| What was meant to be a recreational fishing trip for | | | | expedition. Consequently, according to other reports, |
| NFL player Marquis Cooper and three of his buddies | | | | the Coast Guard was not notified until the next day |
| turned into a nightmare for them and their families | | | | and did not start their search for the vessel until |
| after the 21-foot boat they were in capsized in | | | | 2:00p.m. Sunday afternoon-nearly twenty-one hours |
| Florida waters. Was this vessel and her occupants | | | | after the boat capsized. The time from Saturday |
| doomed for tragedy from the beginning? Details have | | | | evening to Sunday afternoon may have cost lives. |
| been slow to emerge, but some evidence indicates | | | | The Coast Guard also reports no SOS signal was |
| some key safety precautions were overlooked. | | | | ever received from Cooper's vessel. A recent news |
| The story begins as a recreational fishing trip off the | | | | article suggests that a friend had recommended the |
| Florida Gulf Coast for four young, strong, athletic | | | | purchase of an emergency position indicating radio |
| men on Saturday, February 28, 2009. Heading out | | | | beacon (EPIRB) just days before Cooper's final fishing |
| around 6:30a.m., they enjoy a day of fishing in the | | | | trip. For only a few hundred dollars, this life-saving |
| ocean. Sometime around 5:30pm, the group has | | | | piece of equipment could have been purchased and |
| trouble with an anchor stuck in a coral reef; the boat | | | | placed on board, making the location of the boat and |
| capsizes. Approximately forty-six hours later, one | | | | its passengers much easier to determine for rescue |
| man is found clinging to the boat, the rest of his | | | | crews. |
| friends having disappeared-one at a time-into the | | | | To date, EPIRBs are not required equipment for |
| vast ocean, as time and hope elapsed. | | | | water vessels; it is left to the discretion of the boat |
| Arguably, the men took some responsible | | | | owner or operator. A simple law requiring every |
| precautions: they were out fishing in a group; life | | | | water vessel to have a working EPIRB on board |
| jackets were on board; everyone had their cell | | | | could save many lives. Additionally, requiring boats to |
| phones with them; weather reports were consulted. | | | | register their trips before going out to sea could also |
| Unfortunately, the sea is unpredictable, and no | | | | aid in rescue efforts. These trip registers could include |
| matter how experienced you are with her mystique, | | | | the names of those on board, expected time of |
| she can always surprise you. Marquis Cooper was not | | | | return to dock, coordinates for approximate fishing |
| inexperienced; he heeded weather warnings for | | | | locations (if applicable), and emergency contact |
| Sunday. However, he was not as prepared for the | | | | numbers. |
| unexpected as he might have been. | | | | Unfortunately, this fishing tale had a tragic ending. A |
| News articles report that Rebekah Cooper, wife of | | | | few simple and inexpensive changes in boating safety |
| the boat owner Marquis Cooper, was not worried | | | | requirements could have meant the difference |
| about her husband and his friends until he failed to call | | | | between life and death for Marquis and his two |
| home late Saturday night. She was apparently | | | | friends-and could save countless lives in the future. |
| unaware of an estimated return time for this boating | | | | |