Improper Anchoring Flipped NFL Player's Boat
Sadly, three men lost their lives,
in all likelihood, because NFL player Marquis Cooper didn’t want to lose another
anchor, as occurred on a fishing trip the week before. After William Bleakley tied
the boat’s anchor rode to a pad eye on the port side transom of the boat, Cooper
shoved the throttle of his 200-hp outboard forward in an attempted to free the snagged
anchor. With the anchor holding the boat down and the thrust of the engine trying
to push the boat forward, it is little wonder that topping seas in what may have
been 40 knot winds spilled over the boat’s transom and swamped it. Survivor Nick
Schuyler told FFWCC officers that once the boat swamped, it quickly capsized to
the port side. Below is the official report of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation
Commission’s report.
See Complete FFWCC Report -- (Be patient, it takes a few seconds
to download).
St. Petersburg
Times Article
By Emily Nipps and Drew Harwell,
Petersburg
In Print: Saturday, March 28, 2009
than 30 miles from shore, the four men knew it was time to go back, time to pull
up anchor.
But it wouldn't budge.
By turns, former Tampa Bay Buccaneers Marquis Cooper
and Corey Smith and former
They decided to retie the anchor line from the bow
of the 21-foot boat to the stern, then gun the engine to jerk the anchor out of
the gulf's bottom.
It only made matters worse. The thrust pushed the anchor
deeper, tightening the anchor line and pulling down the stern of the boat, exposing
it to sloshing seas.
In one swift moment, the boat became swamped, overturned
and dumped the four men into 62-degree seas.
Thus began the series of events that forever changed
one life and ended three others.
In a report Friday, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation
Commission concluded the men improperly anchored the boat during their Feb. 28 fishing
trip.
The 12-page report detailed the boaters' attempt to
free the anchor, which ultimately submerged and capsized the vessel.
It also revealed information about the harrowing moments
that followed, based on an interview with the sole survivor. All four men were on
top of the hull until, one by one, three of the men died or purposefully slipped
away.
"They made a mistake that turned out to be a tragic
event," said investigator James Manson.
One man, Schuyler, survived the fishing trip.
Three others — Cooper, Smith and Bleakley — vanished
in the cold and choppy waters of the Gulf of Mexico sometime after the group left
shore Feb. 28.
Their bodies have not been found.
The Coast Guard discovered Schuyler during an air-and-sea
search that scoured more than 20,000 square miles.
Clinging to the motor of Cooper's capsized boat, he
had been in the water some 42 hours.
From his hospital bed, 24-year-old Schuyler told a
story of loss and survival. Details of his account — he was "very articulate," according
to Manson — were used in the state's investigation of the accident.
The report says about 5:30 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 28,
the men attempted to pull up the anchor of Cooper's boat and head back to port.
But they were unable to move anchor, nestled 138 feet
below. Bleakley suggested re-tying the anchor line from the front of the boat to
the rear, then gunning the motor to yank it loose.
That was their first mistake, Manson said. The anchor
always should be tied to the more stable bow.
Cooper told the men he already had lost an anchor the
same way the previous weekend, Schuyler told investigators. An offshore anchor costs
about $80 to $100, Manson said, and the men probably did not want to lose another
one.
"Again, that's a mistake," said Manson. Cutting the
line might have saved lives.
The men tied the anchor line to a bracket at the back
left side of the boat, leaving little or no slack to the line.
Cooper started the 200-horsepower motor and the boat
thrust forward. Moments later, if flipped, submerged and rolled to its port, or
left, side, the report said.
The men were thrown into the gulf, where they clung
to the capsized boat. They couldn't upright the boat.
Bleakley retrieved three life jackets for the men and
a throwable flotation device for himself.
The four struggled to stay atop the hull in rough waters,
the report said. The water was up to their chests while they hung on. At some point,
Schuyler cut the anchor line with the propeller of the motor.
"Mr. Schuyler had been wearing a watch affixed with
a light and was able to record approximate time of events," the report said.
After hours in the water, 26-year-old Cooper was the
first to show signs of hypothermia before dying about 5:30 a.m. Sunday, March 1,
Schuyler told investigators.
The other men removed Cooper's life jacket as his body
began to drift from the boat. Bleakley, 25, put on Cooper's life jacket, the report
said.
An hour later, 29-year-old Smith was next to show signs
of "extreme hypothermia," and he slipped off his life jacket and left the boat.
Almost 24 hours later, Bleakley appeared to die in Schuyler's arms, and Schuyler
released Bleakley into the water, the report said.
Bleakley's father, Bob, said he saw the report Friday
afternoon, though none of the details surprised him. He only hoped some lessons
could be learned from the accident that killed his son and friends.
"I don't need any more information from investigative
agencies," Bob Bleakley said. "However, the public might."
The fish and wildlife report concluded the accident
was caused by three factors: improper anchoring of the boat to the port side transom
eye bracket; Cooper using the motor to throttle forward in hopes of releasing the
anchor from the gulf's bottom; and failure to leave enough slack in the anchor line
to compensate for top-water gulf conditions, which resulted in pulling the stern
of the boat into the water.
The boat was eventually retrieved, but the anchor was
never found.