406 MHz EPIRB Usage

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MainlySteam

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There is a current thread on liferafts and from that and the many previous similar threads it seems that (rightly) a lot of importance is placed on carriage of one and there are frequently responses about how important it is to have a very durable one, food, grab bag, fishing lines, etc. But rarely are 406 MHz EPIRB's mentioned in relation to the importance or not of all these perceived ancilliary needs.

With a 406MHz EPIRB one can expect to be rescued in most places in the world frequented by cruising yachts within a day or so, in the vast majority of cases before the yacht has actually sunk, and within hours if coastal. Also if one abandons a well found vessel because the vessel cannot stand up to the conditions, then it is hardly likely that a liferaft of any construction is going to protect its occupants.

All this has made me wonder how many actually carry 406 EPIRB's. So I would be interested in any feedback as to how many who regularly sail further than 20nm from their normal port -

1. Carry a 406 EPIRB and no liferaft
2. Carry a liferaft but no 406 EPIRB
3. Carry both a liferaft and a 406 EPIRB

Please note that for any responses only consider 406 EPIRB's, as support for 121 MHz EPIRB's is soon to be discontinued by COSPAS/SARSAT and most nations do not repond to them unless there is another collaborating alert.

I would genuinely appreciate feedback on this - PM me if you do not wish to go public.

Thanks in anticipation.

John

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I carry both a 406 and a liferaft, but only because I was going longer distance cruising. When I had the boat in the UK, I used to blow up the inflatable and tie it down securely in front of the mast, which seemed to be fine for channel crossings etc at the time. Before I set off for Oz I bought both a liferaft and a 406, so now I will probably just keep them on board (along with the handheld VHF, mobile and satellite phones).

My attitude to relying on just the inflatable around the UK seems a little gung-ho in hindsight, but perhaps it was still as safe sailing in waters around the UK in 1995 with just that compared to the safety conditions that existed say in the 1960's (i.e. boating is more mainstream now, coastguard, lifeboats, communications more reliable and efficient nowadays etc).


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re-furbished EPIRB, and life raft. EPIRB was less than £300 (Kannad) I'd rather have had that than the hand held radio, which was seldom used and in a life raft would not have much range.

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We regularly cruise Brittany, SW England and W Scotland and have carried both for the last ten years. In my case I consider the 406 EPIRB to be a better safety feature than DSC equipment.

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Guilty as charged John!

For many years like many we carried a half inflated Avon, no liferaft, no EPIRB, no VHF (fixed or handheld)

1978 -1987 No Liferaft, No EPIRB, Fixed VHF

Last boat from 1987 had liferaft, no EPIRB, Fixed VHF, Handheld VHF

Current Boat has Liferaft, no EPIRB, (well 2 x 121.5 personals), MF/HF, Fixed VHF, 2 Handheld VHFs

I think the difference is where we (meaning us in the UK generally) sail, there is no doubt if/when we move out of our normal cruising grounds an EPIRB would be added. Currently however we are spoiled by rarely being out of range of shore station VHF, then only for an hour or so and certainly where we in the South UK sail there are so many ships as well as private and fishing vessels.

Personally we rely heavily on the ability to actually talk to a rescuer in extremis. We have now a fixed DSC VHF, spare fixed VHF, spare gantry mounted VHf Aerial in case of losing the mast and therefore both masthead VHF and MF/HF aerials, plus handheld VHFs, one (with spare battery packs) is always stored in the grab bag, as too are mobilephones.

When we do go off we will buy the latest technology EPIRB, to buy one now may be overkill, expensive and unnecessary, though I am open to persuasion!

Robin

<hr width=100% size=1><font size=1>Sermons from my pulpit are with tongue firmly in cheek and come with no warranty!</font size=1>
 
We regularly sail more than 20nm from our home port and carry a liferaft, Jotron 406MHz EPIRB (plus both DSC VHF and handheld).

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We have always carried a liferaft and carried a 406 EPIRB when we went transat for a year. We cruise SW England, SW Ireland, West Coast of France and currently don't carry an EPIRB. There is loads of traffic in these areas so a copious stock of flares plus handheld plus mobile phone are good enough for me.

We are planning to go to Norway and the freezing north next year and will get a 406 EPIRB and sat phone.

FYI, I am currently thinking about getting 121 EPIRBs for Liz and I plus direction finder onboard. We usually sail 2 up and whilst we have rules about lifejackets and harnesses when alone on deck or at night I'm thinking with the relatively low cost of this stuff it could be a useful backup.

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We're currently cruising the Baltic, but used to be based UK East Coast, cruising North France. We carry both, but the EPIRP will be the first thing to go with me into the raft. I consider it to be the premier 'get-out-of-jail' card. When we remember (mostly long trips) we do put a grab bag together with critical stuff including a VHF and stuff it in the cockpit locker.

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As I've said on this forum before, I regard the 406 EPIRB as the most important piece of emergency equipment we carry.

Liferafts are good, but there are too many circumstances in which it may not be useful (e.g. Man Overboard sailing single handed).

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Similar pattern ...

Over several yachts, always increasing and replacing kit regularly.

