Yup. But not for the stuff they took it out in.
Edgewater has a good reputation and can handle some pretty nasty stuff. Being they were at anchor in rough seas, they probably took one over the bow or side. Water filled the boat which shifted the center of gravity and over she went.
Its not uncommon to run a boat like that 20 or 30 miles out. On a nice day with a good weather window.
Hell it was only 2' shorter than my boat. But I've never had mine out on a day that was forcast to turn into 8'+ seas.
I have had a 20' boat out to 28 miles here before. But it was a really nice day with no chance for a front at all. That is where they really screwed up. I've got a notion that the owner ( I can't remember which one) didn't take the Coast Guard Aux. Course or any other where they cover the limitations of your boat vs. how fast the weather can change. You don't often see 8ft. seas here on the Gulf side much. In fact, I'd say it is downright rare. But I wouldn't take that boat out in anything over 3ft. for the simple sake of comfortability.
A 21ft. boat is mostly for inland waters including the Intercoastal and the Bay. You can take it out on the ocean, but I would say 25 miles is pushing it on average. Of course, as everyone has said, you can pick your days/windows and go out further, but you are testing the limits of your knowledge of the weather/ocean and how they interact. The range of your seafaring should be directly correlated with your level knowledge/experience on the ocean. Period. Even if you have the "proper" equipment - if you don't have the knowledge to put it to use, you risk killing yourself and others.
This was a perfect example of how many guys go out and purchase a boat and have no clue how to use it safely. So many people I've seen that just buy the boat and expect it to be just like a car. It mostly costs them a lot of money in fiberglass repairs. But occasionally we have stories like this.
Hell, many people don't even know how to read channel markers, much less navigate the open ocean responsibly. I don't know that I would like to require people to take a course like the Coast Guard Auxiliary gives, but I think boat dealers should be much more proactive in offering/pushing boat buyers to take basic seamanship classes.
I believe everyone should be responsible for themselves and that the government should not have their fingers in everything, etc. But a big part of me also thinks that they should do more for on the educational aspect of proper seamanship/boating. The numbers don't really support it though. Last year, I think there were 69 deaths in Florida related to boating. Compare that to approximately 1.1 million vessels registered in the state. That should equate to an awful lot of hours on the water between accidents. Plus, most people who died drowned after falling overboard. Not from navigational errors, capsizing, etc.
It is just a shame when this stuff happens when it could have been avoided. What is that saying about accident avoidence? 90% can be?
Apparantly, there are unconfirmed rumors that the two NFL players gave up after two hours?! That doesn't make sense in the slightest. Maybe after a longer period of time, but not two hours. Here is a link to that story:
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,504464,00.html
