Not Without Hope

Not Without Hope is a 2010 non-fiction book by Nick Schuyler and Jeré Longman. The book describes a 2009 boating accident that Schuyler survived while his three friends, including NFL players Marquis Cooper and Corey Smith, died. Not Without Hope was a New York Times best-seller. Description Not Without Hope describes a 2009 boating accident that took the lives of NFL players Marquis Cooper and Corey Smith and Schuyler's best friend Will Bleakley. Schuyler survived the incident. On Saturday, February 28, 2009, at about 6:30 AM, the four men embarked in a 21-foot single-engine boat owned by Cooper from the Seminole Boat Ramp near Clearwater Pass. They had gone fishing in the Gulf of Mexico about off of Clearwater, Florida. At around 5:30 PM, they went to pull up the anchor and head back to port but it was stuck. When Cooper tried to thrust the boat forward in an attempt to dislodge the anchor, the vessel became submerged and capsized, tossing the men overboard. According to Schuyler, over the next several hours, his three companions eventually succumbed to hypothermia and Schuyler was the sole survivor. On March 2, 2009, he was found by the United States Coast Guard. Schuyler was near death, clinging to the engine mount of the capsized vessel. Accident victims William Ward Bleakley (born November 20, 1983, in Crystal River, Florida) was 25 years old at the time of the incident. He graduated from Crystal River High School with honors, where he played varsity football, baseball, and soccer. Bleakley earned a bachelor's degree from the University of South Florida (USF) in finance and accounting. At the beginning of his college career, he was invited to walk-on to the USF Bulls football team. He played in USF's first two bowl games, including its first bowl victory. Bleakley and Schuyler met in the sixth grade, played football together at USF, and became best friends. In the early morning of March 2, 2009, according to Schuyler, Bleakley became non-responsive, exhibited signs of hypothermia, and separated from the fishing boat. This was less than six hours before Schuyler himself was rescued by the United States Coast Guard. Bleakley's body was lost at sea; he is missing and presumed dead. Marquis Victor Cooper (born March 11, 1982, in Mesa, Arizona) was age 26 when the boating accident occurred. He was a linebacker in the National Football League. He was drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the third round of the 2004 NFL Draft.