Buying and wearing a PLB seems like a good idea. Who has experience with one of these - any information you can share would be appreciated.
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experience with PLB - Personal Locator Beacon
- Thread starter Nashville_Blues
- Start date
Depends where you sail. On the ocean, yes. Inland I doubt it.
The PLB broadcasts a distress signal to the satellite network which relays the signal to a central dispatch facility, which then sends the signal to the regional or local rescue organization. Once it is received by that organization, they try to contact the Emergency contacts on the account and then a search is initiated. It takes a few hours to get through the process.
On an inland lake with good cell coverage, you'll do better with a cell phone and a call to 911. On the Great Lakes or near shore a GPS enabled VHF with a DSC panic button will work more quickly as it goes direct to the regional Coast Guard station.
The PLB broadcasts a distress signal to the satellite network which relays the signal to a central dispatch facility, which then sends the signal to the regional or local rescue organization. Once it is received by that organization, they try to contact the Emergency contacts on the account and then a search is initiated. It takes a few hours to get through the process.
On an inland lake with good cell coverage, you'll do better with a cell phone and a call to 911. On the Great Lakes or near shore a GPS enabled VHF with a DSC panic button will work more quickly as it goes direct to the regional Coast Guard station.
While I don't have any experience using a PLB, we do have personal AIS beacons in our lifejackets and ditch bag (which I also don't have any experience using them - knock on wood).
The main reason for deciding on a PAIS rather than a PLB was that if one of us went overboard, there was a vastly greater chance of saving them with the mothership or a nearby ship than there was waiting for a professional rescue.
When we bought them, the only choice was PAIS or PLB. Now, there are combined models. Those would probably be the best to get.
Mark
Edit: I realized I may have inadvertently gave the wrong impression of our ditch bag. We also have a regular EPIRB in our ditch bag. The PAIS is in addition to that, and would be used if a ship was spotted nearby. I put no confidence in flares or their ability to be seen, and they would be my last choice of getting attention.
The main reason for deciding on a PAIS rather than a PLB was that if one of us went overboard, there was a vastly greater chance of saving them with the mothership or a nearby ship than there was waiting for a professional rescue.
When we bought them, the only choice was PAIS or PLB. Now, there are combined models. Those would probably be the best to get.
Mark
Edit: I realized I may have inadvertently gave the wrong impression of our ditch bag. We also have a regular EPIRB in our ditch bag. The PAIS is in addition to that, and would be used if a ship was spotted nearby. I put no confidence in flares or their ability to be seen, and they would be my last choice of getting attention.
12 Guage aerial flares are virtually worthless. Handheld or smoke signals are much more likely to be seen.
Not sure how much of a Coast Guard presence there is on your lake.
Check with the Sheriff's Department or the game warden find out what equipment they use and what they would recommend. A patch of reflective material on your PFDs and a whistle tethered to every PFD is inexpensive and should be the first step.
Not sure how much of a Coast Guard presence there is on your lake.
Check with the Sheriff's Department or the game warden find out what equipment they use and what they would recommend. A patch of reflective material on your PFDs and a whistle tethered to every PFD is inexpensive and should be the first step.
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I missed that the OP is boating on a lake. In that case, a PLB is completely useless. One would either drown or swim to shore before help arrived.
A better chance would be with a small DSC radio where a warning would be blasted to everyone with a VHF, and one could talk to them.
Mark
A better chance would be with a small DSC radio where a warning would be blasted to everyone with a VHF, and one could talk to them.
Mark
I purchased one several years ago. Sail single handed mostly. Compact size allows me to Keep it in a pouch in my inflatable pfd. If you fall overboard & no one remains onboard, DSC, AIS, VHF won’t help; so either cell phone or PLB is your lifeline. Manufacturer also markets to outdoorsmen who hunt & hike in remote areas. Have to send it to an authorized service center every five years for recertification & battery replacement at cost of approximately $125. A division of NOAA contacts me annually to update personal info including boat & contacts and provides an update sticker to attach to unit. My understanding is that newer cell phones (I phone) has capability of transmitting distress calls via satellite; however, my phone doesn’t have that feature.
