How many of you have satellite beacons or satellite phones when out on the ocean?

[brockangelo]

Search for 3 missing American sailors off coast of Mexico has been suspended: US Coast Guard

The search for three Americans missing off the coast of Mexico has been suspended, the U.S. Coast Guard said Wednesday.

abcnews.go.com

My wife and I are curious after reading this post about a 44 foot boat that was working up the coast of Mexico and headed to San Diego that went missing... I'd think for ocean voyages, I'd want a satellite beacon or even a satellite phone, but if it were just day trips maybe you wouldn't feel like it is necessary. Does anyone use a satellite beacon tracking device or have a satellite phone when they go out on the ocean?

 

[kappykaplan]

I carry an EPIRB on my boat. When I took the Scouts on several DELMARVAs, one of the Scout parents brought a Spot that we used to let the folks ashore know our position.

 

[brockangelo]

How does your EPIRB work? Do you register the device to your name and account somehow?

 

[kappykaplan]

Yes, I renew the device's registration every two years. You begin the registration process when you purchase the unit.

 

[dlochner]

We use a Spot tracker and have a EPIRB. They serve different purposes. The Spot shows in real time (more or less) our location on their web site and has text messaging and a panic button. The EPIRB is an emergency locator beacon that notify the search and rescue agency. It is only used in a serious emergency when the boat is in danger of sinking or someone is deathly ill.

There are a couple of alternatives to Spot, the Garmin InReach and a newcomer the ACR Bivy.

 

[brockangelo]

So I'm curious... With devices like these, are you able to test them? Like, could you call the search and rescue and say "testing my beacon in 3, 2, 1" then turn it off?

 

[Don S/V ILLusion]

So I'm curious... With devices like these, are you able to test them? Like, could you call the search and rescue and say "testing my beacon in 3, 2, 1" then turn it off?

Testing an EPIRB is required monthly. Procedures for doing it can be found by a simple search.

 

[kappykaplan]

With devices like these, are you able to test them?

It varies by device, but they do have a test function.

 

[AaronD]

We have a PLB, which is a smaller version of an EPIRB - unlike an EPIRB, a PLB won't auto-deploy, and the smaller battery won't transmit as long. The longer transmit time would matter in a mid-ocean emergency, but not in our near-shore sailing, so we bought the smaller and cheaper model. EPIRBs and PLBs are only used in an emergency, and they don't have a monthly service fee.

Our PLB battery is officially at end-of-life (5 years), and would cost as much to replace as a new unit (I'm guessing it would still work for several more years, but wouldn't want to find out). Last year, we bought a Bivy Stick (a competitor of the Spot, Garmin InReach, etc.) More for backpacking than sailing (when we took a trip sans-kids, we wanted to be able to text them nightly). We pay for the ~$15-20 monthly service over the summer months when we'll be spending more time away from cell service.

 

[dlochner]

We have a PLB, which is a smaller version of an EPIRB - unlike an EPIRB, a PLB won't auto-deploy, and the smaller battery won't transmit as long. The longer transmit time would matter in a mid-ocean emergency, but not in our near-shore sailing, so we bought the smaller and cheaper model. EPIRBs and PLBs are only used in an emergency, and they don't have a monthly service fee.

Our PLB battery is officially at end-of-life (5 years), and would cost as much to replace as a new unit (I'm guessing it would still work for several more years, but wouldn't want to find out). Last year, we bought a Bivy Stick (a competitor of the Spot, Garmin InReach, etc.) More for backpacking than sailing (when we took a trip sans-kids, we wanted to be able to text them nightly). We pay for the ~$15-20 monthly service over the summer months when we'll be spending more time away from cell service.

The ACR Bivy is an attractive alternative to Spot and InReach because it will provide weather forecasts based on its location. They were using DarkSky.net as the weather service until Apple bought the company last December. According to customer service ACR will be changing providers and will have more maritime weather reporting. That is a feature worth paying for.

