Cruise ship ignores drifting fishing boat

[Northwoods]

Also, if I've said it once I've said it a thousand times, Cell phones only count as back up commo on a boat in salt water.  If you're getting farther from land then you can swim you need a radio.  Salt water is not a place to screw around.

 

QFT.

I bought a handheld VHF radio for my kayak in anticipation of hitting the salt for salmon, rockfish, ling cod and halibut.  I spent a little extra to get one that has GPS integrated into it along with DSC capabilties.  The DSC is pretty trick.  You can use to hail just a friend and then switch both radios automatically to a preset channel.  Or with a simple button send an SOS signal.  The CG monitors for those signals, and they not only alert them that you're in distress but also includes your GPS coordinates.  If you register the radio for an MMSI number the CG will also automatically get your name, a description of your boat, and your emergency contact information.

However, since handheld VHF's max out at about an 8 mile range (and to get that range the recieving station's antenna would have to be 20+ feet above water level), I also have a SPOT PLB.  As long as it's not the landlord coming to collect rent I figure between those two I should be able to get rescued, or at least make it easy to find my body.

[dogmush]

[soapbox]

In addition to being a professional mariner for the Army I have a private pleasure boat that I use to play on Tampa Bay and the near coast waters of the Gulf of Mexico. I keep my 21' boat within 10 miles of land at all times.  I also get to chat and talk with other boaters a fair amount so this conversation comes up a lot.

Laying Wake has a fixed mount DSC VHF connected to my chart plotter.  I have a floating hand held VHF in a drybag along with a 406Mhz EPIRB. That's it kills me how many folks tell me that I'm stupid to spend that much money on electronics.  Granted I used my Port Supply account to buy it, but it was about $1100 dollars of electronics, including the color chart plotter.  I've had people standing on $40,000 boats tell me that a $400 EPIRB was a stupid, over priced extravagance.  

I'm also GMDSS qualified.  Fun Fact: For Sea Area A2 (roughly from 20 miles to 200 miles off shore) The average time to rescue if you have a 406Mhz EPIRB is 12 hrs.  If you just made a VHF call before the boat went down: 72 hrs.  If you don't have a radio: Not enough people get rescued to get a useful average time.

Seriously, bring commo.  Then have a back up.

[/soapbox]

[Northwoods]

Not sure if your post dogmush is directed at me, but if it is, what is insufficient about my commo setup?

[dogmush]

Not sure if your post dogmush is directed at me, but if it is, what is insufficient about my commo setup?

Not directed at you, an agreement and expansion on both of our previous posts.  You're doing better then many power boaters, and are as prepared a kayaker as I've met.  Preparedness on the water is a thing of mine so I tend to be long winded.  Short of something that takes you and the boat down instantly you're set.

[Northwoods]

Gotcha.  FWIW, I also have a semi-dry suit (neoprene neck gasket rather than latex) that I wear everytime I go out, plus a PFD.  The salt water here in the PNW is lethally cold if you don't have good immersion gear - it's not Bering Sea cold, but 45-50F year round is typical in the Puget Sound.  Haven't done any surf launches yet, but when I do I'll also make sure I have a helmet.

[RevDisk]

Laying Wake has a fixed mount DSC VHF connected to my chart plotter.  I have a floating hand held VHF in a drybag along with a 406Mhz EPIRB. That's it kills me how many folks tell me that I'm stupid to spend that much money on electronics.  Granted I used my Port Supply account to buy it, but it was about $1100 dollars of electronics, including the color chart plotter.  I've had people standing on $40,000 boats tell me that a $400 EPIRB was a stupid, over priced extravagance.  

Respectfully, why in the name of Vrishna on a flaming pogo do folks NOT buy EPIRB's if they're going to the middle of nowhere? They're $400-600, which is a LOT cheaper than your life. How many "college kids lost in the wilderness" movies would end in about 15 minutes if folks carried a handgun, a basic medical kit and an EPIRB?

[Perd Hapley]

Respectfully, why in the name of Vrishna on a flaming pogo do folks NOT buy EPIRB's if they're going to the middle of nowhere? They're $400-600, which is a LOT cheaper than your life. How many "college kids lost in the wilderness" movies would end in about 15 minutes if folks carried a handgun, a basic medical kit and an EPIRB?