1972: One flare, kapok lifejackets, bucket, torch, MW/LW radio.
1973: Add yacht guard rails, stirrup bilge pump.
1975: Add set of flares, inflatable dinghy.
1976: Add horseshoe, "intermittent" echo sounder, first aid kit, fixed bilge pump.
1978: Add radar reflector, harnesses, jackstays, replace lifejackets with self-inflating type.
1980: Add RDF.
1985: Add fixed VHF, "continuous" echo sounder, backup anchor.
1994: Add radar, second horseshoe, danbuoy, second bilge pump.
1995: Add 121.5 EPIRB, replace RDF with GPS.
1996: Add liferaft, grab-bag, SSB radio.
1997: Add NAVTEX and RCD power cutout.
1998: Add handheld VHF.
2003: Add 406 EPIRB.

A lot of money, not to mention time spent in installation and maintenance. And still we are exhorted to buy more and more: DSC, "lifesling", MOB recovery, satellite telephone, active radar reflector, personal epirb, integrated electronics system etc etc. What IS the price of safety?
 
Re: Similar pattern ...

Always carry liferaft, EPIRB 406 is top of shopping list. I am now starting to regard a 406 to be of greater safety value than a liferaft.

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Thanks for all the responses coming in and the detail. In return, here is what we carry in way of radio and liferaft, for almost always just my wife and I on board:

1 x 4 man liferaft
1 x 406MHz EPIRB
1 x Fixed DSC VHF (no Sea Area A1 declared here and gov't VHF shore stations not DSC equipped, so reliant on other vessels and ships for DSC. VHF voice covers all of NZ coast out to around 60 miles) - spare antenna is carried
1 x Handheld VHF
1 x DSC SSB radio, licenced marine and amateur station - spare antenna is carried
1 x Fixed cellular terminal (voice plus linked to computer for keyboarding SMS messaging and email)

The hard dinghy, which is unsinkable, is also always on deck with a long painter attached.

All of our voyages are more than 20 nm (nothing closer than that from here!).

We do not as a matter of course file voyage reports with Maritime Radio but do leave an intentions sheet including advice as to the safety equipment carried, callsigns, etc with our marina manager. That also advises him who is maintaining a watch (normally one of our kids) together with their contact details. If we are in cellular coverage we SMS message or email whoever is maintaining the watch as to our general intentions whenever it is convenient, but if outside of cellular coverage we do not bother (the kids know not to panic - if there is a real problem they know that the EPIRB or radios would almost certainly have been used).

John



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Re: Similar pattern ...

I should have given the full list too, give or take a year it is almost identical, did you not have Decca in there though?

The first 'owned' cruiser was in 1971, it had no pumps ( but leaked like a sieve through the deck and didn't have a self-draining cockpit) and the luxury loo was a bucket with fitted lid which doubled as the bilge pump! The engine was a 30 year old Seagull museum piece with a leaky petrol tank. The 'electrics' was an old (read 11v max) battery connected to an old car spotlight fixed on the bow. Interior lighting was a paraffin lamp (steel not brass) and cooking was by meths. Having used it for a season like that, I took it home (it came with a trailer included in the £630 price paid) for a refit and the square sectioned wooden mast, made from 4 strips of wood, fell apart as the glue joints gave way. After a refit (above defects fixed) I sold it on for £750!





<hr width=100% size=1><font size=1>Sermons from my pulpit are with tongue firmly in cheek and come with no warranty!</font size=1>
 
I bought an Epirb after crossing the Atlantic 11 times without one , and only did it because of job requirements and to keep crews more at ease. I believe in being self sufficient offshore , I believe that if we choose to go out there and face it we shouldn't expect someone to risk their lives to get us out of something we got ourselves in.
I would continue to make ocean passages without an Epirb if I was sailing in my own time and boats.
As to the liferaft , that I think must be part of any seagoing yacht's equipment , that's increasing your chances of survival with your own means.
People should think more about having sound boats and knowing to handle them in any circumstance before focusing all attention in devices to call for help.

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I carry a liferaft and an extra handheld VHF for emergencies when sailing the baltic and around Norway.

As soon as I come to a place where I get no traffic whatsoever on my VHF I will buy an Epirb but meanwhile, I don't see the point. I also have a sat phone which works great, but I doubt I can bring it with me in the raft...


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Wow, thats a bit macho init? Presumably you wouldn't ring for an ambulance if you had a heart attack then? Or get on the VHF to ask for help once you were in the raft? In fact, why bother having a raft at all?

Epirbs are part of Solas, and I'm sure the commercial boys wouldn't worry about pulling the pin...

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Re: Similar pattern ...

I think that's the way most people started back then. Were the seas any less dangerous? Possibly we were less adventurous, certainly there were fewer ocean voyages, but plenty of people crossed the Channel regularly. My first time (Southampton - St Malo) was in 1973, with a borrowed very leaky inflatable as safety gear.

Never had Decca. One yacht came with a Satnav, but it was so intermittent and unreliable I couldn't possibly count it as a safety item.

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EPIRB but no liferaft. I sail a lot single handed not often more than 40 miles from land & feel my biggest risk is falling overboard. I can wear the EPIRB (but normally only do in dirty weather) and think a dinghy will perform 70%ish of a liferafts function. Reading through MCA press releases etc. very few people seem to be rescued from liferafts. Also I like electronic gadgetry.
Andy

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