The recent loss of three fishermen
38 miles off Clearwater, Florida might not have garnered headlines across the country
were it not for the fact that two of the men were NFL football players. In fact,
accidents like this one happen all of the time and are rarely reported beyond the
local community. The good that can come from this tragedy is to bring basic aspects
of the sea, seamanship and boating safety to a larger audience. We think this accident
could have been avoided in a number of ways, and rescue could have been effected
far more rapidly had the men been properly prepared for an offshore trip. What did
they do wrong? Could they have saved themselves and if so, how?
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Lone survivor Nick Schuyler
was able to sit on the bottom of Cooper’s boat and cling to the outboard motor.
Getting the core of his body out of the 68-degree water saved his life. |
For those of you who have just entered the room, on February 28th at 6:30 AM four
friends left Clearwater, Florida to go fishing in (what were at the time) calm seas.
Marquis Cooper, owner of a 21' Everglades center console and an NFL football player,
Corey Smith, another NFL player, Will Bleakley, and Nick Schuyler were former college
football players at the University of South Florida, were all long-time friends
who loved to fish. Their boat capsized Saturday night. Three of the men died of
hypothermia or drowned and Schuyler was rescued about 40 hours later sitting on
top of the overturned boat holding onto the outboard motor.
Read the complete
story in last week's newsletter...
It Happens All the Time
Capsizing is one of the leading boating accidents, according to the Coast Guard's
most recent report on recreational boating. Officials report there were 398 accidents
from capsizing in 2007 (the last year data is available), causing 204 deaths and
284 injuries. The St. Petersburg Times reported last week that the football players'
accident was just the latest of 200 such incidents reported to the U.S. Coast Guard
in the past five months alone.
"The oceans are an unforgiving environment," said Coast Guard Lt. Cmdr. Chris O'Neil.
"Weather can be unpredictable. Any time you are in an open environment, you are
taking a certain amount of risk."
Many capsizings occur because of overloading, but many also happen offshore in rough
seas when boats ship water, lose stability, and are then rolled over by a large
wave. Capsizing can happen to virtually any boat in certain conditions.
Weather Reports
According to Rick Davis, a meteorologist in Tampa, the forecast for February 28th
called for 15 knot winds and six foot seas and a small craft advisory was issued
on Saturday. Did Marquis Cooper or any of his friends hear this report? Did they
check weather maps on the Internet the night before?
Sea Conditions
It is reported that on February 28th the seas were calm in the morning, but that
later in the day the wind came up fast and the sea conditions deteriorated rapidly.
This is typical of what happens offshore. Quickly building wind energy creates waves
that are relatively close together and as the wind increases they become higher
and steeper. These are called "immature" waves compared to the sea conditions that
exist after high winds have been blowing for some time and for some distance, which
generally create "mature" waves which have a greater distance from crest to crest.
Short, steep seas are the enemy of any small boat. When they begin to occur, prudent
boaters will immediately take the appropriate action. There is an old saying among
veteran sailors, that the best time to reef is when one first thinks about it. Likewise,
for powerboaters, we suggest that the best time to batten down the hatches and head
for port is when one first thinks about it.
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This picture, taken in 1942, shows Coast Guard
personnel trying to right a capsized life boat.
Note the round bottom of the life boat which makes it possible for 8 men to right
it with lines and lots of weight. |
Size Matters
Everyone knows that all things being equal, larger boats are safer offshore than
smaller ones. It is a rule of physics. Larger boats are usually better able to handle larger waves. But one doesn't have to own a megayacht to go safely offshore. Indeed,
the 635-mile Newport, RI to Bermuda race held for sailboats every other year (mostly)
since 1906 has not lost one boat. Many of these races have run into gales and over
the years they have encountered several hurricanes as well. The race is now organized
by the Cruising Club of America and the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club and they have a
size requirement of about 35' and most of the boats are 37' or longer. There is
also a strict list of safety equipment that must be carried, the boats must be inspected
and the skipper and crew must meet some experience requirements.
Was a 21' boat too small to have been taken 38 miles offshore into the Gulf? According
to newspaper accounts, the captain affiliated with Marquis Cooper's boat, Clay Eavenson,
declined an invitation on the boat for Saturday's trip due in part because he felt
the boat was too small to go 50 miles offshore. Corey Smith had expressed misgivings
about going out on the boat to his friend Mario Bridges. Bridges said in a TV interview
after the accident, "He [Smith] said that he was never going to go [again] because
they were far out and he felt like the boat was a little too small for how far out
they were."
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Note that this outboard boat is not floating level
and the stern is submerged. |
Proper Boat Selection
One reason that there are so many boat models available -- over 6,000 at our last
count -- is that builders are trying to design boats for virtually every conceivable
use. Generally boats are built for specific missions. 21' center consoles are not
built for steep 10' to 15' seas 30 miles offshore, just as cruise ships are not
built for going across the shoal Bahamas Banks.
