I wonder what the weather forecast said before they left - modern forecasts 24 hours ahead generally aren't _that_ far off, not to miss 10'-15' seas vs. whatever a 21' boat would be reasonably expected to handle.

That sure seems like a small boat to me to be so far out. I don't boat any more but when growing up I had a small 16' boat, and I doubt I ever got more than 1,000 feet from shore. That was in parts because of (1) fear of my dad finding out, (2) fear of the cranky motor quitting and (3) weather forecasts weren't as good in the 1960s, but still I wonder if that far out at sea is a good idea for anyone.

How well does a person in the water stand out in NVG? Their heads ought to be 25+ degrees warmer than the surrounding water, but it's an awful small single-pixel target...