At Tampa General Hospital, Schuyler’s doctor called it a “miracle” that he survived in the 63-degree Gulf water for nearly two days, and said he probably could have lived only another five to 10 hours.
NVDL: This has got to be one of the most miserable ways to die.
Nick Schuyler told the Coast Guard that one by one, the other three men
aboard the small boat in the Gulf of Mexico took off their life vests and
eventually disappeared during the ordeal that began the evening of Feb. 28. The
Coast Guard’s account came in a 23-page report provided to The Associated Press
Monday under a Freedom of Information Act request.
Tossed into the frigid water, the men managed to grab their life vests.
Schuyler, also a former South Florida player, said they held on to the boat for
four hours. But as the night wore on, their will to survive appears to have
weakened and the effects of hypothermia were likely setting in.
Schuyler told the Coast Guard that one of the men “freaked out” and took
off his life vest and disappeared that night.
Another started getting unruly, throwing punches and later took off his life
jacket, dove under the water and was never seen again. The third man thought he
saw land nearly two days after the boat capsized and decided to swim for it.
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