If one falls overboard with other boats within a few miles, then DSC, AIS, and VHF helps a lot. This is likely to be the situation on a lake, or even coastal cruising.
The response time for a PLB to bring help to a person is a few hours at the quickest. This works well for people lost in the woods, but not as well for people floating in the sea.
Mark
True, but are you going to have that equipment in your possession if you fall overboard & no one is remaining on the boat?
I have exactly the same setup - I purchased mine this year. In going through the AIS vs PLB decision, mine was made by the lack of anybody talking/listening on VHF-FM on my normal sailing grounds. Rumor has it that the CG VHF-FM tower that is supposed to cover my area has been out of commission for over 6 months. To be honest, other than 1 NOAA wx channel, I haven't heard any VHF-FM comms in western Albemarle Sound in 3 years. Same radio works fine in Long Island Sound, and has better range than most handhelds.
Same in the larger TVA lakes - I can spend 4 days cruising from one end to the other, but not a VHF-FM to be heard. So I chose a very small PLB which fits in a pocket in my inflatable so I will have it should I go overboard when sailing single handed.
Fred W
Stuart Mariner 19 #4133 Sweet P
On an inland lake, I suspect the number of boats with VHF radios is small and the number of boats with a GPS on is even smaller.
A modern cell phone with satellite communications for emergencies is the best device for sailing on inland lakes.
Western Ablemarle Sound isn't exactly a high traffic area. Again, a satellite enabled cell phone would be your best bet.
Really? Which service do you subscribe to for your satellite enabled cell phone? What is the cost? Where does the emergency call go? What is the response time? How complete is the satellite constellation? Are there gaps in coverage? Is it a specific message, or can I use voice? Is the phone watertight enough to use after I tumble overboard? Does the emergency app transmit GPS position?
The PLB costs $395, and costs nothing to use (cost me less at West Marine). It's good anywhere in the world. It automatically sends my GPS position. It has airplane emergency freqs for an aircraft to home in on me. The battery will last 24 hours. It fits in a pocket in my inflatable PFD, so I always have it with me if I go overboard unexpectedly (which is the whole point). It's waterproof, so I have to get the antenna out of the water to get a signal out (true of any radio, including cell phone). A more practical, cheaper, and reliable solution than a cell phone with satellite capability.
I use my cell phone for nav (Navionics), it usually sits by my side. If I go overboard, chances are I won't have the cell phone in my hand.
For those reasons, I choose the PLB. Others may choose differently.
Fred W
I use ATT with an iPhone. There is no extra charge. I believe it gets routed to a US based emergency response organization which forwards the information to your local 911 center with your GPS location.
On my boat on the Great Lakes and on the ocean I have a EPIRB in the ditch bag and personal AIS/DCS locator beacons on the PFDs and a GPS enabled VHF with a panic button.
I was originally talking about a PAIS, which has a DSC and AIS SART transmission. Ours are part of our lifejackets that automatically deploy and start transmitting when the lifejacket inflates.
Then I mentioned the possibility of a handheld DSC VHF connected to a person. More bulky and needs to be attached to the MOB.
Both of those have a greater chance of help arriving much faster than a PLB if there are any other boats within radio distance.
Mark
I don't disagree that a phone is useful, but it does require a waterproof phone and that phone securely attached to the MOB. And the MOB be conscious and able to operate it essentially underwater, or very very wet. And only the most recent phones have satellite communication abilities, and those phones have to have T-mobile plans (at least for Starlink - I don't know if other services have other satellite capability). Then, it would allow a MOB to TEXT numbers they have in their contacts, not call them, and they would have no ability to contact anybody who was nearby.
Texting people a long way away to come get you while bobbing in the water with a mostly submerged phone isn't something I'd consider robust.
Mark
In that case, it is no different than a PLB, with the exception that the PLB is less expensive, automatically connected to you (if in the lifejacket) and has a full battery when it goes overboard.