How Dark Sky users can use the Apple Weather app - Apple Support

Dark Sky’s features have been integrated into Apple Weather. Apple Weather offers hyperlocal forecasts for your current location, including next-hour precipitation, hourly forecasts for the next 10 days, high-resolution radar, and notifications.

support.apple.com

 

[BigEasy]

I have an ACR Personal Locator Beacon (PLB) onboard. It is registered with NOAA/SARSAT. The registration is updated every two years at no cost. NOAA sends a renewal reminder a couple months prior to expiration of your registration decal that is affixed to the PLB. Last year, for the first time, I had the unit inspected & battery replaced. I used Solution One Marine LLC in Tampa; they tested the unit and installed a new battery for $110.00 including return shipping. Service took approximately one week and battery is good for 6 years. Very affordable piece of safety equipment for coastal cruising. The major chandleries have them on sale at least annually.

 

[brockangelo]

See that's what puzzles me about this situation I linked to about the missing sailors. I'd have guessed that with all that experience they would have had something like this on board.

 

[brockangelo]

It's not clear to me from the article if this boat was new to them, or if they were bringing it back for hire or something, but the article does mention that no beacons were on board.

Kerry and Frank O'Brien, a married couple, initially decided to travel to Mexico to sail a 41-foot LaFitte sailboat named "Ocean Bound" to San Diego after the boat underwent repairs near Mazatlán, Mexico, according to Argall.

 

[BigEasy]

See that's what puzzles me about this situation I linked to about the missing sailors. I'd have guessed that with all that experience they would have had something like this on board.

Yes, that remains a mystery.
On the other hand, I recently read about a case where two couples were cruising in the Pacific, somewhere between Galapagos and Hawaii. Their boat was struck by a whale and sank within 20-30 minutes. Thankfully the seas were relatively calm & they abandoned ship into a life raft & inflated dinghy. They had a dedicated EPIRB onboard that was activated & placed in the life raft. Long story short, they were rescued by a freighter that was directed to them by authorities. They also had a satellite radio/telephone onboard. Really amazing; only 10 hours from sinking to recovery!

 

[brockangelo]

Yeah, I wonder if this just boils down to "over-confidence in the hired crew" and the "collective experience of those aboard" to go without some sort of safety net like an EPIRB

 

[dlochner]

See that's what puzzles me about this situation I linked to about the missing sailors. I'd have guessed that with all that experience they would have had something like this on board.

People make all kinds of decisions about safety equipment, in both directions, overly cautious and those who throw caution to the wind. It is easy to rationalize both extremes.

We had a spot so our friends could track our progress and for the text messaging, which we only used when my stepson's father was having life threatening health issues. We had the EPIRB because we would be 100 miles offshore for part of our trip. We also had AIS/DSC personal locators on our PFDs, so it would be easier to find the body if one of us went overboard.

It does hurt a little when you are laying thousands of dollars for things you hope to never use.

 

[brockangelo]

It does hurt a little when you are laying thousands of dollars for things you hope to never use.

Yeah, and probably not a luxury that everyone has. I used to think of myself as a risk-taker; maybe I was in my youth. As an adult, I'm so far from it and veer towards the "overly cautious", but still great at making a spectacle of myself.

 

[dlochner]

You'll be all set when the next great flood comes.

 

[brockangelo]

Yeah, that was a fun day for me... I did a write-up after the fact. The moral of that story is that if you don't have a winch, you don't have a trailer.

Edit to include the link to my debacle: A lesson on winches

 

[ShawnL]

I had a similar incident 2 years ago when I hauled out for the season. Boat wasn't far enough forward and it popped off the hitch while pulling up the ramp. Thankfully we were the only people there. I was able to pull up to a trailer parking space, throw my mast raising / lowering clutch behind the wheels and pull the trailer back down and re-attach. Didn't want to back down the ramp again (as more power boaters started showing up) so we just made do with putting all the weight in the v-berth for the 10 mile ride home. I won't make that mistake again.