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Anyone following the story of the two teens missing at sea?

Horrible story. Agree that there appear to be some "supervision failures" involved here. Just awful.
 
The report they were heading to the Bahamas was false. They were supposed to stay in the inlet.
 
I have some mutual friends with this family. I have been watching the social media posts all weekend. My initial reaction was also "where are the parents?" But now that I think about it, we were boating at 16 so not much different.
Terribly sad story. As to where they were headed, I doubt the but $110 in fuel just to run the inlet
 
TV report I saw made it as if the parents were unaware of the Bahamas trip and it was only known by social media that's where they were heading
 
Seems sad. The stories I saw had family members and friends talking about how they were well seasoned boaters/salty dogs, and knew what they were doing. I thought to myself that sounded like BS, they were just 14 and too young to be going far offshore with no adults. You can't be a seasoned anything at 14.
 
A single engine 19' in the ocean... If they were near shore around the inlet than that's fine, but once you get past the sight of land, then good luck. I wonder what made them separated from the boat? I wonder if they both were diving or spearfishing and the anchor broke free or if the strong t-storms came through and capsized it. Missing Fri afternoon from Jupiter and the boat found in New Smyrna, man. They were neighbors of Joe Namath, who put up a 100k reward.
 
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One of my friends had an 11 foot Whaler with a 55hp Johnson and his dad would drop us off at the ramp and pick us up later that afternoon (we were 14 and 15 and none of us could drive). We'd load that thing with snorkeling and fishing gear, and head out. We were supposed to stay in the bay but we would take that thing all over the patch reefs off Key Largo and on decent days would run offshore to look for schoolies around the weedlines. We could have been really screwed if the motor quit, but never gave it a thought.

My second grade teacher's husband was out offshore and had engine trouble - he was missing for a week or so and they finally found him floating in his boat out off South Carolina.
 
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boats like that aren't real easy to capsize.

I wonder if they were trying to get their anchor broken free like the NFL guys off of tampa.
 
boats like that aren't real easy to capsize.

I wonder if they were trying to get their anchor broken free like the NFL guys off of tampa.

That could be, but I actually think these kids were much smarter than that. If they are going to be found alive it will be like the second grade teacher above...floating in their boat due to engine trouble.

When I was 14 my buddy had a boat similar to theirs and we took that joker just about everywhere. The only places I don't remember taking it, just reflecting back, was off shore where we couldn't see land. Now, if there was a Bahamas 40 miles offshore, we might of done that.

Speaking of, how far away is the Bahamas from where they fueled up?

Was the boat equipped with GPS?

Was there mention of any major storms that came through that day?

If no storm or gps/radar, I bet they missed the island and ran out of gas. Wouldn't be surprised if they end up on a key like Tom Hanks from Cast Away.
 
Did the reports mention anything about the purchase of food and water when fueling up?
 
That could be, but I actually think these kids were much smarter than that. If they are going to be found alive it will be like the second grade teacher above...floating in their boat due to engine trouble.

When I was 14 my buddy had a boat similar to theirs and we took that joker just about everywhere. The only places I don't remember taking it, just reflecting back, was off shore where we couldn't see land. Now, if there was a Bahamas 40 miles offshore, we might of done that.

Speaking of, how far away is the Bahamas from where they fueled up?

Was the boat equipped with GPS?

Was there mention of any major storms that came through that day?

If no storm or gps/radar, I bet they missed the island and ran out of gas. Wouldn't be surprised if they end up on a key like Tom Hanks from Cast Away.

I thought they found the boat capsized, with no sign of the boys?
 
I thought they found the boat capsized, with no sign of the boys?

not good

just read an article, they did find the boat capsized.

That's very sad to hear. The coast guard said they can refocus their search around where they found the boat, currents, and winds. Now the search area is the size of Maine....pretty wild. They are essentially looking for a needle in haystack.
 
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Those were some wicked storms that popped up Friday. Hoping for the best but expecting the worst...

Yeah, I assume they are shark food. A 19 ft boat is not meant for offshore. Sure, as long as the weather stays nice and there's no unexpected squalls or a rogue wave comes by then you can make it out and back in a tiny boat. But the General rule is nothing smaller than a 30fter should be taken out well past the sight of land where you can quickly scoot back to the safety of a barrier island or behind a sandbar in the event of unexpected catastrophic weather. Now all boats are not designed the same and there are some 25 fters specifically designed for offshore that are probably just as safe to take as a generic 30 fter, but no little 19ft POS is going to be safe if something comes up. Considering the boat was flipped I assume it got hit by rough weather and/or rogue wave and they ended up sharkbait. Being "experienced" sailors at 14 by puttering around inshore in calm weather every other weekend is NOT the same as being responsible and knowing how to pilot a boat in rough seas.
 
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not good

just read an article, they did find the boat capsized.

That's very sad to hear. The coast guard said they can refocus their search around where they found the boat, currents, and winds. Now the search area is the size of Maine....pretty wild. They are essentially looking for a needle in haystack.

