Four different search and rescue stories provide valuable lessons on how to respond in an emergency with examples using a PLB, a life jacket a coast guard call, and a towing service.
In the Cape Canaveral, Florida story, the hatch of the 20-foot center-console revealed submerged batteries, and the sailor, who had a friend and two young sons aboard, knew that he needed to act fast.
He quickly went to the helm, flipped on the bilge pumps, and tried to turn the boat to put it on plane, but it took water over the bow.
His friend rushed to the bow and grabbed life jackets for all four passengers while the boater put out a mayday call over his VHF.
A nearby boater responded, but he read back their latitude and longitude numbers and left one digit off.
“It all happened extremely fast,” the boater recalls.
“From the time we realized we were taking on water, it took maybe 10 minutes.”
Fearing the children would get trapped under the boat if it rolled, they decided to leave the vessel, grabbing the kids and a 406 PLB.
After about 15 minutes, they realized they hadn’t activated the PLB, so they finally engaged it.
Since they were in a popular fishing area, they shot off the flares in hopes nearby boats would see them.
Unfortunately, none did.
They floated for two hours, worried they might never be found.
Fortunately, the 406 PLB did what it was supposed to do—it sent an emergency call via satellite uplink on a 406 MHz frequency to the US Coast Guard with GPS coordinates of the crew.
Within two hours, they caught sight of a Coast Guard HC-144 Ocean Sentry search plane homing in on their PLB transmission, and they knew help was on the way.
“Hands-down, the PLB was our saving grace,” the boater says of his ultimate rescue by the Coast Guard.
“It’s the reason my family and friend are still here.”
Read more here (includes three more SAR stories):
https://www.boatingmag.com/story/how-to/how-to-survive-a-boating-emergency/