Because that would make the outing absurdly expensive-er. Us college students can barely afford guns; and you wonder why we don't drop an extra 5 hun? Are you kiddin' me?

[Tallpine]

I've been going out in the mountains and woods by myself since high school and never needed any of that stuff - except these days I do carry a gun just in case.  Back then I was immortal and didn't need any protection.

[RevDisk]

Because that would make the outing absurdly expensive-er. Us college students can barely afford guns; and you wonder why we don't drop an extra 5 hun? Are you kiddin' me?

No kidding, I couldn't either back in the day. Hence why I went in groups, had other commo, etc. 

Just making the same point as dogmush. If you can afford a boat, you can usually afford commo. Or use common sense workarounds.

[dogmush]

Because that would make the outing absurdly expensive-er. Us college students can barely afford guns; and you wonder why we don't drop an extra 5 hun? Are you kiddin' me?

Uh huh.

North Face Jacket $250

PLB (sorta) $99

Guess which one a the college students around here are more likely to have. Yes, even though that jacket hasn't been needed in FL since Saber Tooth Tigers roamed the woods, they're more likely to have it.  They (Hikers, bikers, boaters, skiers, recrational outdoorsfolk) assume they can be rescued wherever they happen to be.


*If I messed sarcasm, sorry.  If that post was in earnest, I think you're mistaken.   

[MechAg94]

No kidding, I couldn't either back in the day. Hence why I went in groups, had other commo, etc. 

Just making the same point as dogmush. If you can afford a boat, you can usually afford commo. Or use common sense workarounds.

That was what I was thinking.  $500 is not much compared to an open sea fishing boat and associated costs. 

Hiking is in another league depending on how serious you take it.

I do agree that something is needed.  I mean, look at what happened to Tucker and Dale.  Minding their own business out at their lake house in the remote woods and they are set upon by crazy suicide driven college kids. 

[Tallpine]

$500 is not much compared to an open sea fishing boat and associated costs.

Depends on whether or not you are a poor fisherman off the coast of Panama ...

[MillCreek]

I've been going out in the mountains and woods by myself since high school and never needed any of that stuff - except these days I do carry a gun just in case.  Back then I was immortal and didn't need any protection.

This makes me think.  It is not uncommon that I am hiking, biking, snow-shoeing or dual-sporting by myself out in the beyond.  I always have the 10 essentials, a handgun and a cell with me, and my wife knows where I am and my ETA, but I wonder about the SPOT devices.  One of the reasons I have not done it in the past is that with the tree cover here, I often cannot get a GPS signal, and would the SPOT be equally useless in that setting? 

[Boomhauer]

Respectfully, why in the name of Vrishna on a flaming pogo do folks NOT buy EPIRB's if they're going to the middle of nowhere? They're $400-600, which is a LOT cheaper than your life. How many "college kids lost in the wilderness" movies would end in about 15 minutes if folks carried a handgun, a basic medical kit and an EPIRB?

I deal with idiots who won't spend a dime on navigation/location equipment but decide to hike in a dangerous, rugged area all the time. They won't even stoop to asking us for info before they go in.

And then they wonder why their cell phone suddenly doesn't work in the middle of nowhere and they can't call for help and they completely lose their *expletive deleted*it and we have to rescue them. I'd prefer to leave them in the woods as snacks for Yogi, but we are mandated to help...

[MrsSmith]

Any vessel is required by maritime law to render aid to any other vessel in distress - and granted, a cruise ship sales rep probably doesn't know this from her backside, but how about whoever was on watch? I'm sorry but if a bunch of civilians spotted the fishing boat from the deck, whoever was standing watch on the bridge should have spotted it too.

As to VHF radios, I never get on a boat without my handheld. Any boat. Even a ferry crossing. If anyone had had one on the deck of that cruise ship, they could have hailed the bridge of the cruise ship that way and reported the fishing boat. Duh.

[Tallpine]

I deal with idiots who won't spend a dime on navigation/location equipment but decide to hike in a dangerous, rugged area all the time. They won't even stoop to asking us for info before they go in.

And then they wonder why their cell phone suddenly doesn't work in the middle of nowhere and they can't call for help and they completely lose their *expletive deleted* and we have to rescue them. I'd prefer to leave them in the woods as snacks for Yogi, but we are mandated to help...

It's amazing that us old farts even survived those dark ages before cell phones and GPS 

[Perd Hapley]

*If I messed sarcasm, sorry.  If that post was in earnest, I think you're mistaken.   

No sarcasm. If someone's asking why people don't buy a $400-600 item, one easy answer is that it would make the entry fee for off-the-beaten-path adventure too high for some to even participate. "It's cheap compared to your life." Yeah, well, if I could find someone that valued my life as highly as I do, and was willing to give me that amount of money, that'd be great.

Now if a college student has parents that would spend $250 to buy him a coat, maybe they would spring for an expensive gizmo. I wouldn't know.

[Northwoods]

This makes me think.  It is not uncommon that I am hiking, biking, snow-shoeing or dual-sporting by myself out in the beyond.  I always have the 10 essentials, a handgun and a cell with me, and my wife knows where I am and my ETA, but I wonder about the SPOT devices.  One of the reasons I have not done it in the past is that with the tree cover here, I often cannot get a GPS signal, and would the SPOT be equally useless in that setting? 

Supposedly the latest generation PLB's are good enough to get a good GPS signal even in heavy timber.  I haven't tested mine for that capabilty yet, but when I do I'll try to remember to post a report.

[dogmush]

No sarcasm. If someone's asking why people don't buy a $400-600 item, one easy answer is that it would make the entry fee for off-the-beaten-path adventure too high for some to even participate. "It's cheap compared to your life." Yeah, well, if I could find someone that valued my life as highly as I do, and was willing to give me that amount of money, that'd be great.

Now if a college student has parents that would spend $250 to buy him a coat, maybe they would spring for an expensive gizmo. I wouldn't know.

The $400-$600 gizmo goes with the $20,000+ boat.  The gizmo for basic off the beaten path adventure is <$100.  Still not free, I know, but pretty dang cheap when added/compared to the other stuff you'll need to go off the beaten path. (Knife, food, water, pack, boots, clothes, map, good compass)

[Hawkmoon]

I've been going out in the mountains and woods by myself since high school and never needed any of that stuff - except these days I do carry a gun just in case.  Back then I was immortal and didn't need any protection.

I used to just carry a compass and a Bowie knife. The compass is a rather interesting device. If you look at it once in awhile whilst walking in, then when you want/need to walk out you just line up the pointy thing the same way on the dial, and head the opposite direction. They don't even need batteries!

The problem is, too many college-educated weenies don't have any idea how nature works. For example, say you're lost and you don't have even a compass. You come to a stream. Which way do you go from there? Anyone with any sense will choose downstream, because streams eventually become rivers, and people build cities on rivers. Plus, if you follow the river you'll always have at least a constant source of water.

[230RN]

How do you folks feel about signal mirrors?  I'm kind of curious since I just started playing around with them, but obviously, I can't "test" them by flashing at passing planes, etc.

Deep woods use?  Maritime use?  SHTF rescue use?

[Boomhauer]

How do you folks feel about signal mirrors?  I'm kind of curious since I just started playing around with them, but obviously, I can't "test" them by flashing at passing planes, etc.

Deep woods use?  Maritime use?  SHTF rescue use?

Signal mirrors are nice to have and don't take up much space/weight. They do attract attention if the person being flashed has a clue about signalling.

[MillCreek]

I have a signal mirror that came packed with my survival kit.  I figure that between the typical tree cover and the cloud cover in my area, my chances of using it for signalling are pretty low. 

[MicroBalrog]

Cruiseliner crews seem to be really sketchy.

What was the name of that Captain that abandoned his stranded ship in the Med before any proper evacuation was prepared for the passengers??

It goes back to the 19th century. There's a famous incident of a passenger ship's crew abandoning the ship at the first hint of an accident and reporting the passengers dead. Here was no accident and the ship, with passengers safe was recovered a few days later.

[Tallpine]

The compass is a rather interesting device. If you look at it once in awhile whilst walking in, then when you want/need to walk out you just line up the pointy thing the same way on the dial, and head the opposite direction. They don't even need batteries!

Never much needed a compass in Colorado.

If you are walking UP a mountain, then it's pretty obvious that to get back where ever you started, you need to walk DOWN.   

The worst that can happen is that you end up in a different valley than where you started, which almost happened to me once in a fog but I suddenly noticed that the rocks underfoot didn't look right.  So we backtracked up the ridge and took a different spur.