I was talking to my wife about the search on my way back from Tampa last night. Considering the boat was found well away from anywhere with dry land and capsized the search should immediately be called off. They're going to waste millions searching for the two dumb%*%es.
 
Yeah, I assume they are shark food. A 19 ft boat is not meant for offshore. Sure, as long as the weather stays nice and there's no unexpected squalls or a rogue wave comes by then you can make it out and back in a tiny boat. But the General rule is nothing smaller than a 30fter should be taken out well past the sight of land where you can quickly scoot back to the safety of a barrier island or behind a sandbar in the event of unexpected catastrophic weather. Now all boats are not designed the same and there are some 25 fters specifically designed for offshore that are probably just as safe to take as a generic 30 fter, but no little 19ft POS is going to be safe if something comes up. Considering the boat was flipped I assume it got hit by rough weather and/or rogue wave and they ended up sharkbait. Being "experienced" sailors at 14 by puttering around inshore in calm weather every other weekend is NOT the same as being responsible and knowing how to pilot a boat in rough seas.

Being experienced and being 14 are two different things. They should have known better than to take a 19 footer that far offshore. If they had been out in deep water enough they would have known not to do. They were a little overly confident from their excursions inland.

With that said I could easily see myself doing something like that at 21...would have been to scared at 14.
 
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I was talking to my wife about the search on my way back from Tampa last night. Considering the boat was found well away from anywhere with dry land and capsized the search should immediately be called off. They're going to waste millions searching for the two dumb%*%es.

But there is a $100,000 reward!
 
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Jose Lambiet wrote a story regarding the family and the Joe Namath connection. Not sure it was appropriate at the time but the family has a scandalous past.
 
Jose Lambiet wrote a story regarding the family and the Joe Namath connection. Not sure it was appropriate at the time but the family has a scandalous past.

i was wondering. I thought I had read somewhere that there father was a neighbor of Namath or something along those lines. And you don't have ordinary level "rich" money to be a neighbor of Namath it's got to be "rich %*%*rd" level of rich. So why where the two boys in a dinky 19fter?
 
i was wondering. I thought I had read somewhere that there father was a neighbor of Namath or something along those lines. And you don't have ordinary level "rich" money to be a neighbor of Namath it's got to be "rich %*%*rd" level of rich. So why where the two boys in a dinky 19fter?

Lambiet wrote that when the parents divorced in 2006, Namath's daughter was the other woman. One of the kid's father was engaged to her for a little while. Namath's daughter has/had a messed up grill. Not sure if it's true or not.
 
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This happens more than we realize, but thankfully it doesn't end badly as it has for these two. Everyone of us who grew up in Florida knows someone else (besides ourselves) who did a dumb thing while on a boat either offshore or on a lake or a river. It just wasn't their day to die.
 
I didn't spend a whole lot of time on boats as a teenager, but did stupid stuff on them just about every time we were unsupervised.

Sunk a john boat in the middle of a bay from overloading it. Luckily we were able to get it floating by rocking it side to side. Took an hour to get the motor running again. Could have been worse.
 
Terrible.

You can buy a Personal Locator Beacon (PLB) for $150 these days. It transmits your GPS location to a satellite system.

That's the cost of about one tank of gas these days.
 
It is not uncommon to make a trip of the East Coast of Florida to the Bahamas in a small boat. A buddy of mine who lives in the Abacos bought a 23 foot center console in West Palm and drives it to and from quite often. It's doable, but certainly not ideal in bad conditions. Most likely just got caught in a bad storm. If you do make this trek it's best to have a satellite phone ICE. Feel for the families involed.
 
Terrible.

You can buy a Personal Locator Beacon (PLB) for $150 these days. It transmits your GPS location to a satellite system.

That's the cost of about one tank of gas these days.
I have been looking to get one of these for years. Its been awhile, but I would go off on multi-day solo backpacks and the thought of getting hurt started to creep me out. I think they also contact a few numbers on an emergency list you set up, besides sending out emergency gps beacons.

I just watched The Reef and I kept yelling at them, why didn't you dipshits bring one of those cheap personal gps beacons with you!
 
Breitling used to make a watch that had a PLB built into it. If you were in distress you just pulled the pin and it would activate. Not sure why they discontinued it.
 
The parents say the boys were told not to leave the inlet and to stay in the Intracoastal. The search has shifted to 60-70 miles of the coast of Jacksonville based on flow models. I can't imagine they'd survive in the water after floating that far.
 
That is a lot of open ocean to be floating around in.


