Garmin inReach mini as safety device at sea for a couple

[requiem]

Agree with the clipping in comments. That said...

Critical items for the PFD would be a crotch strap, light, and spray hood. These address three critical problems: the PFD coming off or otherwise becoming a nuisance, being able to spot an MOB in the dark, and the risk of progressive drowning in heavier seas.

Ironically a light might make your odds slightly better at night compared to during the day, but it depends on the person not being in the trough of a wave at the time a searcher is looking. The electronics should be useful for getting you back to the general area, but expect to still need to look around.

As for the handheld VHF, there was a case of someone in the water off the Berkeley pier who used a VHF to call for help, but was still almost not found. The story doesn't mention it, but IIRC there was an issue there with water in the mic.

Finally, you do need to consider how to get someone back aboard if you can't do it at the transom. In larger swells boarding at the transom would be very dangerous.

[Letterkenny]

Sort of an aside but read spinlock several times. I have a west marine with harness, is that much worse than the spinlock? Honestly just got this with the WM pro discount that can be used with the jack lines and tethers I have but would be open to a new life jacket if better (coastal Southern California cruising).

[Marathon1150]

Originally Posted by Letterkenny

Sort of an aside but read spinlock several times. I have a west marine with harness, is that much worse than the spinlock? Honestly just got this with the WM pro discount that can be used with the jack lines and tethers I have but would be open to a new life jacket if better (coastal Southern California cruising).

The Spinlock 5 and 6 models are quite remarkable. Sprayhood, self-lighting emergency light, crotch straps, emergency tether release system, etc etc. But they are a bit bulkier than the Westmarine version.

We have both 5's and 6's (long story). The 6s are IMHO, slightly better. The crotch strap is easier to deploy and the emergency tether release system would be easier to use if required.

They aren't cheap and they are not certified for use in Canada. This means that we have to have some Canadian certified PFDs on board in case we are inspected and hope to avoid a fine. I suspect that the lack of certification may be because Spinlock doesn't want to spend the money on the certification process for the relatively small number of units that they sell in Canada.

Also, in the tropics they are hot. Once we got not too far south of the equator we abandoned the Spinlocks and replaced them with harnesses. But we used the same rules - everybody had to clip in to a large Wichard folding padeye at the companionway and then to a wire jackline on the sole of the cockpit that ran back just to the helm. Double tethers made this easy and when clipped in in the cockpit it was possible to adjust the windvane but not go far enough back to fall off the boat.

[Marathon1150]

Originally Posted by jpsp

Luckily, we have a swimladder and super low transom on our Catalina 36 MK ii so getting back aboard would be relatively easy. We've done this a few times after untangling lines stuck in the rudder in a seaway.

The swim ladder will be useful in the right conditions but as many posts mention, it really is best to not leave the boat.

Off the cost of Northern California we were in 40-50 kt winds and 7-9m (22-30) foot seas. We were 100% confident that if someone fell off there, we would never see them again. So even the person that needed the most reminding to clip in, required no reminding in those conditions.

At that time we had jacklines on both side decks for going forward. For our next big passage I was convinced by a friend to run one line down the middle of the boat to the extent possible. Pics can be seen in our albums if you click on my icon and check "Safety and other...."

[RedneckRedcoat]

Originally Posted by Snore

I am going to be direct. Sorry if that is offensive.

With just two of you, if you go over, the odds of wifey getting you back are about 100-1. You might do better getting her back. But, those devices will allow the USCG to recover your remains.

Every boat I delivered REQUIRED, as in it was in the crew agreement, those on deck to clip in. If you are clipped in, and the hard points/jacklines are set right, you cannot go over.

Please do not expect technology to compensate for good seamanship. A spinlock deckvest and. 2-legged tether is a smarter move.

Cynical much ?

Incidentally spinlock are not coast guard approved in the USA

Agree one hundred percent about being being tethered in

[RedneckRedcoat]

You really need a Personal Epirb. Garmin are ok for satellite tracking the boat but I wouldn’t rely on them for this senario

[Kolchac]

I do use Garmin inReach mini.
I found this device to be great. You can preset the number of emails and messages. Pressing one button, you can send messages with your coordinates, (which are added automatically). I sent "I'm OK" to my friends and to myself once a day, sometimes 5 times a day depending on the conditions. There is also an SOS button, again with preset messages (like boat name, number of people, and so on) also SOS will be sent to your friends just to duplicate the main one.
if you have 2 devices, you can communicate with each other. Also, you can receive the weather forecast of your region. You can connect to your smartphone which makes sending and receiving emails and other information more comfortable.
About the falling off the boat. Better to use Jack Line.
Also, some solo sailers tie a 100' line to the stern and draw it behind the boat, so they will have a chance to grab it.
Also, there is an advantage, compared to the regular epirb: you cannot test the epirb, so you cannot be sure whether it works.

[moseriw]

Nowadays there are devices out that combine AIS and EPIRB for around USD 600,--/pcs. If an AIS Emergency Signal is set every boat within VHF Range of around 25 Miles will get an terrible alarm sound that wakes up the dead. And my dealer said: stay off all garmin devices and I believe he has a good reason to say it. I.e. My VHF-Cord in the navroom below deck just fell apart within 9 years and garmin does not provide spares any more and the do know quite well that they sold scrap.
The cod on my HF is 30 years old and as good as new.

[JAFO]

Originally Posted by Kolchac

Also, some solo sailers tie a 100' line to the stern and draw it behind the boat, so they will have a chance to grab it.

Except that testing has proven that if the boat is moving at more than a couple of knots, the pressure of the water moving past you will make it impossible to pull yourself back along the line. Even if it has knotted handholds.

Short version.. DON'T fall overboard in the first place! If single-handing and on deck, ALWAYS be clipped on.