"Wayne.B" wrote in message
...
On Tue, 3 Mar 2009 08:30:06 -0800 (PST), Frogwatch
wrote:

This accident with the NFL players off Clearwater where the boat
overturned is tragic. What went wrong? The weather forecast was poor
when they left shore, so what were they thinking? Was it simply a
matter of being too macho to exercise common sense?
Next, once a boat turns upside down, is there any way to right them?

It would be difficult to impossible even in calm water.

Once righted, would a motor start (assume a 2 cycle).

No. They need to be drained and dried out first.

I'd like to know how the boat was anchored, was it from the stern,
classical mistake resulting in this.
Going offshore with no EPIRB used to be acceptable but today?

An EPIRB will help people find your body.

What went wrong?

They took a 21 ft single engine open boat 40 miles offshore in the
face of a marginal weather forecast. They had no business being out
there. In addition, they had four 250 pounders aboard which is
marginal loading for a boat that size.

20 something boats get capsized all the time in Florida, especially on
the east coast where the Gulf Stream can kick up big breaking seas in
no time at all. There was a west coast boat a couple of years ago
that got into trouble on a fishing trip. They were out of Marco
Island in something like a 24 ft Grady, went missing, presumably
capsized, and the boat was eventually found upside down on an east
coast beach about a month later.

I'd say that's a pretty good analysis.

Steve