How Many People Rescued by EPIRB's?

[Lynx]

I thought you might find this interesting -

NOAA SARSAT

[ess105]

Wow - that's more than I would have thought.

[dana-tenacity]

Doesn't say how many wren't rescued, or better still how many were "rescued" unncessarily.

[delmarrey]

Originally Posted by dana-tenacity

Doesn't say how many weren't rescued, or better still how many were "rescued" unncessarily.

This I’m afraid, is going to be a trend in the future. 911 calls use to be for real emergencies. Now a lot of people call it just because they are too lazy to find out who they are suppose to call. Now, most of the time, they get referred to a vendor.

Even my doctor's office answering system says if your having chest pains call 911. Then you get transferred to a local ambulance company for a trip to the ho$pital "where you can get the full treatment"

It use to be a courtesy of the Coast Guard to rescue someone in need. Now it's become a for profit gimmick to rescue the incompetent for a fee, like "Boat Tow" or "Vessel Assist".

Here in the PNW when someone calls the CG, they determine whether it is a real emergency or not. And if not, they ask if they want them to call Vessel A$$i$t, the AAA of the water. Soon, they'll be racing over to see who gets there fir$t..................._/)

[Raven]

Originally Posted by dana-tenacity

Doesn't say how many wren't rescued, or better still how many were "rescued" unncessarily.

When I worked for U.S. Fish and Wildlife in the Aleutian Islands of Alaska, our work vessels were inflatables. We carried small EPIRB's in the pockets of our float coats. One summer on Big Koniuji Island, we were joined by National Geographic sponsored researchers who had the academics down, but didn't have the skills they needed to get by on those remote islands. They were an accident waiting to happen.

When our 85' boat came to pick up my crew at the end of the summer we decided to loan one of our EPIRB's to the researchers we'd be leaving behind. It was a three-day trip back to home port in Homer. About midway back, the VHF came alive with talk about an EPIRB transmitting near Bird Island (the island we'd left the researchers on). A plane and a chopper were sent out from the mainland. The researchers saw them coming and wondered what was going on when a chopper landed next to them on the island.

Well, it turns out that one of the researchers was out and about in their Zodiac, had gotten broached and flipped in a surf landing on the island. He'd had our EPIRB in his pocket. This was the late 80's and the units we had were not particularly waterproof. When he got ashore, he worried that the salt water might ruin the unit so he decided to open the case to flush then dry the device. During the reassembly, he got the wires crossed up on the switch and it started transmitting, calling the SAR crews into action.

[Lynx]

As time progresses with this then we have to see what is be the better solution. In the USA we are used to not having to pay to "Safe our ASS" but we are getting used to paying for Tow Boat US. Will something like this happen in the future where we will have to buy insurance to be rescused at sea or be in debt for the rest of our lifes or in prision in some country?

Let us hope that the devices and people work better so this does not happen.

Tough questions, better to be alive.

[northerncat]

what is interesting to me is that in aus our 112.5mhz epirbs are ok till 2009, but i read on this site that they are illegal this year in the us, does this mean that an aussie cruising in the us will be fined or worse still not be rescued this year?
sean

[dana-tenacity]

right the second time I think