| Being in a fairly pessimistic mood I have been | | | | the liferaft, the EPIRB could be attached by a line |
| contemplating disasters and safety at sea. | | | | which would hydrostatically release in the event of the |
| The mood was triggered partly by illness and partly by | | | | yacht foundering. Perhaps the design of EPIRBs could |
| remembering several incidents where vessels have | | | | be adapted so that after the line had broken it would |
| foundered so rapidly - from a variety of causes - that | | | | begin transmission of its emergency signal. |
| the crew has not been able to do anything except | | | | The coroner in the Tasmanian case recommended |
| launch the life raft. The event was so overwhelming | | | | that "The fitting of an EPIRB within a liferaft would |
| and sudden that they were not able to rescue their | | | | have the added benefit that if the EPIRB on the vessel |
| grab bags or anything that might have aided their | | | | could not be activated, any person gaining entry to the |
| survival. | | | | liferaft could transmit their whereabouts." |
| I was been thinking in particular of a Tasmanian fishing | | | | Yacht racing in Australia has always been at the |
| boat which sank suddenly. When this fishing boat was | | | | forefront of safety standards. In addition to the |
| found its two EPIRBs were still in place in their holding | | | | requirement that each yacht carry an EPIRB, when |
| brackets. It is believed that the vessel sank stern first. | | | | competing in the annual Sydney-to-Hobart all crew |
| The painter from the life raft to the vessel had been | | | | must carry a personal EPIRB. This is certainly sensible |
| cut by the crew. There was considerable controversy | | | | and one would imagine that no sea safety organisation |
| over this incident because the police search was called | | | | would have the slightest doubt that a search was |
| off -- as some locals said -- too soon, and the national | | | | needed if, say, a cluster of 10 signals suddenly |
| search and rescue operation did not search at all. | | | | appeared on their screens. |
| The locals correctly predicted the likely drift of the | | | | I cannot end this article without reminding everyone |
| liferaft but, by the time it was found 300 km to the | | | | that there's no point having an EPIRB unless it's one of |
| west, two of the three men were dead and the | | | | the 406 frequency beacons. Why? Monitoring of the |
| other's body has never been found. On the evidence | | | | 121.5 MHz beacons will be discontinued worldwide from |
| provided, the coroner found that they had all died | | | | February 1, 2009. So it wouldn't really matter where |
| before the boat had been reported missing. | | | | you put it if you didn't have the right kind of EPIRB. |
| I'm not concerned with the rights and wrongs of the | | | | One of the key advantages of these new EPIRBs is |
| search -- tragic though the outcome was -- but with | | | | that they have to be registered. When you have done |
| the implications of sudden disaster. | | | | this, you and your yacht will be immediately identified |
| How often, for instance, do vessels simply disappear? | | | | by the signal from your beacon, speeding up the |
| It is quite possible the crews of some of these vessels | | | | search and rescue. |
| managed to get into the liferaft but had no way of | | | | They are also more accurate in their location of a |
| alerting the authorities to their plight. | | | | signal from a distressed yacht. Where the previous unit |
| For instance, should EPIRBs be mounted on the | | | | took two passes of the satellite to get a position, the |
| outside of the hull? Perhaps, on the transom. Then, like | | | | new ones get a position from the first pass. |