How Many EPIRBS and Liferafts Ever Save Lives ?

[hellosailor]

A nooze story about that boat also said they had anchored 26 miles out form the Bahamas and all gone to sleep for the night.

Isn't that a bit odd? To anchor 26 miles out from land??

[MarkJ]

I like the EPIRB and Sat Phone combination.
Then when floating in the water one can phone the Cosat Guard and say: "I say, I say, I say, did you hear the one about the sailor swimming with a EPIRB?"

[zeehag]

i like how the uscg HAS to come thru frequently in anchorages and moorings to see whose epirb is sending signals --- i consider this a failure as it is a maneuver requiring payment for manpower and fuel and other lovely expenses. is why i will not have one.
the day we go there into mazatlan was another day of uscg roaming the anchorage in mazatlan looking for something-- omg--musta been another bad signal from an epirb.....spendy--- costs money for these false calls to be explored. that is a fail situation.
the number of saves by having these devices is many times fewer than the expense of having to search for the failing one--manpower and equipment wise.
go figger.

[Paul Elliott]

I realize that most of you don't have my tech-gear-fetish, but I've installed the ACR emergency beacon receiver on VALIS. Not only will it scream out an alarm if a crewmember goes overboard (and manages to trigger their PLB before drowning), but should one of our EPIRBs or PLBs false-alarm I will hear about it even before the Coast Guard does. Should this happen I will contact them via satphone or SSB and save them the trouble of starting an unnecessary SAR operation.

The beacon receiver did trigger last year while we were at sea. We checked our various emergency beacons but none of them were activated, and there was no other signal heard. I suspect that it was random noise -- you listen to noise long enough and it will eventually sound like a real signal. Oh well, one false alarm in five weeks of continuous operation isn't too bad, and it was a good drill.

[Snore]

Interesting to note that when the local TV did the interview they zoomed in on the device used. It was the basic ACR PLB based on the interviews the device was the one with a GPS built in.

[osirissail]

Originally Posted by hellosailor

A nooze story about that boat also said they had anchored 26 miles out form the Bahamas and all gone to sleep for the night.
Isn't that a bit odd? To anchor 26 miles out from land??

The caption on the photo has them 22 miles NW of West End or just north of Memory Rock. Charts show that area with from 1 fathom to 4 fathoms of water. Which fits with the statement at the end of the article about their wanting to go salvage the boat.

[GordMay]

Originally Posted by hellosailor

... Isn't that a bit odd? To anchor 26 miles out from land??

Not in the Bahamas. We often anchored, well out of sight of land, just off the track betweeen NorthWest Chanel Marker & Russell Beacon.

[Cormorant]

One thing I didn't get was how long it took from the time the boat sank till the Coast Guard arrived. One article made reference to "all night" but who know what that really means. . . . You would think if they had a GPS-equipped PLB a Coast Guard helicopter out of Miami have reached them in under an hour. Anyone have a timeline for this rescue?

[Therapy]

Originally Posted by Paul Elliott

I.

The beacon receiver did trigger last year while we were at sea. We checked our various emergency beacons but none of them were activated, and there was no other signal heard. I suspect that it was random noise -- you listen to noise long enough and it will eventually sound like a real signal. Oh well, one false alarm in five weeks of continuous operation isn't too bad, and it was a good drill.

You must have just sailed past some poor drowning person.

[meyermm]

Just love the fault finding session you guys are conducting. I am sure the only thing you would be happy about is if they had all drowned while possessing an EPIRB to justify your anti safety equipment point of view.
They were rescued, they had an EPIRB which did its job face it.
Zeehag - the world spends billions on safety to protect people hoping it will not be required. People are worth more than a dollar value you seem to put on them which is what you are indirectly saying, mind you I have trouble understanding most of what you write.

[psneeld]

Originally Posted by zeehag

i like how the uscg HAS to come thru frequently in anchorages and moorings to see whose epirb is sending signals --- i consider this a failure as it is a maneuver requiring payment for manpower and fuel and other lovely expenses. is why i will not have one.
the day we go there into mazatlan was another day of uscg roaming the anchorage in mazatlan looking for something-- omg--musta been another bad signal from an epirb.....spendy--- costs money for these false calls to be explored. that is a fail situation.
the number of saves by having these devices is many times fewer than the expense of having to search for the failing one--manpower and equipment wise.
go figger.

the USCG is fully funded whether they look for EPIRBs or sit in the station watching TV.

I mentioned this before and somebody else didn't want to believe it either...but it's true...only large scale operations at the disaster or national level really effect the bottom line of the budget...unless things have dramatically changed under homeland security...but I doubt the little the spend looking for an EPIRB even daily makes a dent in their budget.

[meyermm]

Originally Posted by psneeld

the USCG is fully funded whether they look for EPIRBs or sit in the station watching TV.

I mentioned this before and somebody else didn't want to believe it either...but it's true...only large scale operations at the disaster or national level really effect the bottom line of the budget...unless things have dramatically changed under homeland security...but I doubt the little the spend looking for an EPIRB even daily makes a dent in their budget.

To most what you have stated is logical and further to that most organisations like USCG would prefer to train in live operations rather than simulated rescues which also cost money to set up.

[Therapy]

Originally Posted by meyermm

To most what you have stated is logical and further to that most organisations like USCG would prefer to train in live operations rather than simulated rescues which also cost money to set up.

I don't want a trainee rescuing me any more than I want a trainee doctor hacking my insides.

Let them train on floats and refugees.

[psneeld]

Let the pros do their work...and let them do a good enough job that funding them for the great things they do is easy...usually public outcry forces congress to think how they should be properly funded and in the end congress usually offers more than the USCG accepts.

Lot's of people are guessing what really goes on...and most are really far from the truth.

The bottom line is...if you want to have a fighting chance of getting rescued o matter where you are on the planet...get an EPIRB/PLB...

If you don't care ....then neither do we......just don't take someone with you...make sure they know your beliefs and on hand survival gear.

Having and EPIRB/PLB doesn't make me anymore reckless...it just makes me more comfortable...but never totally at ease while at sea.

[Cormorant]

Here's a case where a PLB would have saved a life. We hear about deaths like this at least 2 or 3 times a year -- boat found adrift, man overboard, body found a day or two later. With a PLB attached to your life vest, a hopeless situation turns into a quick rescue.

Missing Haddam Boater Found Dead - East Hampton-Portland, CT Patch

"Francis Closter III, 63, of Little Meadow Road in Haddam, who had been missing since his 34-foot sailboat was discovered floating off the coast of Long Island early this morning, was found dead in Long Island Sound Friday afternoon."