So that family missing from Florida...

oh wow. How sad - I hadn't heard anything about this before now.

Oh, no, this is not a good update. The last I had heard, they had only found one body and were hoping the rest had survived.
How very sad.

Sadly, a life jacket gave her a better chance of surviving if seas were calm. In stormy seas you will be knocked around quite a bit and can swallow enough water to drown. 

According to this story, the dad had full custody and mom lives in Indiana. I think it is a terrible tradegy.

I hadn't heard yet that there was a second body found. I am still keeping my fingers crossed that at least some of the family will be found alive.

The details in the news have been scarce but from what I gather this family lived on the boat. The boat supposedly was in need of repairs and didn't have a radio. Why would you live on a boat and not have a radio for emergency purposes? Something seems off about this.

What a tragic-and scary-story.

What a sad story. My dh tells some stories of sudden storms that had waves crashing up over his fly bridge. He's very good about preparing and thinking about a trip, even a car trip so I know weather can just sneak up on you, even if you're well prepared. I hope some of the family is found still alive.

I've heard bits and parts of that story. It sounds so crazy and devastating. I do hope they find some of them alive too. I heard that about the flair too. But it sounds so not good.

I lived at the beach from 2nd grade until I finished college. I've been out on the water on a clear day with absolutely no clouds in the sky, and a rogue gale can just whip up in minutes. 

You can do everything right and still get caught in a storm. Radios do break--the guy had a cell phone, and the radio could have broken between his last docking in Florida and reaching the intended island port. He did have a phone backup. 

I agree with the other peas who say that even with a life vest, with waves breaking over you, you swallow a lot of water. 

After my brother and I almost drown while swimming in the ocean, my mom wanted us to wear life vests. But in the breakers, not being able to dive underneath to keep getting hit in the face, it's no fun. You just get sick from swallowing so much water. 

I didn't know that the dad had custody. I was hoping that maybe the dad had taken the kids away and scuttled the boat--that they really didn't drown. 

I agree with the statement why did the brother wait two days.  You get a call that your brother and children are trying to survive on Sunday evening and you wait to Tuesday??? Makes you go hmmm....

I don't know if it would have either but now we'll really never know.  The families were apparently very very close but I just can't fathom why the brother wouldn't call to get help out to the family immediately.

I'm definitely reading all updates about this story. It's so sad...

I guess I am a worry wart according to my family...so I would be checking in to see if they got back to shore that evening....

I agree with Luvspaper. 6 foot waves aren't "big". The beach where I lived averaged 3-4 foot breakers, so there wasn't a big surf scene. The locals would surf and boogie board right before and after storms when the breakers averaged 6-8 feet. 

The area where I lived was on the Intracoastal waterway that was connected to the ocean by a deep water inlet. (it's where Blackbeard scuttled the 'Queen Anne's Revenge'.) 

The inlet area averaged 4-6 foot waves. Winds and changes in temperature on the water are what whips up waves, and that coastal area was popular because there was an almost constant breeze that made summer days in the 80s and 90s comfortable. 

So, depending on the size of the sailboat, 4-6 foot waves are no big deal. Sailboats also have a very deep keel (similar to the bottom of surf boards but much longer) that keeps them stable. 

This family had been sailing constantly for a year or longer. Their family would have gotten used to them weathering small storms. 

What did make me question this story was that the Coast Guard found a bucket containing all the family's important paperwork--birth certificates, etc. all gathered together. Unless the bucket was sealed to be waterproof, that isn't how most boat owners would keep their info. I'd have this info tied to me to keep it from floating off.

It made me think that the family was trying to abandon ship and was gathering everything together to get in a dingy or other boat when something catastrophic happened--like a rogue wave washed everyone overboard, the mast broke--which could capsize the boat, the boat was taking on so much water that it was sinking, or maybe the boat did capsize. Or all of the above.

This was a tragedy to be sure, but I think (and yes I am assuming) that this man was an inexperienced sailor. Or one who was poorly prepared. We all make mistakes. Sadly his mistakes ended in tragedy for him and his children. The reports say he and his children were living aboard their 29 food sailboat while it was moored in the Sarasota harbor for at least a year. He decided to move it (for whatever reasons) down to Fort Myer for repairs. I assume he was working during that time because when you moor a sailboat it sits in water close by shore, and you usually row a very small boat back and forth to it. This family probably used the kayaks they owned. He had to feed his teenagers so he probably had a job. 

I think his mistake was moving the sailboat by taking it out to sea when it need repairs. But maybe he had to move it. That can happen. But why did he go without a lifeboat? That may have saved their lives. A lot of inexperienced people think they can save money by not taking a lifeboat. It's a risk and a gamble you take whenever you go out to sea. I wouldn't do it. I am not blaming this man. He lost his life and his children's lives. Why didn't he have a working radio on board, and let's say the radio broke so he used his phone. That can happen. But why didn't he call the Coast Guard first?

My Dad and I sail and we really aren't that experienced. We've been sailing off and on since 1990. We sail his small sailboat around the Chesapeake Bay. It's a day sailer. We aren't experienced enough to go out to sea or sail anywhere overnight, but we know when we get into trouble that the first call is to the Coast Guard. And we've been there before. Once a long time ago on an older boat of his that was larger we hit a submerged refrigerator and tore the keel of the boat. First thing we did was call the Coast Guard. The Coast Guard should always be your first call. 

I know I can sit here and why this and why that to death. And it's not fair-this family is dead. But maybe it will help the next family. 

It is really odd that his brother didn't call the Coast Guard until two days later and maybe that had a lot to do with their deaths-that lack of time. It's very sad and tragic no matter how it played out. 

Debbie in MD.