Who said morse code is dead - Man found clinging to ocean beacon uses morse to signal ship

[kof]

So this 64 year old falls overboard from his boat. He swims 2km to climb on board the beacon and meanwhile his boat (and dog) continue on and eventually run aground, which then raises the alarm.

He meanwhile signals a passing ship using morse code SOS by covering and exposing the light on the beacon!

Man found clinging to ocean beacon after falling off boat in Queensland | Australia news | The Guardian

 

[Concerto]

One lucky man. He should have had a PLB and he would have been rescued quicker.

 

[kof]

Yes. Perfect case for always wearing a PLB especially when alone.

One lucky boy.

One lucky man. He should have had a PLB and he would have been rescued quicker.

 

[Concerto]

I sail singlehanded and wear a PLB at all times along with a lifejacket, so if that happened to me I expect my chances of rescue in the cold UK waters to be about 50/50 rather than zero.

 

[Neeves]

Even better, wear a, PLB, harness and tether and then reduce your risk of falling in the first place. Also, don't tow your dinghy in the open sea

I think the numbers are over 20 people, 4 or 5 rescue appliances - lucky, embarrassing and expensive.

Interesting that it was on the edge of tropical waters - and he still specifically mentioned the cold. I'm not so sure about the 50/50 chance in the cold of the UK waters.

Jonathan

 

[lustyd]

He was wet and out of the water. That would have chilled him very quickly if there was any kind of breeze and he'd have likely felt it a lot more than being in the water. He was extremely lucky there was a ladder!

 

[tudorsailor]

Most "beacons" flash rather than being always on. Hard to signal SOS when the light is already flashing. I wonder what the beacon's normal sequence was
TS

 

[lustyd]

It's unlikely the morse was what the ship noticed. Far more likely they noticed it wasn't the correct light characteristics and were already aware there was a missing person since the boat had been reported. The Morse makes a nicer story though, and gives a nice image of someone on the bridge reading it and saying "'ee says 'is name's Dave Cap'n, an' ee's fallen off 'is boat!"

 

[Frogmogman]

I forwarded the article to my mate who has a beachfront place in Caloundra.

He replied

"Right in front of my balcony !

He was a very, very lucky bloke, particularly given the amount of Noahs* that have been seen around here recently"

* Noahs (Arks) = sharks.

 

[LittleSister]

For some strange reason I've often pondered that scenario of ending up alone in the water, and climbing a buoy or other beacon the only chance, and an exceedingly slim one, of being spotted. It makes me shudder every time I think of it.

 

[Lucky Duck]

For some strange reason I've often pondered that scenario of ending up alone in the water, and climbing a buoy or other beacon the only chance, and an exceedingly slim one, of being spotted. It makes me shudder every time I think of it.

YM used to a drawing of some bloke on such a buoy for thier 'around the coast' section which as a child used to give me nightmares

 

[Tradewinds]

Re OP.
Sounds like a load of -... --- .-.. .-.. --- -.-. -.- ... to me

 

[Greenheart]

Whatever the real details, it's a good story with the right ending, against all probability.

Does anybody make a fully-waterproof, really compact torch - like the old-fashioned penlight, but with a beam to alert a watchkeeper five miles away?

Are laser flares compact enough to avoid being left in a locker? And are they any use except in emergencies? I don't know if a laser is the answer, or if signalling requires a broader (still slender) beam. Something that squirts out 1000 lumens yet can live in a pocket or be worn round the neck without irritation. It needs to be there all the time, not only when you had the forethought to grab it.

 

[lustyd]

My Exposure head torch is 1000 lumens and very compact. I’m pretty sure it’s water proof enough too but couldn’t say whether it would be spotted mikes away. It certainly annoys anyone I shine it at ?

 

[LONG_KEELER]

Is there such a thing as a waterproof mobile phone ?

Making a call in the water could be a problem though.

 

[kof]

Well said ( I think). Need to find me a morse table.

Re OP.
Sounds like a load of -... --- .-.. .-.. --- -.-. -.- ... to me

 

[laika]

He was wet and out of the water. That would have chilled him very quickly if there was any kind of breeze and he'd have likely felt it a lot more than being in the water.

Probably not such a big deal in queensland in the middle of summer. Doesn't look much shade there once the sun comes up though

Sounds like a load of -... --- .-.. .-.. --- -.-. -.- ... to me

Well said ( I think). Need to find me a morse table.

..which is where we come back to the original post and is knowing "SOS" really "knowing morse code"? I've known ... --- ... since I was a child. I now know a bunch more letters because they're sound signals in the colregs but I don't "know morse code". With a fair idea of the sentiment tradewinds is trying to convey, finding a work which matches "_ 0 _ _ 0 C _ S " isn't too tricky (because of course we know how to acknowledge someone's request to overtake us in a narrow channel ;-)

 

[Frogmogman]

I'd like to think that the signal in such a situation from an Aussie adept at morse code would be
--. -.. .- -.-- -- .- - .

--. --- - .- -. -.-- - .. -. -. .. . ...

 

[Stemar]

Does anybody make a fully-waterproof, really compact torch - like the old-fashioned penlight, but with a beam to alert a watchkeeper five miles away?

I have an emergency light in the car that flashes SOS and claims to be waterproof. It would certainly fit in a pocket, but I rather think I'd prefer to have a 406MHz PLB. A waterproof mobile would be a close second for inshore sailing.

 

[Black Sheep]

is knowing "SOS" really "knowing morse code"?

Good question. At what point do you "know" a foreign language? For some, it might be when you can speak it indistinguishably from a native. But there's a functional view, that you can speak a language adequately when you can communicate your desired message. As long as I can order two beers, then maybe I "know" the language sufficient to my needs?

There's two great things about morse:
- just about everybody knows SOS. So if all you want to say is "Help!" then yes, you know enough morse
- you can signal with little or no technology, improvising with what you've got. I'm reminded of Jeremiah Denton (look him up if you don't know the story)

Everyone who's said the guy would have been better with a PLB are perfectly right. That would have been a much better way of signalling for help. But he didn't have one. However he did have morse code, and 2km away, the means to use it.

(and yes, I accept lustyd's point that the ship may have just noticed an irregular occultation of the light rather than accurately reading the morse code. But let's not spoil a ripping good yarn with prosaic likelihoods!)