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Yeah, I assume they are shark food. A 19 ft boat is not meant for offshore. Sure, as long as the weather stays nice and there's no unexpected squalls or a rogue wave comes by then you can make it out and back in a tiny boat. But the General rule is nothing smaller than a 30fter should be taken out well past the sight of land where you can quickly scoot back to the safety of a barrier island or behind a sandbar in the event of unexpected catastrophic weather. Now all boats are not designed the same and there are some 25 fters specifically designed for offshore that are probably just as safe to take as a generic 30 fter, but no little 19ft POS is going to be safe if something comes up. Considering the boat was flipped I assume it got hit by rough weather and/or rogue wave and they ended up sharkbait. Being "experienced" sailors at 14 by puttering around inshore in calm weather every other weekend is NOT the same as being responsible and knowing how to pilot a boat in rough seas.
Nah.
A 19-20 ft semi-v is plenty big enough for offshore if seas are 4-6 or under. It may not be any fun if seas are 6-8 feet but if you get caught out in it it'll handle fine as long as you are careful turning around. Now, if you lost your motor you would be in trouble. That happened to my friend and I once a few miles out in the Gulf Stream, but we turned the boat with the swells, rigged up the Bimini top as a sail, turned on the bilge pump and surf/sailed towards land until we hit the reefs and found a tow. I suppose we could've been these two guys, but it was the only boat we had.

Growing up we never had a boat bigger than 20 feet and the only thing I ever worried about when offshore was lightning.
 
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Nah.
A 19-20 ft semi-v is plenty big enough for offshore if seas are 4-6 or under. It may not be any fun if seas are 6-8 feet but if you get caught out in it it'll handle fine as long as you are careful turning around. Now, if you lost your motor you would be in trouble. That happened to my friend and I once a few miles out in the Gulf Stream, but we turned the boat with the swells, rigged up the Bimini top as a sail, turned on the bilge pump and surf/sailed towards land until we hit the reefs and found a tow. I suppose we could've been these two guys, but it was the only boat we had.

Growing up we never had a boat bigger than 20 feet and the only thing I ever worried about when offshore was lightning.

They weren't going to the Bahamas (no supplies, enough gas or permission). It's not uncommon to see kids like these motoring around in small boats fishing and diving (example). That said I don't like small boats in the open ocean or in bad weather. We had some miserable storms blow through almost every day last week (including Fri, Sat and Sun) late in the day. On I-95 Saturday around 3, the cars were going like 40 mph between West Palm Beach and Jupiter, 13 miles to the north. And, the Gulfstream is a bitch...wouldn't want to be floating off the coast of WPB .

PB Post update at 5:15 p.m.:
As Jim Dulin struggled mightily to steer his 30-foot fishing boat away from an ugly storm and into the Jupiter Inlet early Friday afternoon, he was startled to see a small boat heading the opposite direction into the rough weather.
Among the dozens of vessels in the water, Dulin said the small boat carrying two young males was the only one not going toward the safety of the inlet.
“I said to myself, ‘Those kids are crazy,’” said Dulin, a Jupiter resident and commercial fisherman for 20 years. “There’s no way they couldn’t see that storm. The storm was really black, the temperature dropped and you could tell it was going to be a really mean one.”


https://twitter.com/JennaaBermann #Jupiterstrong
 
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Nah.
A 19-20 ft semi-v is plenty big enough for offshore if seas are 4-6 or under. It may not be any fun if seas are 6-8 feet but if you get caught out in it it'll handle fine as long as you are careful turning around. Now, if you lost your motor you would be in trouble. That happened to my friend and I once a few miles out in the Gulf Stream, but we turned the boat with the swells, rigged up the Bimini top as a sail, turned on the bilge pump and surf/sailed towards land until we hit the reefs and found a tow. I suppose we could've been these two guys, but it was the only boat we had.

Growing up we never had a boat bigger than 20 feet and the only thing I ever worried about when offshore was lightning.
The Coast Guard diver who inspected the boat when they found it said the motor cover was missing. That kinda tells me they may had motor trouble and were inspecting it. Motor failure may have started the chain of events to this tragedy. Feel terrible for the parents and for those boys who may have died doing something they loved.
 
That could be, but I actually think these kids were much smarter than that. If they are going to be found alive it will be like the second grade teacher above...floating in their boat due to engine trouble.

When I was 14 my buddy had a boat similar to theirs and we took that joker just about everywhere. The only places I don't remember taking it, just reflecting back, was off shore where we couldn't see land. Now, if there was a Bahamas 40 miles offshore, we might of done that.

Speaking of, how far away is the Bahamas from where they fueled up?

Was the boat equipped with GPS?

Was there mention of any major storms that came through that day?

If no storm or gps/radar, I bet they missed the island and ran out of gas. Wouldn't be surprised if they end up on a key like Tom Hanks from Cast Away.
Bruh, you're out there. Plus you bloated on the lake of Mexico not the Atlantic. Apples and oranges...
 
Nah.
A 19-20 ft semi-v is plenty big enough for offshore if seas are 4-6 or under. It may not be any fun if seas are 6-8 feet but if you get caught out in it it'll handle fine as long as you are careful turning around. Now, if you lost your motor you would be in trouble. That happened to my friend and I once a few miles out in the Gulf Stream, but we turned the boat with the swells, rigged up the Bimini top as a sail, turned on the bilge pump and surf/sailed towards land until we hit the reefs and found a tow. I suppose we could've been these two guys, but it was the only boat we had.

Growing up we never had a boat bigger than 20 feet and the only thing I ever worried about when offshore was lightning.
Agree. I spent many a day out on the Atlantic fishing and diving off a 19' Mako open fisherman. Never worried about the boat being too small.
 
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