Because of the large number of deaths among people using small powerboats, in 1978
the USCG promulgated a federal law requiring that powerboats 20' and under have
positive flotation. Boats with outboard engines over 2-hp had to be able to float
"level" in a swamped condition with the engines attached. Inboard and stern drive
powered boats 20' and under had to have "Basic Flotation", which allows their sterns
to sink but part of the boat must be above water. All of the USCG requirements are
measured in "calm" water.
There are no federal or USCG requirements for flotation for powerboats longer than
20 feet. In the words of one boat builder, "these boats could sink like a hot rock
and be in perfect compliance with USCG regulations."
Level Flotation
Many builders of center consoles and walkarounds over 20' claim that their boats
float. But to our knowledge, only three builders claim that all of their boats will
float level -- Everglades, Boston Whaler and Edgewater. Importantly, Robert Dougherty
was chief engineer, president or CEO of every one of those companies. He is currently
CEO of Everglades, the builder of Marquis Cooper’s boat.
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It floats, but will it float level? |
But as we have just seen, level flotation is no guaranty that a boat would not capsize
nor is it a guaranty of survivability. Boats which are swamped and floating level
are extremely vulnerable to "surface effect" and in a tumultuous sea such as the
one off Clearwater on February 28th they are prone to capsize. Water inside a boat
sloshing from side to side radically alters the boat's center of gravity and stability
with disastrous results. Once capsized, it is virtually impossible to right all
but the smallest powerboats.
While the advent of level flotation since the 1978 law for boats 20' and under has
undoubtedly saved many lives, the fact remains that each year hundreds of people
still die when their boats capsize, no matter what the size. This is one reason
why the USCG continues to campaign constantly for boaters to wear PFDs. Coast Guard
officials maintain that if people in capsized boats wore their life vests, and stayed
with the boat, many more would survive.
Not Wearing PFDs
None of the men were wearing PFDs before the capsize. The capsize evidently happened
quickly. Will Bleakley is credited with diving under the boat and retrieving three
life vests and one Type IV cushion. He used the cushion. Did the boat have the required
four PFDs aboard when it left shore?
Anchoring in Rough Water
The lone survivor of February 28th's accident, Nick Schuyler, has reported that
the boat capsized while the boat was anchored and the crew was trying to hoist the
anchor. Assuming that is true and that Schulyer’s recollections of events have not
been affected by hypothermia, this may indeed explain what brought the boat to grief.
If anchored from the stern, its 25" of freeboard would have been vulnerable to a
wave cascading into the boat, particularly with one or two large men working in
the stern to bring up an anchor. In fact, numerous small boats are on record for
swamping when anchored by the stern.
If the boat was anchored by the bow, even though the freeboard there is higher and
the boat's bow is designed to create buoyancy, two large men working in the bow
will lower the freeboard and make it easy for a large wave to come cascading into
the boat -- or, if the anchor was off the bottom and the boat was abeam of the seas,
the boat could have shipped water over the side and then rolled over.
We assume that the anchor rode was line. Why didn't they cut the anchor line? (This
is the reason that large powerboats with all chain anchor rode have a piece of line
connecting the bitter end of the chain to the boat -- so it can be easily severed
in an emergency.)
Based on everything that has been reported, we cannot help but think that if the
boat had not been anchored and in the process of hoisting the anchor, and was underway,
it may not have capsized.
No "Ditch" Bag
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Landfall Navigation's "Abandon Ship Dri-Bag."
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Private pilots flying over water often carry what they call a "Ditch Bag." These
are compact bags containing all the equipment needed to have a chance of surviving
and rescue if the plane goes down in water. Boaters also use them for the same reason.
Both ACR and Landfall Navigation make bags with positive flotation -- enough to
float 100 lbs. The Landfall bag has been rated "Top Choice" by Practical Sailor
newsletter. Some people call it a "Flee Bag."
No matter what you call it, it should contain an EPIRB, Waterproof VHF handheld
radio, red and white parachute flares, flare gun, red handheld flares, orange handheld
smoke signals, dye marker, signal mirror and whistle, waterproof flashlights with
spare batteries and bulb, air horn, floating knife, and 10 water packets per person
as a starter. Well equipped ditch bags contain medical kits, watermakers, fishing
gear and more.
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These three men were lucky not to have been
in rough seas at the time of rescue. This picture was taken May 18, 2007.
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The sad irony of all of this is that ditch bags are something that our sailor friends
are likely to have aboard, but few power boaters ever think about it. Yet more powerboaters
die each year in boats that capsize or sink in the U.S. alone, than recreational
sailors who meet a similar fate all over the world.