Mark
True that is with a mighty big "if". Long Island Sound has you covered with boats and VHF everywhere. I very much enjoyed 2 cruises in Long Island Sound with the Mariner Rendezvous. Very different from my home waters in western Albemarle Sound. Did a 2 day single handed cruise in May, covering 18 miles to Edenton and back. Saw no other sailboats but did see one fishing boat and one dive boat. That was it. The emptiness of Albemarle Sound made me a little nervous, enough to improve my safety gear. I realized any help would have to be triggered, and then would take an hour+ to get to me. Hence the PLB.
Fred W
Stuart Mariner 19 #4133 Sweet P
Another wrinkle to consider is a VHF particularly a handheld one is limited to nine of sight communications. On river lakes which tend to be long and narrow you do not get great range. On top of that there are probably more boats equipped with CB than VHF radios.
I think there’s a depressing number of compromises with all of the options.
I have a “waterproof” and satellite enabled phone, and most of the waters I sail in have adequate cell phone reception. My phone is almost always in my pocket when I’m sailing. Still, if I fell in singlehanding I’d have very little confidence that I could get the phone out of my pocket without dropping it and then operating it with wet hands inches above waves. Even on waterproof phones water on the screen can make touch sensors nearly or completely unusable. And the times when you’re likely to fall overboard aren’t times when you can just float on glassy water holding your phone up in the air getting a satellite signal - you’re likely to be bouncing around getting water splashed all over you.
The waters I sail in have a decent number of boats around. Some fraction of them are AIS equipped, and some smaller fraction of them would have any idea what to do if they saw a DSC distress alarm. Maybe I’d be lucky enough to fall in when one of those boats is around, but it’s far from guaranteed. The CG also has a tower not too far that might pick up a DSC alert from the surface of the water. If they do they’ll start Pan Pan calls and maybe there’ll be someone close enough to help. I do keep a VHF on my PFD, but being able to talk and be head with a water soaked microphone is not likely either.
A PLB probably matches the worst case AIS result - waiting for emergency responders to get the message and coordinate a response themselves. For the type of sailing I do having the DSC enabled VHF just seems like the more worthwhile, while still flawed, option.
I have a “waterproof” and satellite enabled phone, and most of the waters I sail in have adequate cell phone reception. My phone is almost always in my pocket when I’m sailing. Still, if I fell in singlehanding I’d have very little confidence that I could get the phone out of my pocket without dropping it and then operating it with wet hands inches above waves. Even on waterproof phones water on the screen can make touch sensors nearly or completely unusable. And the times when you’re likely to fall overboard aren’t times when you can just float on glassy water holding your phone up in the air getting a satellite signal - you’re likely to be bouncing around getting water splashed all over you.
The waters I sail in have a decent number of boats around. Some fraction of them are AIS equipped, and some smaller fraction of them would have any idea what to do if they saw a DSC distress alarm. Maybe I’d be lucky enough to fall in when one of those boats is around, but it’s far from guaranteed. The CG also has a tower not too far that might pick up a DSC alert from the surface of the water. If they do they’ll start Pan Pan calls and maybe there’ll be someone close enough to help. I do keep a VHF on my PFD, but being able to talk and be head with a water soaked microphone is not likely either.
A PLB probably matches the worst case AIS result - waiting for emergency responders to get the message and coordinate a response themselves. For the type of sailing I do having the DSC enabled VHF just seems like the more worthwhile, while still flawed, option.
In the end, we have to accept sailing is inherently risky. Even with a perfect notification system, the chance of being found and retrieved quickly is low. If one is sailing in Edenton Bay on western Albemarle Sound, the CG station in Elizabeth City is over 40 miles away. Even in good weather a CG Fast Response boat will be at least an hour away. Rescue is neither certain not quick.
Time and effort would be better spent in preventing the need for rescue rather than how to notify someone that you need to be rescued. If one's enjoyment of sailing is dampened by worry about being rescued, another recreational activity might be considered.
Time and effort would be better spent in preventing the need for rescue rather than how to notify someone that you need to be rescued. If one's enjoyment of sailing is dampened by worry about being rescued, another recreational activity might be considered.