It’s been a little over a week since the tragedy at sea occurred which has changed the lives of many and left family members of the three victims lost at sea still asking why.  Two NFL football players and a former University of South Florida Will Bleakley lost their lives in what was suppose to be just an ordinary fishing venture.

Survivor Nick Schuyler, was found by the U.S. Coast Guard 46 hours after the 21 foot boat capsized.  Coast Guard rescue teams spotted Schyuler sitting on top of the boat.  He suffered from dehydration, hypothermia, and slight kidney and muscle damage.   He was taken to a Tampa Hospital in critical condition where he remained for several days.  He has since been released and although his physical wounds are healing, his emotional well being is a concern to many.  Schuyler who gave credit to friend and former USF teammate Will Blakely, whose life was cut short as a result of the tragedy,  for saving his life.  He called Bleakley a “true hero.”  Schuyler attended the memorial service held on Saturday at a church in Crystal River, Florida and now he must deal with the calm, after the storm.

Hours after friends and family said their formal goodbyes to Bleakely,  Stu Schuyler the father of survivor Nick Schuyler spoke to a Tampa news source 10connect.com and said:

Mr.  Schuyler first wanted to tell the Bleakely family, “We thank them so much for the help that Will gave our son. They kept each other alive as long as they could. He [Bleakely] was a real hero out there.”

“Nick is trying to recover but emotionally, there’s  a lot to deal with. Physically, he’s going to be alright.”

Schuyler described his sons physical condition and said “Nick is limping is because of numerous scabs all over his back and legs from rubbing against the boat. His ankles look like someone took a baseball bat to them.”

Schuyler father said he was very concerned about Nick’s mental and emotional well-being.   “He’s very quiet, not saying anything,”  he has yet to tell his father his story. He  has been talking with a Chaplin from USF who is helping him through this difficult time.  Mr. Schuyler hopes that time will help his son heal.

Mr. Schuyler attribute his sons safe but fragile return home to “Divine Intervention.”  and although they are grateful to have their son home, they are also grieving for the families of the three men who have never been found.

Schuyler said all along that the two things that got him through this horrific ordeal were his mother and the presence of WIll Bleakely.

The Schulyer family thanked the Coast Guard, the Hospital for all they had done as well as the Media for keeping the status the public up to date on the search.

*Posted by:  BBParks

*Related Stories:

• Private Search For Missing Boaters Begins [LINK]
• Boaters Found Strength and Friendship at LA Fitness [LINK]
• Friends and Family Search For Missing Boaters [LINK]
• Missing Boater William Bleakley [LINK]
• Coast Guard Press Release (VIDEO) [LINK]
  

source: 10connect.com

Nick Schuyler, the only survivor of last weekend’s boating tragedy that claimed the lives of three of his friends attended a memorial service along with hundreds of mourners yesterday at the Crystal River United Methodist Church to pay tribute to his friend and former University of South Florida team mate Will Bleakley.

Posted by: BBParks

Related Articles:

• Will Bleakley Remembered [LINK]
• Friends and Family Search For Missing Boaters [LINK]
• Missing Boater William Bleakley [LINK]
• Coast Guard Press Release (VIDEO) [LINK]

Source:  ABCNews.com

William Bleakley will be remembered as a brave soul who did everything in power to save one another.

Family and Friends of one of three men missing off the coast of Clearwater, gathered on Saturday at Crystal River United Methodist Church to remember former USF football player Will Bleakley.

Following the U.S. Coast guard search family and friends of one of the missing men Marquis Cooper began their search under the direction of Dallas Cowboy’s Terry ‘Tank’ Johnson.  Their search ended on Friday after the only surviving boater 26 year old Nick Schuyler who remains in a Tampa Hospital, was able to describe in more detail on how the remaining men just “slipped away.”

Nick Schuyler gave Bleakley the credit for his survival and in a statement made by Bleakley’s dad he said:

“Nick said to me that he would not be alive today if Will hadn’t been on the boat,” Bleakley said. “His mother and his older brother and myself felt and knew this all along. When Nick said it, we were proud and relieved.”

Bleakley said Schuyler told him: “Will stayed with me for 36 hours and was in my grasp when he lost consciousness and died.”

Bleakley said his son, “delirious and vomiting, succumbed to hypothermia and dehydration, and to the cold and the pounding of relentless waves.”

A memorial fund has been established in Bleakley’s honor. Contributions can be made to the Will Bleakley Memorial Fund, c/o Mercantile Bank, 1000 U.S. 19 S.E., Crystal River FL 34429.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to the friends and famlies of the three men who were lost at sea.