Builders of center consoles of all sizes are aware of the importance of stowage,
so finding a place for a ditch bag should not be a problem.
Visit
Landfall Navigation's Abandon Ship web page...
Mayday Radios and Beacons
The Coast Guard encourages boaters to purchase Emergency Position Indicating Radio
Beacons (EPIRBs) that can cost between $150 to $1,500. The new 406 EPIRBs, or PLB
(personal locator beacon) prices have fallen to about $200 to $500, depending on
brand. ACR makes a mini personal locator which sells for $160. EPIRB technology
enables emergency signals to be sent out automatically or manually. Some EPIRBs
have global positioning devices that can help provide the rescuers with a more exact
location.
The new DSC VHF radios have a red Mayday button that automatically sends out a distress
signal. If it is hooked up to a gps, it will automatically broadcast the unit’s
position as well. The USCG's new "Rescue 21" program can take a bearing on the signal.
(At this time the "Rescue 21" towers are not all in place and it will be another
couple of years before the job is complete.) All USCG vessels now monitor the DSC
VHF signals. But remember, VHF has essentially "line of sight" range so when you
are 50 miles offshore you are more apt to reach a fellow boater than a USCG land-based
tower.
If Marquis Cooper or any of his friends had taken the time to pack one of these
emergency communication devices, their story might have ended far differently.
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Catamarans capsize, too, but they may have
some life-saving advantages. |
Too Small for a Life Raft
Isn't a 21' boat that is only going 38 miles offshore on day trips too small for
a life raft? We would say that last week's accident proves the case for life rafts
in small boats. Marquis Cooper bought a top-of-line 21' center console, yet that
boat could not overcome the tremendous forces of Mother Nature's high seas. His
boat floated as well as any would have in the conditions, yet it wasn't designed
to keep people safe upside down, nor could any monohull in its class.
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Look closely and you will see a man clinging
to the pointed bow of this high performance boat
as it bobbed in Caribbean waters off Puerto Rico.
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According to survivor Schuyler, both Cooper and Smith gave up and drifted away after
only four hours or so in the 68-degree water. Schuyler says that Bleakley saw a
light the next night and swam away toward it. Clearly all three men were suffering
from hypothermia, something that a PFD can not protect against. They might all have
survived had they been in a life raft.
"Coastal" life rafts are on the market for lower prices than those intended for
transoceanic voyages. Some are recommend for up to 3 miles from shore, others for
up to 20 miles from shore. For example, Switlik makes what it calls 4 person "Rescue
Pod" as opposed to calling it a life raft. It comes in a 12" X 24" fabric valise
weighing
33 lbs. Landfall Navigation sells them for $2200.
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Givens life rafts have a patented huge bag
that hangs underneath to guard against capsize in breaking seas.
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There are other so-called life rafts on the market for "coastal" use that are cheaper,
but we don't recommend them. The Mercedes of life rafts is the Givens brand. It
makes a 4-man coastal life raft called the "XT Rescue Raft" that has two tubes and
most of the features of its transoceanic-rated units. It retails for $5,600 and
measures 31"L x 21"W x 14"H and weighs 75 lbs. FYI, the same forces that capsized
Cooper's 21' center console would most likely do the same to the cheap life rafts,
and that is why Givens Life Rafts are your best bet.
With all of the stowage compartments on modern center consoles, certainly one could
be found for a “coastal” life raft for those people regularly venturing far offshore.
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Bless you Mr. Cooper for helping boaters in
the future be better prepared. Marquis Cooper (l) in happier times.
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Conclusion
While hindsight is 20-20, a few things should have been obvious from the start.
First, the boat was not prepared for an emergency. There was no ditch bag or even
handheld VHF, EPIRB, and no useable flares that we know of. They did not leave behind
a specific float plan with an ETA, only a vague message with a friend.
Second, sometime around mid-day the weather service put out small craft advisories,
yet the men either did not heed these warnings or were not tuned into a VHF weather
channel and did not hear them. Either way they
made a fatal mistake.
Third, at mid-afternoon, winds were recorded at 25 mph at the Tampa-St. Pete
airport and we assume the same happened near that time offshore, yet our anglers
did not call it a day when it should have been obvious that bad weather was coming
in.
Fourth, once the boat capsized there was little they could do except don their PFDs
and conserve their energy. Since they could not communicate, their fate was in the
hands of Lady Chance.
We hope that the passing of these three fine young men serves as a lesson to powerboaters
everywhere that we all must take responsibility for ourselves and be prepared to
rescue ourselves. We also must realize that as boat owners we are responsible for
the safety of everyone who gets aboard with us. There are no excuses.
