An acronym won’t save your life, but what it stands for surely could. Take EPIRB, for example. It stands for “emergency position indicating radio beacon,” an electronic item that takes the “search” out of search and rescue missions.

Should a tranquil boating day turn upside down — perhaps literally — time becomes a factor.  Electronics may be submerged or you’re beyond the line-of-sight capabilities of a VHF radio or cell phone towers. That’s when the beacon of a registered EPIRB steps up, pinpointing your location for the U.S. Coast Guard and/or other emergency responders.

An EPIRB can be manually activated or triggered by submersion. Once activated, it transmits a repeating SOS signal along with an encoded digital message containing vital info previously registered by the boat owner. The info travels via the 406 MHz distress frequency to the nearest coordination center. The center in turn notifies local first responders within minutes. Vital time is saved by not having to question boaters about their whereabouts or employing wide techniques to narrow down search sites.

According to the National Safe Boating Council, hundreds of people in the past two years have been rescued at sea after distress signals from emergency beacons were relayed to a network of ground stations.

A category I EPIRB activates on its own and is mounted in a vessel area free of overhead obstructions. A category II EPIRB, which must be manually deployed, is portable. It’s often kept in a floating “ditch bag” along with other items a boater may need in an emergency.

EPIRBs don’t take the place of other emergency communications. It’s still important to have a VHF radio, flares, a mirror, a whistle, and other devices to help responders find you.

More information:  http://www.sarsat.noaa.gov/, https://beaconregistration.noaa.gov/RGDB/index , and http://www.safeboatingcouncil.org/.

 

 

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