emergency communication

Every time there is a lose in the fishing community I think about my own mortality on the water. I want to preserve my time for as long as I can. So, is investing in an emergency communication device worth it? Like a GPS phone/text device. Are there waterproof GPS communication devices you can recommend?

very important topic, I carry several devices in open water/ocean to communicate an emergency situation. Radio is standard, I also carry my a separate MOB device (used for scuba) signal flares, high power laser, back up text device (for both land (used for hikes and water). it is also important to have gear to survive in the water as you wait for rescue. In open ocean, off shore I were a dry suit with a heating vest to provide warmth in cold water (battery time 6 hours). Of course I have a PFD but also carry a inflatable (when deflated it is the size of a small stuff bag) back up almost the size of a very small raft and I have a shark shield just in case. I have experienced several times I needed rescue, once on a scuba dive and once on a kayak fishing trip, so I know it can happen, be prepared, survival is much cooler than the alternative, Ron.

InReach clipped or tethered to your PFD for sure. You can type out/send pre-typed messages from the device itself and can visually/audibly see that messages were sent/received (i.e. without phone pairing). You can also get weather reports. The Zoleo requires a phone except for the SOS function I believe.

InReach subscription will cost you more than a one-way PLB. One-way PLB is just battery replacement every so often.

I carry a DSC capable Standard Horizon  HX890 radio, an ACR ResQLink, signal flares, and a Storm whistle. Plus being dressed for immersion.

Worth it to me -- can't imagine how foolish I'd feel floating away in open ocean knowing simple steps could have given me some hope of being found alive. It's pretty wild that folks spend thousands of bucks on boats & gear but don't invest a few hundred bucks in VHF & EPIRB gear.

I take 2 VHF handhelds, an ACR Resqlink 400, a Garmin Inreach, and dye packs. One VHF, the Inreach, and a dye pack is always attached to me.

... and a dye pack...

That's a great idea. I'm going to add that to my emergency equipment.

After the recent incident, I am considering two upgrades to my safety gear:

1. Garmin inReach Mini 2: to be able to send SOS during kayak fishing and mushroom hunting.

2. Replace my current VHF radio with a Standard Horizon HX890NB Floating 6 Watt Class H DSC Handheld VHF/GPS for the DSC capacity.

I hope both of these go on sale soon.

Paul

I have a little different take on safety gear. I'm not saying that this is 100% the way everyone needs to do it, but just offering a slightly different perspective. Below is my heirarchy for ocean safety in NorCal: 

1. Tell someone your plan. Your significant other, fishing buddy, friend, anyone. Let them know when and where you are launching, where you are fishing, and what time you plan to be back in. I usually leave my wife a map, with circles highlighting where I am going. Also, checking in periodically is a good idea too.

2. Situational awareness. Be aware of the situation and environment you are in. Weather, equipment on your kayak (rods, crab traps, etc), currents, tides, vessel traffic, etc. Little things like not sitting beam to the swells while pulling crab traps, being mindful of when it's getting windy and time to head in, etc. One or two little things that aren't ideal can be mitigated, but when you combine several factors, disaster can happen fast.

3. An immersion suit should be the first piece of equipment on your list. If you go in, you need to be protected from the elements, plain and simple. Water temp needs to be a factor when deciding what that looks like, but I think for NorCal saltwater, that's a minimum 3/4mil wetsuit, or a drysuit with appropriate layering underneath.

4. PFD. You wanna float, it's as simple as that. Plus, fishing PFDs have pockets and tether points - more on that later.

5. Lanyard. I recently went for a swim. Thankfully, I had my wetsuit on and was not cold at all. I did notice that even with a mild current and light wind, I had to swim pretty hard to catch back up with my kayak. I will not be kayaking in salt/brackish water again without tethering myself to the kayak. If you fall off your kayak and need help, it's a whole lot easier finding a kayak than a person.

6. Towline. I keep about 15' of line attached to the front and rear grab handles on my kayak, just in case I need a tow, or of I need to tow someone else. Last summer I towed a capsized kayak in at Berkeley - we would have had to abandon his kayak if I didn't have a tow line ready to go.

7. Handheld VHF radio. A good water proof radio is essential for ocean kayaking. This is number one, without question or rival, the most important rescue tool you can have. In the Continental US, the Coast Guard has radio towers along the entire coastline, and can hear a handheld radio much further offshore than most people realize. The caveat - they will only respond on channel 16. You MUST use channel 16 if you need to reach them.

8. Tools. I carry a dive knife, a bait knife, a pocket knife, line snippers, pliers, angle cutters, fish grippers, a net, and a gaff while on the ocean.  The dive knife and my phone stay in pockets on my PFD, and the radio stays clipped (with both the plastic belt clip and a small lanyard) on my PFD tether point.

9. I don't carry an EPIRB, PLB, or two way satellite device, but I also don't stray far from the Bay Area. I'm gonna do a whole post on this later - there are definitely some things that folks need to consider, but for now, let's leave it at "this should NOT be your only distress communications device" and "this should be the last thing you do to signal for help".

More to follow - will post some info about EPIRBs, PLBs, Garmin, Spot, etc tomorrow. Also will touch on DSC.

In addition to the usual safety gear, a PLB seems like a good insurance policy...

I don't carry an EPIRB, PLB, or two way satellite device, but I also don't stray far from the Bay Area. I'm gonna do a whole post on this later - there are definitely some things that folks need to consider, but for now, let's leave it at "this should NOT be your only distress communications device" and "this should be the last thing you do to signal for help".

The dude had a radio but evidently not a PLB/handheld EPIRB. If he had been properly equipped with and properly deployed either of these, he almost certainly would have survived or been found much earlier.

Two is one and one is none.

