Capt Bill Batson, retired, was a 3 class QM on the Bibb when we went to VM. The group the knew him, I would say we enjoyed the time together, liberty or standing watch with hime.
On Wednesday, March 29, 2023 at 05:56:19 PM EDT, Bill Batson wrote:
This obviously happened in my “front yard” so to speak. Capt Tim Close lived a few doors down from me at the time, and gave me nightly updates on the case, and investigation. Given that these guys were well known athletes, it’s unlikely that some key elements will be portrayed in the movie.1. Not one of these guys had a lick of boating experience, yet they were almost out of sight of land offshore, and2. Evidencing #1, they anchored from the stern putting the boat in to the wind and seas which caused the capsizing.3. No one bothered to check the forecast, which was predicted to blow up that day.At the time, I had been playing golf regularly with the top two dudes at the Tampa Bay Times, our local rag (aka the Red Star). One of them called me seeking info on hourly cost of CG assets and I directed them to the appropriate location. Not long after he called back and told me what the estimated cost was (HUGE bucks) given the amount of aircraft, ship and boat time on scene. I told him, tread carefully; print that and stand by for heavy rolls from the public outcry. He didn’t listen, and the rest, as they say, is history.
The Coast Guard’s next feature film could be this tragic true story
A true-story Coast Guard rescue will soon get the big-screen treatment.
On February 28, 2009, a group of friends set off on a trip that would end in tragedy. Nick Schuyler and Will Bleakley, along with NFL players Marquis Cooper and Corey Smith, left Clearwater, Florida, that day for a fishing trip in the Gulf of Mexico, but things took a terrible turn when a massive storm capsized their boat.
The storm made it nearly impossible for the Coast Guard to perform a rescue in the aftermath of the capsizing. Eventually, only Schuyler was left alive. He was found alone on March 2, clinging to the wreckage.
Schuyler chronicled his account of the events in a book co-written by Jere Longman called “Not Without Hope,” which is now slated to be made into a movie.
Zachary Levi (“Shazam!”) is expected to star as Schuyler, while the rest of the cast has yet to be announced. The film will be written and directed by Joe Carnahan (“The Grey”).
“U.S. Coast Guard Captain Timothy Close and his crew, beaten back in their air rescue efforts, summon their largest ship to cut through the raging ocean as the group battles massive waves, dehydration, severe hypothermia, and even sharks, in their epic struggle to survive and return home to their distraught loved ones,” according to the synopsis from Highland Film Group, which is distributing the movie.
This marks the second attempt at turning “Not Without Hope” into a film. In 2020, it was announced that Rupert Wainwright would be directing the movie, with Miles Teller (“Top Gun: Maverick”) starring as Schuyler. That project never came to fruition.
The production company has yet to provide a release date.
