A 21' is not unusual at all to see 30 miles out on the water down our way, you just have to pick the right days. The boat these fellas were on, an
Everglades 21' is certainly a capable boat and like a Boston Whaler is unsinkable, doesn't mean it still can't get you in trouble though.
Latest word is apparently they had engine problems and after 3-4 hours their mental state started to deteriorate. Anchor got caught and when they tried to pull it free rather than cut it loose, a wave crashed over the bow and swamped the boat, from there we have heard the remainder of their story. This is supposedly from one of the CG personnel. The fact that the engine cowling is off is a good indication that there may be some truth to this, anybody familiar with the new Yamaha outboard knows how difficult it would be to accidentally unlatch the cowling while upside down.
Again, just because it's new doesn't mean it can't have problems ... just about four months after we bought our brand new boat we lost complete electric 13 miles out while anchored and bottom fishing, couldn't get either engine started and the radio fuse blew, scared the bejesus out of me but luckily the seas were calm and another boater happened to see us and radio SeaTow, four hours later we were being towed back to port. I now carry more safety gear than I hopefully we'll ever need and those crappy little shotgun shell flares ... they've been replaced by multiple flares that would make the Dept. of Defense proud.
