Alan's Workbench
Stay Alive!
Aug. 11 2009, 12:25 PM
Aug. 11 2009, 12:25 PM
In Northern California, we have several fatalities among fishermen every year. Each time a report comes out in the newpaper, I take a look at it and ask myself, "How could they have come out of this alive?" In nearly every situation that I've read about, I believe that these guys would have survived if they were wearing a handheld VHF radio and a life jacket. A local US Coast Guard officer that I know recommends an EPIRB as your first piece of electronic safety equipment, but one crew several years ago perished with a properly functioning GPIRB in the water. So, as a boat owner, what are you going to do?
My solution is an inflatable life raft in the cabin, a GPIRB with a hydrostatic release on the hardtop, a handheld GPIRB at the helm, and life jackets for everyone. Each life jacket is equipped with a strobe, a whistle, a cyalume light stick, a 3-pack of handheld flares and a handheld VHF radio that has a built-in GPS. In a worst case scenario, the boat could suddenly roll over and throw all hands into the water. The hull is now upside down with no way to reach the life raft or the handheld GPIRB. To make matters worse, the GPIRB on the hardtop is kicked out it's case and starts happily pinging away, only it is trapped under the hull as well. Once you enter our 55 degree water, you have a 60 second period of uncontrolled gasping. Let's hope you're on the surface while this is happening. Then you have 20 minutes of functional motor activity when you can still push buttons and turn knobs. You have 30 more minutes until half of your crew is dead (remember the 50/50/50 rule?) and 2 more hours until the rest of you are dead.
But you are not going to die today. No one will. You fire up the radio and call a "mayday." With the GPS build into your radio, you can give the Coast Guard your exact latitude and longitude. This turns a search and rescue mission into a straight rescue mission. It's a HUGE difference. Even if you don't own a boat, you can still bring your own life jacket when you hitchhike on someone else's boat. You place your life in the hands of the skipper whenever your go out on the water. If it's your first time as a guest on a new vessel, you may not find out until you're underway that your skipper is a safety idiot. Bringing your own properly equipped life jacket is your best insurance.
But you are not going to die today. No one will. You fire up the radio and call a "mayday." With the GPS build into your radio, you can give the Coast Guard your exact latitude and longitude. This turns a search and rescue mission into a straight rescue mission. It's a HUGE difference. Even if you don't own a boat, you can still bring your own life jacket when you hitchhike on someone else's boat. You place your life in the hands of the skipper whenever your go out on the water. If it's your first time as a guest on a new vessel, you may not find out until you're underway that your skipper is a safety idiot. Bringing your own properly equipped life jacket is your best insurance.
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