I don't carry an EPIRB, PLB, or two way satellite device, but I also don't stray far from the Bay Area. I'm gonna do a whole post on this later - there are definitely some things that folks need to consider, but for now, let's leave it at "this should NOT be your only distress communications device" and "this should be the last thing you do to signal for help".

The dude had a radio but evidently not a PLB/handheld EPIRB. If he had been properly equipped with and properly deployed either of these, he almost certainly would have survived or been found much earlier.

Two is one and one is none.

I didn't say don't carry one.  By all means, more is sometimes better.  I'm just saying to carry a radio and use your radio first, since in the US, our coastline is 100% monitored by the USCG, by a person, who can answer you back immediately, who can send a helicopter to save your ass.  There is nowhere on the CA coast that it takes longer than about 2 hours for a USCG helicopter to get to.  Knowing that, I don't want any delays in getting that helicopter coming if I need it - EPRIBs/PLBs are designed for long range distress (think ships crossing the ocean).  The way the EPIRB system works, it can take up to two hours before rescue agencies even know there is a distress situation.  You will get help WAY FASTER by calling for help on channel 16, if you are in US waters.

Looking at Mikey's situation, he was pretty much in the middle of nowhere on the Mexican coast, and I also know that Mexico doesn't monitor radio on their entire coastline nearly as closely as we monitor ours.  In his situation, yes, a satellite device could have made a difference - but that is no guarantee, and that also assumes that a rescue team could arrive on scene in time to change the outcome.  Where he was - it probably took Mexican rescue assets 5+ hours to just get to the area, let alone find him or his boat.  Refer to my first couple points - be aware of your situation and plan accordingly. 

I think for the vast majority of kayakers, a Garmin InReach, SPOT, or similar device is probably a better option than an EPRIB or PLB.  They work faster, and allow two way communications. 

So, more info on satellite devices.  Fun fact – they all use different satellites, and NONE of them use the same satellites as the GPS system. They fall into two categories:
 
•   GMDSS (Global Maritime Distress and Safety System) devices, like EPRIBs (emergency position indicating radio beacons), PLBs (personal locator beacons), and ELTs (emergency location transponders, and
•   Commercially monitored services, like Garmin InReach and SPOT.

GMDSS devices are one-way communication devices, and the US system is funded, maintained, and monitored by NOAA and USCG.  These devices are designed largely for open-ocean transit – ships and sail boats that travel across the ocean.  There are a couple different generations/types of devices, but they mostly work in the same manner – the user pushes a button, and it sends a signal to a satellite.  The satellite then relays that signal to a shore station, which sends it to the correct RCC (Rescue Coordination Center).  That facility then processes the alert, and dispatches appropriate units to respond.  The FIRST thing they do is call the registered owner and the emergency contacts.  REGISTER your device if you use a GMDSS device. 

There are two types of satellites that EPRIBs/PLBs communicate with: newer geostationary orbit satellites, and older medium earth orbit satellites.  Medium earth orbit satellites do not stay in the same place over earth – they are in a pretty fast orbit.
For EPRIBs, older generations do not transmit the position of the beacon.  The satellite determines the position using direction finding equipment and triangulation.  It takes up to 3 passes of a satellite to accurately determine the position of the beacon, which can take up to 90 minutes in most places on the globe.  PLBs typically use this older technology also, since they are designed to be small and carried on your person. 
Newer generation EPIRBs can transmit a GPS position along with the beacon information to the satellite – look for E-solution capable beacons.  Otherwise, they work in very similar fashion to the older generation beacons.
 
Commercial products like Garmin InReach and SPOT devices are a little different, because they are monitored by a commercial provider, and typically they can allow two-way communication.  That is, rather than just alerting that there is a problem, the user can send direct message to either the facility, a specific contact like a loved one, or sometimes update directly to a website.  If I was sailing down the Mexican coast, or really any long range transit, this is 100% what I would carry.  If the Distress button is pushed on these, the alert first goes to the commercial provider, not to the USCG or an RCC – but those providers do forward these alerts to rescue organizations once they are received and evaluated.

DSC (digital select calling) is a feature on many radios, that allows the user to select a distress option, and push a button to transmit that to the USCG.  There are VHF, HF, and MF DSC frequencies, but for the purpose of this post, let’s just talk about VHF, since I don’t see any kayakers lugging around an HF radio.

For this system to be effective, the user needs to have a registered MMSI (handled by the BoatUS website) and the device needs to have a GPS signal.  Some handheld radios do this, but most do not.  For a mounted radio, they typically need to be connected to a GPS device, like a chart plotter or similar nav equipment.  DSC devices can relay the alert from one device to another, and eventually the alert should find one of the USCG VHF radio towers I mentioned in my previous post. The USCG will then treat this in much the same way as an EPRIB, by first calling the registered owner of the device, and then launching rescue assets if appropriate.

For this system to work, you really need to be within about 20 miles of the US coastline, and you need to register your device.  I would also recommend pressing the button every few minutes until you get a response – it doesn’t keep alerting like an EPIRB or PLB.  Listen on your radio on channel 16 for the USCG calling out for a DSC activation – if they received your alert, you are near enough to a tower for direct voice communications.

Flares, dye markers, strobe lights, mirrors, and other visual distress methods are great to have on hand, especially once you know that rescue assets are nearby.  This is the easiest way to signal to a rescue asset exactly where you are, especially when it is dark. 

If you carry flares, use your other communication methods first.  Flares are not visible nearly as far away as most people think - typical maritime flares go at most 600ft up, which is not very far if you are trying to signal to people several miles away.  Also consider that red distress flares only burn for about 6 seconds, so someone really needs to be looking in your direction to see the flare.  Save at least 2 flares for when you can see or hear rescue assets nearby.

Good stuff, Kevin. Thanks for explaining in detail.