Search, rescue and survival

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  • 16 Jan 2020 07:04
    Reply # 8588213 on 8567997

    A few days ago a 15 m sailboat was in trouble on the south coast of Britanny after crossing the golfe de Gascogne, with no electricity for the chart plotter, the vhf, and no means of communication until they can phone near shore. They were wrong of 23 miles with their position, and they have been locating only after firing their flares.

    Why they don't have an EPIRB, or why they don't use the GPS on their phone, I don't know, but in this situation the flares were useful.

    link


  • 15 Jan 2020 21:10
    Reply # 8583967 on 8567997
    Anonymous member (Administrator)

    The same goes for Norway.
    A few years back, our Storting (Parliament) decided that anyone in boats shorter than 8.0m LOA must wear flotation gear when the boats are under way.
    It is sooo easy to produce laws that don’t cost the lawmakers a penny...

    Arne


  • 15 Jan 2020 19:22
    Reply # 8583176 on 8578162
    David wrote: That is unless one is in a boat of 6 meters or less in which case everyone must wear an approved life jacket whilst the vessel is underway. If you are in a vessel of 6.1 meters in length, or more, there is no need to wear the life jacket, so perhaps that extra .1 of a meter renders the vessel safe?! 
    Which means, of course, that Shane Acton, who sailed one and a half times around the world in the 18'4"/5.6m Shrimpy, would have had to wear his life jacket all the timehe was sailing, even if he was having a quick snooze on his bunk!  John Guzzwell,on the other hand, would be OK in Trekka.  Of course, some local councils say you must wear the life jacket at all times, which would mean that poor Shane could never take his off.
    Last modified: 15 Jan 2020 19:24 | Anonymous member
  • 15 Jan 2020 09:07
    Reply # 8578591 on 8567997

    Thank goodness things are a bit more sensibly regulated in the UK.

    https://www.rya.org.uk/knowledge-advice/safe-boating/keep-in-touch/Pages/calling-for-help.aspx

    "Modern technology provides safer and more reliable options for distress alerting than flares, and presuming such technology is carried aboard a pleasure vessel, the owner may now wish to consider reducing their complement of flares."

    "It is now possible for a pleasure vessel under 13.7m (which is not by law required to carry flares) to be equipped for distress alerting without carrying traditional pyrotechnic flares. An alerting device listed in COLREG such as EPIRB (ideally with GPS and a homing device) or DSC marine radio set (correctly connected to the GPS) which is suitable for the intended area of operation together with some form of EVDS for location in the final mile may be a suitable combination."

    https://www.rya.org.uk/SiteCollectionDocuments/cruising/Web%20Documents/Regulations%20and%20Safety/Distress-Alerting-Info-Sheet.pdf

    https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/437161/74531_Solas_V_MCA098_100714_Ver1.pdf

    (which says that I should carry a radar reflector "if practicable". Nothing else).

  • 15 Jan 2020 08:07
    Reply # 8578162 on 8575707
    Deleted user
    Gary wrote:

    In Australian it is obligatory to carry up to date flares, you can also keep out of date flares but you must have an up to date set on board.

    On the marine rescue boats we also have personal EPIRBS that are carried even if we are only in the river. Only because if we get a call to sea it's one less thing to get from the locker.

    If you do go overboard and you are by yourself then adopt the fetal position as this will reduce core heat loss. Worst case scenario I have read that hypothermia is not a bad way to go...once you get past the shivering stage. :)


    It seems in New Zealand that unless you are going Cat 1 for offshore, or participating in organised yacht racing, that one is free to go to sea with whatever safety equipment one chooses to have, or not have on board. That is unless one is in a boat of 6 meters or less in which case everyone must wear an approved life jacket whilst the vessel is underway. If you are in a vessel of 6.1 meters in length, or more, there is no need to wear the life jacket, so perhaps that extra .1 of a meter renders the vessel safe?! 
  • 15 Jan 2020 01:59
    Reply # 8575707 on 8567997

    In Australian it is obligatory to carry up to date flares, you can also keep out of date flares but you must have an up to date set on board.

    On the marine rescue boats we also have personal EPIRBS that are carried even if we are only in the river. Only because if we get a call to sea it's one less thing to get from the locker.

    If you do go overboard and you are by yourself then adopt the fetal position as this will reduce core heat loss. Worst case scenario I have read that hypothermia is not a bad way to go...once you get past the shivering stage. :)


  • 14 Jan 2020 20:26
    Reply # 8573306 on 8567997

    The Authorities still insist that you have to carry flares, which are not easy to use, probably won't be seen, are extremely expensive and difficult to dispose of. 

    But I'm with David here.  I don't at all like the idea of drowning: it sounds exceedingly unpleasant.  But far better than dying by degrees.

  • 14 Jan 2020 08:47
    Message # 8567997
    David wrote:
    Howard wrote:


          I like the concept of the "life dinghy" like the Portland Pudgie, as an alternative to the so called "life raft"............. "death raft" is a more appropriate  name unless help  is fairly close by....... which for most of us  it is..... unless you happen to be a "real" adventurer... as a number of members here are or have been at times.   The gradual deterioriation of these so called "life rafts" is a major feature of every survival story involving them it seems.   The idea of designing a ply dinghy that could provide the needed shelter and resources for survival...... and be able to make progress under a sail is intriguing.


                                                    H.W.

    I did build a 'life dinghy' once, and had it approved as part of a New Zealand Category 1 inspection and clearance. But silly me, I built it to meet the Cat 1 requirements for a life dinghy which definitely compromised it's usefulness as an actual tender. I do know of someone whose liferaft started falling apart after just a few hours. But I also know of people who have survived for a very long time in a liferaft. I am also thinking of the tragic situation off the New Zealand coast a few months ago where a yacht sank and one person died because in the experienced conditions the liferaft was apparently swept away before they could get into it. Launching a life dinghy in this situation could be even worse.

    I personally am starting to question the whole traditional approach to rescue and survival in these situations. By way of explanation I set off recently to purchase a set of flares for my current yacht as we had none, and you should always carry flares - right? On the way to the marine store I began thinking about the many hundreds of dollars worth of flares I have purchased, and eventually had to dispose of, during my long sailing career, and had a think about how many people have actually signaled for help and been rescued as a result of using flares in recent times, probably not many. There is better technology out there. So rather than purchasing flares I bought a good EPIRB with a 10 year battery life. Yes it was twice the price of the coastal flare pack I was going to purchase, but it has a ten year shelf life instead of three, and if I get into trouble and need to activate the EPIRB our NZ Rescue Center will know very quickly that I am in trouble, they will know which boat is involved, and they will know very precisely exactly where I am 

    I agree: pyrotechnic flares have had their day. I carry a Odeo OLED Flare,  just with the aim of homing in some form of rescue service, which I would have alerted by other means - VHF, DSC, EPIRB, PLB.

    If I were still sailing offshore, and cared enough about surviving a sinking*, I'd carry an EPIRB. As a singlehander, now sailing in coastal waters mostly within VHF reach of the coastguard, there's little need for one. Perhaps I should carry a PLB for when my DSC signal isn't going to be in range of a shore station.

    *but I don't. I'm in my mid-70s, and not immortal. Being brutally realistic, a quick death by drowning would be one of the better ends that I could envisage.


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