About 10 years ago when those NFL players died fishing in the Gulf I wanted to know why they died. I called the Coast Guard Station abd spoke to a Lt there and he said they cleared their anchor to the stern and seas got bad. He told me had they had a PLB or EPIRB, that they would all have survived because they would have been on scene quickly. He was also impressed by my wanting to learn from their mistake.
I went out and got the PLB . I also learned this. There are things that happen because we do stupid stuff like trying to get an anchor unhung using a stern cleat. There are stupid things we do like push the weather envelope and be on the sea when we shouldn't. The best safety device we will ever have is our sound judgement and brains.
Your PLB and epirb need to in a spot where if you lose control of the boat and something happens quickly you can grab it quickly. My floating ditch bag is on the deck when we head out, not in the cabin. I Keep a line tied to my spring line cleats because if the boat rolls the lines are already attached and can be thrown over the hull providing a lashing to climb up on a slick boat bottom to hold onto especially in rough seas.
Having an epirb is great and I think every boater should buy one. Thinking about how quickly a boat can roll, you need to have quick access to your emergency gear. I hope never to need it and I also hope that if I do need it it's for an event where my boat is not turtled or on fire.
I went out and got the PLB . I also learned this. There are things that happen because we do stupid stuff like trying to get an anchor unhung using a stern cleat. There are stupid things we do like push the weather envelope and be on the sea when we shouldn't. The best safety device we will ever have is our sound judgement and brains.
Your PLB and epirb need to in a spot where if you lose control of the boat and something happens quickly you can grab it quickly. My floating ditch bag is on the deck when we head out, not in the cabin. I Keep a line tied to my spring line cleats because if the boat rolls the lines are already attached and can be thrown over the hull providing a lashing to climb up on a slick boat bottom to hold onto especially in rough seas.
Having an epirb is great and I think every boater should buy one. Thinking about how quickly a boat can roll, you need to have quick access to your emergency gear. I hope never to need it and I also hope that if I do need it it's for an event where my boat is not turtled or on fire.
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