Hope Fades for Florida Teens Missing Near Infamous Bermuda Triangle
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The families of Perry Cohen and Austin Stephanos are anxiously hoping for a miracle, even as science nags that one is improbable as rescue crews head into a seventh day of searches today for the two teens missing at sea.
Though it seemed unlikely all of the agencies engaged in the search would continue their hunts much longer, the Coast Guard, which is leading the effort to find the 14-year-old fishermen, insists it remains an “active and open” case now focused off the South Carolina coastline.
The very vague rule of thumb is humans can stay alive three minutes without air, three days without water, and three weeks without food but examples of defying that abound. The longest someone has been known to survive in the open ocean without water was about five days, according to an author on the subject, but whether the boys had supplies, wore life jackets or are clinging to something could help.
Stories of miracle rescues do exist: In 2005, two South Carolina teens were swept out to sea on their small sailboat during a storm. After searching for them for several days, the Coast Guard and state officials began referring to their effort as a recovery operation, not a rescue—yet the teens were found alive after nearly a week at sea.
A key difference from the Florida teens, though: They were still aboard their boat. But Perry’s stepfather, Nick Korniloff says if anyone could survive such an ordeal, it’s these two. “They knew how to throw anchors … how to start the engine … what to do if an adult fell off the boat,” he says. “They worked at learning … and being trained more and more about being … skilled [boaters] and [fishermen].”
Edited from Newser.
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I’m a former Commander and current member of the St Lucie River Power Squadron, a group that teaches boating safety and navigation. So it’s frustrating that so many years of trying to save lives so often seems in vain. I’m only a few miles from the Jupiter inlet where these boys set off from. It’s personal.
I’m constantly dismayed at the casual way people of all ages and levels of experience treat an essentially dangerous business. I go out in the Gulf Stream only with great trepidation in my 33 foot cabin cruiser and even in a good sized boat I wear a life jacket when off shore and so does everyone else aboard. These kids were in a 19 foot outboard! I don’t care how long they had been fishing, it only takes a rogue wave or an engine failure to flip a boat like that. They went out with strong off-shore winds and without a satellite beacon and without filing a float plan.
I know they had passed a safety course and I’m sure the course emphasized flotation devices, but it’s rare to see people in small fishing boats wearing life jackets. This sort of thing happens far too often. There’s another person missing at sea from the area at the moment but he’s an adult and it’s not in the news. Out in the ocean without a life jacket on a paddle board!
If nothing good comes from this, perhaps some parents will think twice about letting a 14 year old go out to sea alone.
I lived in the Florida Keys for 20 years and owned a Boston Whaler. My favorite pastime was spending hours in the back country taking in the sights. From time to time I would go out front to the Atlantic but was careful how far I went because I was aware of the treacherous currents, and daily storms that would pop up. It wasn’t unusual to see kids, some not even teens, boating all over the place without life jackets or parental supervision.
Those poor parents.