Everyone has heard about the football players who likely died in a boating accident off the coast of Florida. Detroit linebacker Marquis Cooper, Detroit Lions free agent Corey Smith and former South Florida player, William Bleakley, are missing and presumed dead. Another former USF player, Nick Schuyler, was rescued, still clinging to the upended boat.
According to Schuyler, the three missing men all, at various times, slipped out of their lifejackets and tried to swim for help.
I am appalled at the comments on various blogs, all alluding to the fact that "there is something wrong with Schuyler's story." My take on this is very different.
I am a diver. I know that, were I in water as cold as these men experienced, I would not survive more than a few hours IN A WETSUIT.
The water was 64 degrees. That is not warm. Many stories about this incident note that hypothermia sets in when the person is in 64 degree water for 18 hours. That is not true.
People lose body heat 25-32 percent faster in water than on land. When body temperature drops to as high as 94 degrees, behavior can become erratic. At 86 degrees, you can lose consciousness. Exercise, such as swimming, does not help; it hurts, causing the body to lose more heat.
Alcohol contributes to heat loss (I have no idea whether these men were drinking, but if they were, it didn't help.)
As your body temperature drops, you become less lucid and more likely to take stupid risks, like removing your life vest or trying to swim for help.
The Coast Guard will tell you, if your boat flips over, it will likely support the weight of everyone aboard. Nick Schuyler was found sitting atop the boat. He did exactly what the Coast Guard says to do.
He lived. According to his story, the others removed their life vests and either drifted away or tried to swim for help.
All I know is Nick's story sounds right to me. And I hope this serves as a lesson to boaters. These men took off in beautiful weather. But there were warnings they should have heeded. They didn't. And because of that, three families are grieving. And Nick Schuyler will have to spend the rest of his life wondering...