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From: (no name) (no email)
Date: Tue May 29 2007 - 23:41:01 EDT
I think my first take on what you were saying about your plans was mistaken.
I thought you were talking about taking the whole weatherfax setup in the
ditchbag (radio, computer, demodulator, etc) but if I understand, you really mean
just the Yachtboy. Personally, I would put a 406 mhz epirb and a handheld vhf
radio in my bag.
I have gone fishing in the Sea Of Cortez on a big boat a number of times.
Very remote. Very. They take from 6 to 9 small v-hull boats out from the mother
ship each day with a guide and 3 fishermen. Later they meet up, sometimes in
the same place, sometimes in a new location, as much as 20 miles away. In about
2000 one of the small v-hulls got lost, ran out of gas. They searched for a
long time, didn't find them. Not so different from what we might face.
About 10 days later they did find them, one had died from infection. On all
the trips since, I've put a GPS in my tackle bucket, along with a freshly
charged handheld VHF. If I end up in the same situation, I want to know where I
am and be able to call and let someone know where that is. A personal EPIRB
wouldn't have been unreasonable as well, I didn't have one.
On a later fishing trip, I fished with one of the survivors of that episode
(yes, he did go again). He also takes a radio. They'd seen boats in the
distance and had no way to signal them.
I don't want hope, I don't want to hear the play by play of a long search and
rescue, I want someone to get to me - now!
Someone else's comment points out that it takes USB to get the weatherfax. I
have gotten weatherfax with my marine SSB. I've seen them, but not used a
yachtboy, but I believe they do get USB, and I've talked to people who claim to
have used them to get weatherfax, so if you have good reception, it should be
usable for that. I've also heard that they are a bit harder to get good enough
reception for the weatherfax than our marine SSBs would be in the same places.
Anyway, just my thoughts.
Gene Gruender
Sun Chaser
>
> >>
>>
> Sure. I bought the radio, originally thinking it would be a good item to
> include in the ditch bag as a way of monitoring for any search efforts
> underway, and alternatively as an additional backup for weather faxes and news
> reports, (since it would easily fit inside a Faraday cage/waterproof box I had made
> for the VHF and GPS) in case my SSB or HAM were disabled by lightening, but
> I found it to be of little use for either purpose.
>
> One of the things most cited by folks stranded at sea or lost in
> inaccessible areas (as a factor in diminished moral) is the fact that they can't
> determine if anyone is actually looking for them. This, BTW, was the reason the
> late James Kim decided to leave their stranded vehicle, his wife, children, food
> and warmth when he struck out into the woods to seek help. He died a few
> days later, just as help was arriving. His decision, according to his wife,
> was based on the mistaken belief that no one was looking for him.
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