How Many EPIRBS and Liferafts Ever Save Lives ?

[transmitterdan]

I'm ok with anyone going to sea without EPIRB or life raft as their prerogative. I just don't think that approach is doing anything for the betterment of mankind. Let us have the maritime equivalent of a DNR signed by all on board before they leave.

As to better training, procedures and better designed equipment I think all would agree that will help reduce SAR sorties. Discussions on those issues should never end. Better built boats wouldn't hurt either but that's in another thread.

This morning I found in my inbox a notice of an overdue catamaran, S/V Simplicity, with EPIRB but no life raft. No distress message from the EPIRB. Some efforts are underway but USCG has no real idea where to look for them. Their float plan is over a year old and no one seems to know even how many souls are on board. So you may have another stat soon.

[hellosailor]

tdan-
"Can anyone post verifiable statistics on the "high failure rate of life rafts" and causes for same?"

How on earth could you verify the failures, other than by interviewing the folks who drowned following them? One might rashly consider that if a life raft failed, any survivors were adrift in the water until they died and that rescue did not find them.

In a rare few cases (Rafiki?) the boat will be found with an undeployed life raft, but by and large if a boat goes down and the life raft does not deploy, or deploys and then fails, nothing will be found in any case, will it?

At least when a parachute fails, someone often stumbles across the splotch o the ground, complete with 'chute.

So, how do you propose counting failed life rafts? Other than the account from life raft testing, on land, which in some cases apparently has produced high numbers of witnessed and verified failures. Rashly assuming those are not atypical samples.

[Leo Ticheli]

In person you would find me just as willing to tell you that sailing without proper safety kit is irresponsible and endangers your crew, so I'm certain that I fit nicely into your definition of me, regardless of my research skills or learning ability, about which you know nothing.

I'll exit this thread now and hope that no one dies out there for want of proper safety kit or from over reliance of it.

[hellosailor]

So if sailing without a life raft and EPIRB is criminally foolish, or foolishly criminal, whichever way you phrase it, then logically all the older cruising authors must be criminally foolish, since they braved the ocean mainly without life rafts, well before EPIRBs were available much less affordable. And without electric anchor winches, too.

Wow, who knew all those respected authors were criminally foolish!

[transmitterdan]

In a previous post I mentioned S/V Simplicity was overdue. They have reported in and are just delayed.