BoatUS.com - Seaworthy Magazine

Headed South this Fall? Do Your Homework!
By Bob Adriance

Ryan Kingsbury, a surfer, was checking out the waves one morning at Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina when he spotted a sailboat that seemed to be having trouble just beyond the surf line. Ryan watched as the situation quickly went from iffy to desperate; a breaking wave picked up the boat and catapulted it toward the beach.

The sailboat had been en route from Annapolis, Maryland to Florida. The man, who remained steadfastly at the helm, escaped without injury. Ryan said the man’s wife had been down below and was also unharmed but was badly shaken.

The boat’s anchor line was fouled in the prop and there may have been a problem with the sail. Ryan asked the man why he hadn’t opted to bring the boat down the Intracoastal Waterway, which is protected and much safer than the notorious currents that swirl around the Outer Banks. The man, according to Ryan, didn’t seem to know what the Intracoastal Waterway was.

That’s not as crazy as it sounds. There have been many accounts in Seaworthy of boats that got into trouble offshore because their skippers hadn’t done their homework. While en route from Key West, Florida to Newport, Rhode Island, a 20-foot (not a typo) sailboat was dismasted in a squall off the coast of South Carolina. The only man aboard activated a “mini EPIRB”, an older 121 MHz model, which was no longer being monitored by the Coast Guard. For the next two week, the boat drifted slowly northward in the Gulf Stream until a passing cruise ship spotted it off Cape Henry, Virginia. By the time the man was rescued, he had lost 85 pounds and was badly dehydrated. The boat was abandoned (Claim #0702828).

This seems like exactly the right time and place to mention the BoatUS Foundation’s EPIRB or GPIRB (with built in GPS) Loaner Program. Unlike the antiquated 121 MHz models, the 406 models give off highly accurate and reliable encoded signals. Their only bugaboo has been that they can cost over $1,000 (and $200 to refurbish the battery every five years), which is a considerable expense if you only go offshore once in a blue moon. In the interest of saving lives, not to mention saving money, the BoatUS Foundation has been renting 406 EPIRBs since 1997.

A distress signal from a BoatUS rental EPIRB, should it ever have to be activated, is sent to NOAA's U.S. Mission Control Center in Suitland, Maryland, and relayed to the U.S. Coast Guard rescue center. The Coast Guard then contacts the BoatUS 24-Hour Dispatch Center in Alexandria, Virginia, which has a file on each BoatUS EPIRB rental including the vessel name, description, how many people are on board, the trip itinerary and emergency contacts. The system works very well. The boat shown here grounded and began taking on water on Lake Michigan. The EPIRB was activated at 8:50pm and by 10:30 everyone was safely ashore.

Fall is surprisingly busy season for EPIRB/GPIRB rentals, so if you're planning a trip offshore, NOW is the time to reserve one. The weekly Foundation rental rate is $40 for an EPIRB/ $65 for a GPIRB plus shipping. Call 888-66-EPIRB. Or visit, BoatUS.com/foundation/EPIRB.

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