Sailor Lost; 406 EPIRB Activated 30nm N of Key West

[H34]

As I gaze out my port window I can see Jay's mooring ball and all the derelict boats he collected. It disturbs me that a better method of search should have been implemented.

I was the very last person who received a text from Jay. I told him that if he did not make the sail to Key West then he was going to end up in Mexico. I told him I would keep an eye out for him.

Years ago I lived in ALASKA. I have witnessed what the Alaska Airman's Association does when a person is in need of help in ALASKA. The pilots will take to the sky!

Via the Internet I searched for the Key West Civil Air Patrol and they have no phone number and no plan in place to assist in the search process. I am now calling on the AAS to put forth their leadership in helping to implement such a program here in the Keys and maybe just maybe this will help other mariners in other locations.

I called the Key West International Tower to ask for their help.
I called Sea Plane Adventures that flies a de Havilland Canada DHC-3 Otter. They went into action and asked their passengers in route to and from the Dry Tortugas to be on the look out for the trimaran.
I called the tower at Marathon Airport to alert pilots.
I felt that this was not good enough and now reached out the the United States Navy. I called Naval Air Station Key West and respectfully requested that the war birds that fly out of NAS keep a look out. Was politely told that was not possible and then I asked for another request from the Navy.

This was to utilize the latest USN technology that is being deployed from the HSV-2. This super spy vessel was here in Key West last month. It has the ability to read a license plate from a range of hundreds of miles. The Navy said, to me. Call the Coast Guard and if the Coast Guard desires the help from the Navy - then the Navy will respond. I made that call.

I am 100% certain that if such an asset were utilized then Jay would of had the best technology on the Planet finding him. I pushed every button I could possibly push. I had no fear in asking for help. Trust me on this, the NAVY and COAST GUARD had never received such a phone call.

It just might be a good idea to equip the CG with the HSV-2 technology. Perhaps a far lesser version would be a good start.

All I can say now is... GODSPEED JAY and use your ALASKA skills to stay alive and live to tell the story!

[Kettlewell]

H34, do you know the lat/long of where his EPIRB was found?

[snort]

I hope all your work meets with success, H34.
I'm following this thread and waiting and praying for good news soon.

[Mambo]

Originally Posted by Kettlewell

H34, do you know the lat/long of where his EPIRB was found?

I'd add to that request for information: what time it's signal was first picked up and what time the beacon was recovered and whether the locations were the same.

[Budawang]

H34, you're a good man and a good friend.

Thinking and hoping for a miracle from the other side of the world. Godspeed Jay.

[Astrid]

Years ago I lived in ALASKA. I have witnessed what the Alaska Airman's Association does when a person is in need of help in ALASKA. The pilots will take to the sky!

Possibly has to do with scarce governmental SAR resources since much of Alaska and BC are outside the fringes of civilization; when someone goes missing everyone that can will join in the search since one never knows, but that the next time it might be oneself. In more settled areas, such as Florida, the tendency is to delegate SAR to the authorities.

[Kettlewell]

Speculation: Judging from the very rough location given, 30 miles north of KW, and the wind direction at the time the EPIRB was reported, around 320 degrees, it would seem logical to look downwind from there, or about 140 degrees. Downwind from that location would roughly take someone towards the Big Spanish Channel area. By any chance have any of the searches looked down that way? It gets shallow over there quite a ways out and there are some deserted Keys and shallow islets with nothing on them.

[capngeo]

US Coastguard Pan Pan:

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/...v2WSd7fnw&dl=1

Last known EPIRB position:
25° 04.8 N
082° 00.6 W

34 nm NW of KW

[cheoah]

So, SSW of Key West, in the Florida Channel, is where the EPIRB was found?

[cheoah]

Nevermind, I just listened to the pan pan, EPIRB was NW of Key West as Kettlewell said.

[capngeo]

Originally Posted by cheoah

So, SSW of Key West, in the Florida Channel, is where the EPIRB was found?

My bad. Fatigue driven mistake! The position is
25° 04.8 N
082° 00.06 082° 00.6 W

Again my apologies; not much sleep this week!

[Kettlewell]

25° 04.8
082° 00.6

That's pretty close to one of those lighted towers out there, which I think you said you talked to him about. I wonder if there is any chance he ran into it? I've been tempted at times to go close to something like that, and then realized that even a very moderate sea would just smash me up against the structure. You don't realize how much motion there is until you get close to a fixed object. If someone had a fast boat it might be worth going out there to check out the area.

[cheoah]

Originally Posted by Kettlewell

That's pretty close to one of those lighted towers out there, which I think you said you talked to him about. I wonder if there is any chance he ran into it? I've been tempted at times to go close to something like that, and then realized that even a very moderate sea would just smash me up against the structure. You don't realize how much motion there is until you get close to a fixed object. If someone had a fast boat it might be worth going out there to check out the area.

One learns after a while that when you head for something like a buoy or light, you run the risk of hitting what you are heading for. That's a sobering thought, if he was moving along at a good clip.

[capngeo]

Coasties already did a fly-by and sent a surface vessel to that tower

[Kettlewell]

What's the purpose of those towers out in the middle of nowhere? They must be part of the charted Navy Operational Training Area, but they sure seem to be hazards to navigation.