USCG Releases Report on Accident

Through the Freedom of
Information Act the Associated Press has been able to obtain a 23-page USCG report
on the accident that took the lives of three men, two of whom were NFL players,
recently off of Clearwater, Florida. The report details the effects of hypothermia
and the importance of filing a float plan. New information has come to light, but
the USCG cautions that hypothermia may have affected the memory of Nick Schuyler,
the lone survivor.

NFL player Marquis Cooper’s 21’ center console was towed to the Bay Pines boat ramp for inspection.

Read BoatTEST report “Beware the Angry Sea” --


By CHRISTINE ARMARIO, Associated Press Writer, March 16, 2009--



TAMPA, Fla. (AP)—Two NFL players may have died just a few hours after the fishing
boat they were in overturned in rough water, possibly before rescuers were even
alerted that they and two others were lost off the west coast of Florida, according
to Coast Guard records of the boating accident.



In a 23-page report provided to The Associated Press Monday under a Freedom of Information
Act request, the Coast Guard documents two conversations it had with Nick Schuyler,
a former University of South Florida player who was the lone survivor.



Schuyler told them that one by one, the other men took off their life vests and
disappeared during the ordeal.



The report says the group went roughly 70 miles—or 62 nautical miles—to fish for
amberjack on Feb. 28. Also onboard the 21-foot Everglades boat were Oakland Raiders
linebacker Marquis Cooper, free-agent NFL defensive lineman Corey Smith, who played
for the Detroit Lions last season, and former University of South Florida player
William Bleakley.

The 21’ Everglades center console owned by Cooper is widely considered to be one of the best boats built in its class.

The men’s names were redacted in the report.


When Trouble Started



Around 5:30 p.m., the report said the group ran into trouble: Their anchor was stuck.
Schuyler told investigators that he believed it was caught in a coral reef. They
tried to free it, but water filled the boat and it capsized.



Tossed into the frigid water, the men managed to grab their life vests. Schuyler
said they held on to the boat for four hours. But as the night wore on, their will
to survive appears to have weakened and the effects of hypothermia were likely setting
in.



Schuyler told the Coast Guard that one of the men “freaked out” and took off his
life vest and disappeared that night.



Another one of the men started getting unruly and throwing punches later. Schuyler
told the Coast Guard the second man also took off his life jacket, dove under the
water and was never seen again. The third man thought he saw land nearly two days
after the boat capsized and decided to swim for it.



Schuyler told the Coast Guard that man said his life jacket was too tight and he
took it off.



Officials have said that they eventually found three life jackets; one on Schuyler;
another near the boat and a third underneath it. The bodies of the three who disappeared
have not been found.


Effects of Hypothermia



It’s unclear how accurate the account is. Schuyler, who was found clinging to the
overturned boat about 35 miles off Clearwater and nearly 48 hours after the accident,
was suffering from hypothermia and he has provided different accounts to the men’s
relatives. The family of William Bleakley, for example, said Schuyler told them
that their son held on to the boat with his college teammate until he weakened and
died. Schuyler has also said that Bleakley helped him survive, talking to him and
encouraging him during their last night together.



Marquis Cooper’s father has questioned Schuyler’s account that his son removed his
life jacket. Schuyler has not responded to interview requests.



As the men struggled in the water, their relatives grew worried. The group was expected
home around sunset. One of the men’s family contacted the Coast Guard around 1:30
a.m. on March 1 and a search began.



The Coast Guard records document their repeated attempts—and frustrations — as they
attempted tried to find the small white boat in a stormy sea with heavy cloud cover
and whitecaps making it tough to spot the vessel.

The boat floated level which seems to be what saved the life of Schuyler who was able to perch on top of the boat.

Initial information the Guard received indicated the men were en route to a dive
wreck about 58 miles—roughly 50 nautical miles—from Clearwater Pass, Fla.


Friends Grow Concerned



One person who called the Coast Guard reported that one of the men, presumably Cooper,
had one week left before he was expected in California for football practice. The
caller, whose name was redacted from the report, said the group “could have possibly
tried to go farther out to fish.”



One of the men’s wives was able to find a handheld GPS device that he had left at
home and had apparently used in previous trips to record the coordinates of favorite
fishing spots. The Coast Guard used that data to refine their search, placing the
likely location of the men about 10 nautical miles south of their expected destination.



The Coast Guard contacted the men’s cell phone companies for help tracking their
whereabouts, without success. They also sent them text messages, stating that, “the
CG is looking for you request you to contact us immediately.”



“Being that these guys are inexperienced, don’t look just at 50 NM offshore, there
might be a possibility that they wisened up and stayed close to shore, at least
within visual of land,” a Coast Guard officer wrote in one e-mail.



The same e-mail added that, “It might be worth considering getting the story out
to media earlier than later = more people on the lookout both on land and water.”


Bad Weather Slows Search



During the search, the Coast Guard reported 14-foot seas offshore and wind gusts
up to 30 mph.



The newly released records reveal how the conditions hindered their mission. In
one early search, rescuers were only able to cover 40 percent of their search area
because of a storm front that moved in.



In another entry, a pilot’s search was described as “ineffective, unable to see
anything with current weather conditions during nighttime search, completely dark
due to cloud cover.”



One aircraft had an engine problem and never got out. A second aircraft was used
but had problems with its radar during the first leg of the search; an alternative
device proved useless in the poor weather.



More than 24 hours after starting their search, however, a sign of hope finally
emerged.



The Coast Guard cutter Tornado spotted Schuyler, looking small in the vast ocean
and clinging to the boat’s hull.



At Tampa General Hospital, Schuyler’s doctor called it a “miracle” that he survived
in the 63-degree Gulf water for nearly two days, and said he probably could have
lived only another five to 10 hours.