Spot off ...WTF?

On Saturday, March 29, 2014 11:35:49 PM UTC-7, darrylr wrote:

And show me one yacht crew where the skipper is
going to be drinking while the crew is not...?

I have to agree that the Exxon Valdez doesn't count as a yacht...

Thanks, Bob K.

On Sunday, March 30, 2014 9:18:30 AM UTC-7, Bob Kuykendall wrote:
On Saturday, March 29, 2014 11:35:49 PM UTC-7, darrylr wrote:

And show me one yacht crew where the skipper is
going to be drinking while the crew is not...?

I have to agree that the Exxon Valdez doesn't count as a yacht...

Thanks, Bob K.

Stop it Bob, or you'll go blind. :-)

Darryl

Excerpt from the report on this accident:

"Based on all factors, the panel concludes that the skipper set a waypoint that took Aegean on a path that intersected North Coronado Island, that Aegean was motoring under autopilot as she approached the island, and there is no evidence of any intervention to prevent Aegean's running into the island".

The SPOT is not a navigation device, The captain F up he cost everybody their lives, none of them were wearing life preservers, This is speculation but his wife is probably being sued and her only recourse it to in turn sue everybody she can to try to off set her husbands tragic mistake.

This is also speculation, the captain was so ****ed off that the SPOT would not transmit a message conveying the emergency that he beat and killed all of the crew with the SPOT. As a report stated they all died of blunt force trauma, couldn't possibly have happened because they weren't wearing life preservers and there was 4 to 6 foot seas.

Darryl,
Thanks for correcting my post.
What I had heard was from people involved in the race. And that was quite a while ago, perhaps before the reports were issued.
The island is certainly rocky, and steep enough that you might hit the bow before the keel, but its still hard to picture all 5 adult males being disabled to the extent that they couldn't grab a life jacket or cushion and float clear. The waves would make it difficult to haul yourself out, especially at night, but the water is warm enough that you could stand off if you had to, at least until morning. Shipwrecks in much, much worse conditions have had survivors. Maybe the cabin was ripped open enough to flood quickly, but not allow them a way out. Maybe the mast, boom, or sails were blocking their way out. Maybe thats when they reached for the Spot's 911 button.
Mike Koerner

It was a terrible accident and my sympathy goes to everyone that it touched..

My take away is that due to there being several sars amateurs in the notification chain (the skipper's wife and the race officials), the SPOT distress signal took over 11 hours to reach SARS professionals (the US Coast Guard in this case). The skipper's wife did not have (or heed) clear instruction to forward a distress call immediately to the USCG (even in the case of a missing position fix). She made the wrong 'judgement call' to delay.

If the distress call had been made on a PLB, it would have reached the Coast Guard in minutes (and a rescue craft would have been launched within 30 minutes even without the position information).

The take away is that the friends and/or family who receive a SPOT/INREACH distress notification need to trained/instructed to immediately forward the message to SARS professionals (Coast Guard, Mountain Rescue Squad, Sheriff etc..).

I agree with Daryl that the best combo is SPOT/InReach with active tracking in the plane and a PLB on the parachute shoulder strap.

Base on this case, it seems that the GEOS personnel, or perhaps just the individual working at GEOS in this particular incident are/were not properly trained SARS professionals. (I hear that you get what you pay for. But ironically there is no subscription fee for PLBs.)

Why is it ironic that there's no subscription fee for a PLB? It does not
transmit anything unless turned on and then, the SAR process begins. It is
not designed to present your position or track to your friends. It's only
turned on when you need to say, "Here I am and I need help urgently. Please
come now to these coordinates." I have one attached to my parachute harness
and it's there should I ever need it. Why would I pay a fee just to have it
there?


"son_of_flubber" wrote in message
...
It was a terrible accident and my sympathy goes to everyone that it touched.

My take away is that due to there being several sars amateurs in the
notification chain (the skipper's wife and the race officials), the SPOT
distress signal took over 11 hours to reach SARS professionals (the US Coast
Guard in this case). The skipper's wife did not have (or heed) clear
instruction to forward a distress call immediately to the USCG (even in the
case of a missing position fix). She made the wrong 'judgement call' to
delay.

If the distress call had been made on a PLB, it would have reached the Coast
Guard in minutes (and a rescue craft would have been launched within 30
minutes even without the position information).

The take away is that the friends and/or family who receive a SPOT/INREACH
distress notification need to trained/instructed to immediately forward the
message to SARS professionals (Coast Guard, Mountain Rescue Squad, Sheriff
etc..).

I agree with Daryl that the best combo is SPOT/InReach with active tracking
in the plane and a PLB on the parachute shoulder strap.

Base on this case, it seems that the GEOS personnel, or perhaps just the
individual working at GEOS in this particular incident are/were not properly
trained SARS professionals. (I hear that you get what you pay for. But
ironically there is no subscription fee for PLBs.)

On Monday, March 31, 2014 7:37:07 PM UTC-4, Dan Marotta wrote:
Why is it ironic that there's no subscription fee for a PLB?

iro·ny noun \ˈī-rə-nē also ˈī(-ə)r-nē\

(second definition)
: a situation that is strange or funny because things happen in a way that seems to be the opposite of what you expected

Since PLB is better for notifying SARS than SPOT/INREACH, it is strange and funny that it has no subscription fee (of course the initial cost of a PLB is higher than SPOT and SPOT offers tracking).

So, you're saying that you'd subscribe to, say, DirecTV, but never turn it
on?


"son_of_flubber" wrote in message
...
On Monday, March 31, 2014 7:37:07 PM UTC-4, Dan Marotta wrote:
Why is it ironic that there's no subscription fee for a PLB?

iro·ny noun \ˈī-rə-nē also ˈī(-ə)r-nē\

(second definition)
: a situation that is strange or funny because things happen in a way that
seems to be the opposite of what you expected

Since PLB is better for notifying SARS than SPOT/INREACH, it is strange and
funny that it has no subscription fee (of course the initial cost of a PLB
is higher than SPOT and SPOT offers tracking).

On Friday, March 28, 2014 11:55:06 PM UTC-4, POPS wrote:
http://sailinganarchy.com/



Go to - spot off -



Good to know?









--

POPS

Cmon guys - nothing is perfect, but SPOT sure worked well for me last summer in Moriarty. Read the report on Soaring Cafe (http://soaringcafe.com/wp-admin/post...82&action=edit) and make your own decision.

Frank (TA)