft. Build a system into a boat that when sensors realize that the boat is upside down, triggers release an inflatable raft. I'm glad you got it. The raft would have to be tethered to the boat so it doesn't float away but a great idea. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts