"The Atrevida II was found to be without fuel and power, rendering their radios and navigation equipment inoperable."
My question was are EPIRBS self-powered?
"About EPIRB Batteries
EPIRBs have built-in batteries with a long storage life and high reliability. In regard to battery life, EPIRBs have two dates on them: the Replacement Date and the Shelf Life (or some other term). The battery replacement date is there for Coast Guard inspected vessels. Recreational vessels can use the shelf life date, which is generally twice as long.
Over the years, EPIRBs have saved the lives of thousands of mariners who might otherwise have been lost at sea."
So yeah, they should have had an operating one. If you own a boat that size, you should be able to afford one.
A lack of EPIRB was quite a ways down the list of major failings for this duo.
I posted this before I saw your post. I was about to add how come they didn't check area weather before embarking. Seems to me there should have been plenty of maritime alerts about a storm that big.
Also seems to me the only sober one when they embarked was the dog.
I wonder if they're going to get billed for all the searching. Isn't that standard? I think they do that for lost skiers / hikers and folks who drive around and get lost on the mining and forestry roads in the mountains. Someone enlighten me on that.
Terry, 230RN
