Search for Cheeki Rafike called off

maby said:
They were PLBs, not EPIRBS, so the battery life would have been shorter. However, the reports would seem to indicate that the signals lasted quite a lot less than one would expect from a PLB.
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Yes and that's quite worrying for those of us who,like me, have PLBs.I may have to invest in an epirb in the future.
 
TonyBuckley said:
I also read (in the mass of poor reporting) that they don't work when wet. Surely marine epirbs are waterproof. I can understand the signal not being good under water, but they still work!
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They are waterproof, but must be above the water to successfully communicate with the satellites. Radio signals really do not penetrate water well - particularly the microwave frequencies used by GPS - so the PLB is going to be significantly degraded aven a few inches below the water.
 
30boat said:
I think it is a real problem and shouldn't be ignored.And epirbs are dsigned to float upright thus keeping the aerials clear of the water.
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What I meant was that I don't think in this case the PLB signals were lost due to the batteries running down.
 
maby said:
What I meant was that I don't think in this case the PLB signals were lost due to the batteries running down.
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Well my instructions say you have to hold the aerial clear of the water, so the signal could be lost even in a partly swamped liferaft, if you needed both hands to do something else, which you obviously would do. They are awkward things to hold, with crappy plastic lanyards to judge by my McMurdo, so dropping them in the sea when a wave hits you would be a good possibility...
 
sailorman said:
Ships lifeboats ( when at sea) are designed for a one way trip, what you suggest in 30 >50 kt winds is impossible
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So - in their position, you would just steam away?

I was on a cross channel ferry once when they attended a distress call. The wind wind was around F7-8 and the skipper created a lea while they launched a boat (I think it was a rib), took off an ill passenger and transferred a couple of barrels of fuel.

Do not ships carry any small boats other than lifeboats?
 
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Graham_Wright said:
So - in their position, you would just steam away?

I was on a cross channel ferry once when they attended a distress call. The wind wind was around F7-8 and the skipper created a lea while they launched a boat (I think it was a rib), took off an ill passenger and transferred a couple of barrels of fuel.

Do dot ships carry any small boats other than lifeboats?
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That was a good friend of ours - low on fuel and a passenger who was violently seasick!! If his story is accurate, he called said ferry, which initially ignored his radio transmission, until he called a Mayday!! They were then very helpful. Amazing you should have been on the ferry!!
 
nicho said:
That was a good friend of ours - low on fuel and a passenger who was violently seasick!! If his story is accurate, he called said ferry, which initially ignored his radio transmission, until he called a Mayday!! They were then very helpful. Amazing you should have been on the ferry!!
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How could the ferry ignore the first call?
 
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