SEARCH & RESCUE SPECIALIST TO ADDRESS
AND MEET THIS YEAR'S HA-HA FLEET
If you need help at sea, there is no better thing to see than
an approaching U.S. Coast Guard helicopter.
Layne Carter, Coast Guard Search and Rescue Specialist for RCC Alameda SAR region, has informed the Grand Poobah that it's his "number one priority" to address and meet all the members of this year's Baja Ha-Ha fleet. How cool!
Layne will be at Fiddler's Green at 2760 Shelter Island Drive on November 1 between 2 and 4 pm.
As the Grand Poobah, I'm thrilled, for in publishing Latitude for 40 years, I know more than most what a heroic job the Coast Guard SAR does. And how many lives of sailing friends they have saved.
Having been involved in a EPIRB versus Garmin InReach (or other two-way communication device) controversy recently, I asked Carter for his opinion. He said that a "water activated EPIRB", not a manual activated EPIRB, is the first emergency device that every mariner should have. So that an emergency signal, much stronger than the signal of other devices, goes out even if no mariner sets it off. That said, Carter "100% supports" devices such as the InReach that offer two-way communication. "It's best to have them both," he said. But he noted that plans are in the works for future EPIRBs to have two-way capability.
But even if you only have an EPIRB, there is still something you can do to help the Coast Guard out in a possible rescue situation. Before taking off on a voyage, update your EPIRB notes on the NOAA site, which for all intents and purposes is filing a float plan. This saves the Coast Guard perhaps critical minutes when they receive an emergency signal.
Watch for news and updates on this at www.baja-haha.com.
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