They are going to need a miracle.I kind of Agree with the exspurts that most kids at 14 are ill equipted to deal with life threatining senarios.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/m...lone-offshore/
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They are going to need a miracle.I kind of Agree with the exspurts that most kids at 14 are ill equipted to deal with life threatining senarios.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/m...lone-offshore/
Good link. I've been following this story closely, reads like a sad ending, but it just does not add up to me. Not judging at all because I don't have kids. And, my father had me out boating lakes, ICW, offshore before I was out of diapers. He bought his first boat the day AFTER I was born because my mother would not let him buy it before I arrived .... arriving "ok" that is, or so they thought.
And, I used our boats solo early. Buddies and I used to teach skiing on the lake using our boat when I was young, prob younger than I should have been. But that was decades ago. Rule was, if I could get the gas money, I could use the boat.
Last night I looked at my 78 y/o father and said ... would you have let me take that boat offshore like that at 14? I won't repeat what he said, but it = no.
Curious to see what others say.
As a parent of a teenage boy, up and down just off the beach for Spanish is okay....offshore, no sir.
Especially given the 19' boat and:Quote:
Complicating matters, he said, was a series of powerful thunderstorms up and down the coast Friday.
With the weather the way it was they shouldn't have been out in the river most of the day. I have a 16 year old and he would not have been allowed to head anywhere near open water with the weather we've been having. That's rivers here not even close to the ocean in waves and currents. They sadly got over confident and may have paid the ultimate price.
In all the boating courses I've ever taken, they say if capsized, stay with the boat because in most cases (less than 25 ft), it has flotation and is easy to spot. I've had a lot of debates about how easy it is to hold on to the bottom of a fiberglass boat, but if these kids were so well trained, why didn't they stay with the boat?
Also, if going offshore out of VHF range, where's their EPRIB?
A follow up article I read said they were not allowed to take the boat offshore. I think the Bahamas story was some news reporter add on. Apparently there was no VHF or ship to shore only cell phones. IMHO too much reliance on cells for comm. it gets me. also that the search areas are always behind the 8 ball. I've swordfished the area and the drift to the north is incredible. We started one night off Jupiter light and ended up north of Melbourne by first light. Some years ago we came across 4 bodies off Ft Pierce. That were from a plane that went down off Lantana the day before. The "Coasties" were. Still searching off Palm Beach when we came across them.one telling thing was they were all intact and made it out of the plane ok. None had life jackets on. Even though it was summer I would bet they died of hypothermia. You have to wonder why the kids didn't stay with the boat.
I was wondering why nobody had posted on this topic given how many members we have in that area of Florida. I've been following it closely, and there are lots of story variations out there as to where these boys were headed and whether or not they were "allowed" to take the boat into the ocean. Lots of armchair quarterbacking and parent bashing. As a parent of a 12 year old, I can't imagine what those parents are going through right now.
Typed my last post about an hour ago and just now posted it. As for them not staying with the boat, I'm guessing that wasn't an option. If you get thrown out and separated from your boat, there's no way you're going to catch it if there's any wind. I'm guessing it would move faster in the current that a swimmer could match speed, let alone catch it. Just a bad situation.
It's always a tragedy when anyone gets lost at sea (or anywhere else). I feel for those kids because I had a very bad experience as a very young man as well. The difference was that we were found and rescued after 4 hours about 16 miles off the coast of NJ at 1:30 AM. Someone on a ship heading out to sea saw our one waterproof flashlight and all hell broke loose. To make a long story shorter we were pulled aboard a lifeboat and transferred at sea to a pilot boat. Front page of all the newspapers including New York City (must have been a slow news weekend). Our survival training in the Navy saved our hides.
The pain associated with the loss of a child must be unfathomable. Fortunately, I do not know. With that said, I wish the press and the papers would take a step back and feel for the families rather than lay blame. If this turns out the wrong way, there will be plenty of time for that although that wil not brings these kids back.