Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion The Water Cooler NFL Players Boat Recovery...

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 they've been replaced by multiple flares that would make the Dept.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.

One thing I've not understood since I started boating is seeing so many people not wearing lifejackets. If I'm not mistaken, in Canada you are not required to wear them but to have them easily available(on deck?) in case of an emergency. I think as boat sizes get smaller it becomes more prudent to wear them, the ones these days are quite comfortable compared with years ago. When I had my boat, generally I wore a PFD all the time and insisted anyone aboard wear one too, when the boat was being driven, then left it up to the person if they wanted to wear it while fishing/lounging. Not wearing a PFD to me is a little like not wearing a seatbelt in a car. Wearing one doesn't gaurantee your safety but increases your chance of survival exponentially...were those players wearing life jackets?

I generally agree, but I will point out that temperature can play a role here. It can get real hot in the sun in the Gulf of Mexico. Life Jackets can become your own personal pressure cooker. We keep them handy, but only vest up in bad weather runs - which we seek to avoid!

I agree with the 'pressure cooker' synopsis Charles, they do get rather hot, esp if it is a darker colour in addition. I do most of my fishing in relatively small water where the shoreline is usually within half a mile at most. As you say, the weather makes a lot of decisions for us, when boating...if it gets too bad, we just don't go out.

We do the same as you Zimm, keep them handy but vest up during bad weather, which can happen in a hurry during the summer months down here. I always watch the weather very close, from several different sources and typically during the summer will leave the dock in the wee hours of the morning and try to be back near shore in the very early afternoon before the weather starts building in the afternoon.

I believe the NFL guys did have their vest on, some sources say they went back and retrieved them after the boat took the wave and turned over ... those fellas just didn't have any luck at all on their side that day, especially if in fact it was a broke down engine that caused them to stay that long.