Posted on 03/04/2009 10:46:36 AM PST by Zakeet
As the Coast Guard ended its search for three missing football players whose boat tipped over in high Florida seas, the lone survivor said two of those lost gave up after hours in the frigid water and the third tried to swim to safety.
South Florida player Nick Schuyler told investigators that all four of the friends on a fishing excursion were initially wearing life vests and clinging to the 21-foot boat belonging to Oakland Raiders linebacker Marquis Cooper.
But two to four hours after the boat capsized, one of the NFL players removed his life jacket and let himself be swept out to sea, the St. Petersburg Times reported. A few hours later, the other one followed suit.
"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 Bleakley, 25, is also still missing.
After Cooper, 26, and Corey Smith, 29, were carried away, Bleakley and Schuyler hung on until morning — but then Bleakley decided to swim to get help when he thought he saw a distant light, the paper said.
He, too, took his life vest off, 24-year-old Schuyler told the families.
"I think he was delusional to think he could swim someplace," the Times quoted Bob Bleakley as saying.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
Seems strange they took of their vests and allowed themselves to essentially “die” after just a few hours.
They must have been very distraught.
But two to four hours after the boat capsized, one of the NFL players removed his life jacket and let himself be swept out to sea, the St. Petersburg Times reported. A few hours later, the other one followed suit.
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What would drive them to do THAT?
I’m sure four to six hours in the sea would drive anyone mad, but jeez!
That is suicide.
2 to 4 hours and they give up, no matter how cold it was I would have never given up.
That’s just a sad ending to a tragic story.
I thought he initially said that at 2:00 in the morning on the day he was rescued that they were all still together. Seems strange they would give up so early.
Probably the effects of hypothermia. I saw the doctor on FOX this a.m.; he said the survivor was alive due to his conditioning as a football player, but after 40 some hours in the water he would not have survived another five or ten hours at most.
I think the Hypothermia was having a terrible effect.
You said it: temporary insanity. Tragic.
Could thermal loss or ingestion of too much salt water cause delirium in such a short time?
Ever been seasick? I was deep sea fishing 30 miles off the coast of Massachusetts once. I was so sick, that hanging over the rail puking, I didn't care if I lived or died. I can't imagine that feeling while in the situation these guys were experiencing.
Sounds more like panic and desperation. Those are the two most common killers in a survival situation.
I have heard that mental toughness is far more important in a true “survival situation” than physical toughness ... and the you don’t really know whether you have it until you’ve been there.
A strong cold front was moving through and a simple check of the weather before hand should have been enough to prevent this unnecessary loss.
So true - this life is but a vapor. The next one is eternal...so, be soul-ready and lay up treasures in heaven.
Sometimes in situations, fat helps.
“Drifting out to sea”, “delusional” — what a metaphor this sad story is on what’s happening today at the highest levels of government. The financial markets and economy have momentarily turtled and we’re trading life jacket principles for cement shoe ideas of change.
I have read about climbers on Everest suffering from frost-bite and hypothermia.
Many are found dead, without their winter clothing on - in additon to becoming delusional, the end effects of hypothermia apparantly also cause one to feel “hot” - so they actually remove their clothing.
No one really know what they’d do in situations like this. Hypothermia can cause dementia.
Remember the father who tried to go for help when his family was caught in the snow in Washington State? Along the route he took off his clothing. This has also happened to experienced mountain climbers who become lost and hypothermic.
Paradoxical undressing is when the person removes warm clothing while in a state of hypothermia, which further increases heat loss. Because they are suffering from the cold and their body temperature is below the safe threshold, it seems incongruous that they would be removing warm clothing and causing themselves to become even colder.
To be sure, the phenomenon of paradoxical undressing is an enigma counter to expected behavior. With their core temperature below 90 degrees F, hypothermia sufferers frequently undress themselves. Urban victims of hypothermia that are found in a state of undress are often thought to be victims of assault.
http://www.survivaltopics.com/survival/paradoxical-undressing/
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