search for 3 missing boaters will be suspended at sundown

[Rabbi Bull]

5:14 p.m.: The only man rescued so far from an overturned boat in the Gulf of Mexico told Coast Guard investigators a bizarre story about the fate of the other three.

Nick Schuyler, 24, told investigators that about two to four hours after their boat capsized Saturday in rough seas, one of the two professional football players gave up hope and let himself be swept away, according to family members of two of the missing men.

A few hours later, the second one did the same.

"We were told that Nick said the two NFL players took their life jackets off and drifted out to sea," said Bob Bleakley, whose son Will, 25, is also still missing.

With former Tampa Bay Buccaneers Marquis Cooper and Corey Smith gone, only Schuyler and Bleakley remained clinging to the boat.

Then, sometime Monday morning, Will Bleakley thought he saw a light in the distance and decided to take off his life jacket and swim to it, hoping to get help.

"I think he was delusional to think he could swim someplace," Bleakley said.

Ray Sanchez, Cooper's cousin, said the Coast Guard told him the same thing, but cautioned against taking Schuyler's story as gospel at this point.

"We're not 100 percent sure where his head was at," Sanchez said. "He'd been through a lot."

http://www.tampabay.com/news/publicsafety/article980720.ece

To think had Will Bleakley not let go of the boat and swam out somewhere Monday morning he would still be alive today and sitting in the hospital with Nick recovering.  Thinking that he was delutional from being out there and the cold temperatures.

[GoBulls84]

5:14 p.m.: The only man rescued so far from an overturned boat in the Gulf of Mexico told Coast Guard investigators a bizarre story about the fate of the other three.

Nick Schuyler, 24, told investigators that about two to four hours after their boat capsized Saturday in rough seas, one of the two professional football players gave up hope and let himself be swept away, according to family members of two of the missing men.

A few hours later, the second one did the same.

"We were told that Nick said the two NFL players took their life jackets off and drifted out to sea," said Bob Bleakley, whose son Will, 25, is also still missing.

With former Tampa Bay Buccaneers Marquis Cooper and Corey Smith gone, only Schuyler and Bleakley remained clinging to the boat.

Then, sometime Monday morning, Will Bleakley thought he saw a light in the distance and decided to take off his life jacket and swim to it, hoping to get help.

"I think he was delusional to think he could swim someplace," Bleakley said.

Ray Sanchez, Cooper's cousin, said the Coast Guard told him the same thing, but cautioned against taking Schuyler's story as gospel at this point.

"We're not 100 percent sure where his head was at," Sanchez said. "He'd been through a lot."

http://www.tampabay.com/news/publicsafety/article980720.ece

To think had Will Bleakley not let go of the boat and swam out somewhere Monday morning he would still be alive today and sitting in the hospital with Nick recovering.  Thinking that he was delutional from being out there and the cold temperatures.

It's kind of chilling to think he was a few hours from being saved. When they found Nick, I was optimistic that they would find the other three. This really sucks.

[BullsOnThaRize8]

this is a terrible story, are you kidding me??? Gave up hope????? How Can this beeeeeee?? Its easy to say I wouldnt give up hope but they had so much to live for to think that they couldnt make it mentally.

[Bruce Blingstein]

So sad...can only hope if they have passed away they were unconscious and it was painless. 

They have been and will continue to be in my prayers. 

[IncrediBULL]

I am saddened by this news account.  I, like many, had hoped all four would be found.

My thoughts and prayers go out to their friends and families.

God rest their souls.

[DENVERBULL]

this is a terrible story, are you kidding me??? Gave up hope????? How Can this beeeeeee?? Its easy to say I wouldnt give up hope but they had so much to live for to think that they couldnt make it mentally.

Yeah, I thought the same thing- as I sit here in my warm den in my soft leather chair.  No one knows how they will handle a situation like that until they are actually in the middle of it.  Very sad.  God bless them.

[IncrediBULL]

this is a terrible story, are you kidding me??? Gave up hope????? How Can this beeeeeee?? Its easy to say I wouldnt give up hope but they had so much to live for to think that they couldnt make it mentally.

Yeah, I thought the same thing- as I sit here in my warm den in my soft leather chair.  No one knows how they will handle a situation like that until they are actually in the middle of it.  Very sad.  God bless them.

Think about it.  It was pitch dark.  bouncing around in the cold water, with the cold front passing the air temp was in the 40's.  No fresh water.  No food.  13 - 14 foot seas.  And all they had to hold onto was the slippery gel coat at the bottom of the boat.  Those kind of seas would suck if you were IN the boat.  Even worse outside of the boat trying to figure out how to hang on.

As a boater, I know how cold even 70 degree water is.  And how slippery a boat surface can be.  I had a 24 foot boat until last year, and I cannot imagine being in seas like that.

After being beaten down physically and mentally, I can certainly understand how eventually one would accept the inevitable.  If not after the first day, maybe the second, but definitely by the third. 

I keep thinking of how these guys must have felt, retracing their decisions and what they could have done instead.  They may have died doing what the love, but these were young men who had a lot to live for.  And a few unfortunate circumstances ended their lives.

[Bull Dozer]

This is just a sad and unfortunate situation. It was a blessing that even one of them survived in those kind of conditions.  My thoughts and prayers are with their families and this really has put a damper on the last several days for me. 

[USF_Girl]

Will was the reason they all even had life jackets.

"It was Bleakley who swam underneath to retrieve three life jackets he could find, along with a cushion, a groggy Schuyler told Miller from a Tampa hospital. Bleakley used the cushion and the other men wore the jackets, Miller said."

http://www.gousfbulls.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=7700&ATCLID=3682548

Hopefully they can find the other three so they can atleast have a proper burial. Prayers are with them all.

[Bruce Blingstein]

this is a terrible story, are you kidding me??? Gave up hope????? How Can this beeeeeee?? Its easy to say I wouldnt give up hope but they had so much to live for to think that they couldnt make it mentally.

Yeah, I thought the same thing- as I sit here in my warm den in my soft leather chair.  No one knows how they will handle a situation like that until they are actually in the middle of it.  Very sad.  God bless them.

very true...was talking to a buddy about this earlier...im sure if they were put back in the situation they would have somehow grabbed rope or fishing line from when they went under the boat to grab the vests to maybe tie themselves together and to the boat.  But then again who knows if all that stuff didnt sink or was even available.  anyway nothing can be done now besides prayer...they will always be remembered...