Posted by:  BBParks

• Friends and Family Search For Missing Boaters [LINK]
• Missing Boater William Bleakley [LINK]
• Coast Guard Press Release (VIDEO) [LINK]

Authorities announced late Tuesday afternoon that they were suspending their search for remaining  three men NFL’s Corey Smith and Marcus Cooper along with their friend Will Bleakley who went out last Saturday off the coast of Clearwater to fish and  encountered bad weather, the rough seas caused the fishing boat they were on capsized.  One of the four men former USF Football player Nick Schuyler was rescued on Monday.  He remains in a Tampa Hospital and is said to be improving.

Although the Coast Guard stopped searching friends and family members headed out into the gulf early this morning in a dozen chartered boats along with several airplanes to begin their search.  The search efforts are headed by Terry ‘Tank” Johnson, of the Dallas Cowboys who is a former teammate and close friend of  Marcus Cooper.  Johnson refuses to give up.  In a statement Johnson spoke of his friend and said:  “He’s waiting for us to come and get him. We are going to do our best.”  These words rang the ship bells today in hopes of bringing these men back to their loved ones.

“They understand the decision of the Coast Guard and yet they want to keep some hope alive!”

Johnson is asking “anyone has ounce of time to please contact nflsearchandrescue@gmail.com to help in this search. Everyone is pulling together to find these three men. Let’s work together as a team!”

Contact Tank today – nflsearchandrescue@gmail.com

Monetary Donations are being accepted contact: Pastor Hal Mayer of the Church of the Bay in Tampa. His blog can be found at halmayer.blogspot.com.

Posted by:  BBParks

Related Articles:

• Friends and Family Search For Missing Boaters [LINK]
• Missing Boater William Bleakley [LINK]
• Coast Guard Press Release (VIDEO) [LINK]

Despite weather conditions, Nick Schuyler somehow found the strength to hang on in the worse conditions and for those who know him at the LA Fitness Center in Lutz, Fl. sat they  are “not the least bit surprised by his determination.”

Jim English, General Manager of  The LA Fitness Center where Schuyler worked as a personal trainer said that Schuyler  was “not your ordinary athlete,  he trains at least an hour and a half, two hours. I’ve seen him train for four hours.”

Schuyler began working as a  personal trainer at the Gym when it opened two years ago.  According to English: Schuyler is a “very popular trainer with dozens of clients.”  The other missing boaters are also well known at the gym. So, just like the weights going up and down inside the facility, so are emotions there.

“It’s kind of a Catch-22. We’re happy for Nick. He’s part of our family, but so are the other guys,” says English.

Schuyler and the other missing boaters, Marquis Cooper,  Will Bleakley, and Corey Smith often trained together and talked “fishing.”  They had done this trip a week or two before  and were looking forward to this ill-fated trip.

Friends and family began their own search today.  In an interview with the father of one of the missing boaters, he described his son as a fighter and it was for that reason that he and friend Terry “Tank” Johnson of the Dallas Cowboys organized their own search which began this morning.  Our thoughts and prayers are with them.

Posted by:  BBParks

Related Articles:

• Friends and Family Search For Missing Boaters [LINK]
• Missing Boater William Bleakley [LINK]
• Coast Guard Press Release (VIDEO) [LINK]

The U.S. Coast Guard has suspended their search for the three missing men Corey Smith, Marquis Cooper and Will Bleakley who vanished off the coast of Clearwater after their fishing boat overturned on Feb. 28, sometime around 5 p.m.

Nick Schuyler who was rescued on Monday remains in the hospital.  Schuyler who is being treated for hypothermia and dehydration has been unable to give clear details however did say that they were anchored out in the Gulf when a huge wave turned the fishing vessel over.

At about 3 p.m. yesterday, a life jacket and a cooler were found about 16 miles southeast of where the boat and Schuyler were located.  Captain Timothy Close, the Coast Guard commander in St. Petersburg, Florida, said. At sunset, the search was called off.

The father of one of the missing NFL players Marquis Cooper, and his friend, Dallas Cowboys defensive tackle Terry “Tank” Johnson, have organized their own search which will begin at sunrise today.  In a statement Johnson said:  “What we’re asking for is experienced aviation pilots” to volunteer for the mission, Johnson said. “We are looking only for experienced pilots … we don’t want another tragedy as we are said he

Johnson had spoken to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, and that “we have the support of the entire NFL” in continuing the search.

Posted by:  BBParks

*More of this story at CNN

*NFL.com [LINK]