Oakland Raider, ex-49er among those missing off Florida coast

At this time the boat has been found overturned with one person (Nick Skyler) still clinging to it. He has been transported to hospital with hypothermia, but apparently is alert and talking.

It's only been 3 days. I've heard of people making it more than twice that time. Still plenty of time for a miracle.
Here's hoping.

With respects to the lost, the three missing boaters are: Oakland Raiders linebacker Marquis Cooper, free-agent NFL defensive lineman Corey Smith, who played for the Detroit Lions last season, and former South Florida player William Bleakley. Hope remains.

A 21 footer with inexperienced crew 50 miles off shore and for the sake of saving a $50 anchor rather than just cutting the line. What a shame. My heart breaks for the families.

What a heart breaking story. The survivor must be having nightmares about this terrible event. So very sad. So very avoidable.

Has anyone had experience with a 20'-25' center console behaving in the same unstable way? I mean, I have never tried to pull a stuck anchor using the (open) transom to muscle the anchor free...and never would out of common sense... What kind of bottom is there where they were located? Rock? Sand? Maybe they were hung up on some kind of wreck or fishing net.

Alcohol or drugs might have been a factor.

I've seen this far too often. Even had a friend (who should have known better) do it during slack tide in an inlet so he could sit comfortably facing forward while he fished and have the lines drag away from the outboard. Even when the current started ripping he didn't realize he was in trouble until the quarter was a couple of inches off the water. Of course when he added his weight and some pulling to that quarter (trying to retrieve the anchor once he did realize it was getting low) it dipped under and panic ensued. Luckily, he thought to send his buds to the bow as he cut the line.

This is a tragic incident just as is anything where there is loss of life. However my question is why did the guys remove their lifevests when they became weak? That seems so contradictory!

Have you ever stood on the edge of a tall building or cliff and felt that urge to just go over; sort of like a it's-going-to-happen-so-get-it-over-with type of feeling. Same thing. Although, with hypothermia you lose to ability to think rationally to counter it. You also may rationalize, as it seems the last one to go may have, that if you drop your vest you'll be able to swim easier.

The story of the sinking of the USS Indianapolis and its initial survivors provides some interesting insights to the psychological state of those who survived until rescue and those who didn't.

I can't remember the name of the book but it is worth reading in this context.

IF! you can handle it. Horrific.

There is also the book about the tragic Fastnet Yacht Race many years ago when many of the yachts capsized in horrific conditions. I think that book concluded that those people who remained close to their capsized yachts had a better chance of survival than those who broke free. Ok that was before the introduction of EPIRBS. Also a very good read.

Another very interesting book was "Into the night" about a sailor who intentionally spent an entire winter iced in, in the arctic circle.

Abandon Ship! The Saga of the U.S.S. Indianapolis, the Navy's Greatest Sea Disaster
by Richard F. Newcomb 1958 <------he was one of the first to chronicle the event.