EPIRB

Remember to always register your EPIRB in order to help authorities identify and locate you should deployment ever be necessary. Visit this site to register:

www.beaconregistration.noaa.gov

From NOAA...

"Registration of 406 MHz emergency beacons is mandatory and only valid for two years. You are required to re-register your beacon with NOAA in two years. We will email or fax you a request for confirmation approximately two months prior to the expiration of your beacon registration."

EPIRB Glossary

Class A & B EPIRB - obsolete EPIRB units that used 121.5 and 243.0 Mhz

Category I EPIRB - These units have a bracket which automatically deploy when the device reaches a depth of 3-14'.

Category II EPIRB - These units are manually released and activated.

Internal GPS EPIRB - Unit contains a GPS unit which greatly increases the accuracy of the position information that is sent to rescue authorities.

Emergency Beacons Switch Exclusively to 406 MHz Frequency Next Month

NOAA satellites were key factors in the rescues of 283 people throughout the United States and its surrounding waters in 2008. In each incident, NOAA satellites detected and located a distress signal from an emergency beacon and relayed the information to first responders on the ground.

"With every rescue made, a tragedy was avoided," said Mary E. Kicza, assistant administrator for NOAA Satellite and Information Service. "Each year NOAA satellites show their versatility by helping us forecast the weather, learn more about our environment and contribute to these life saving rescues."

NOAA's polar-orbiting and geostationary satellites, along with Russia's Cospas spacecraft, are part of the international Search and Rescue Satellite Aided Tracking system, called COSPAS-SARSAT. This system uses a network of satellites to quickly detect and locate distress signals from emergency beacons on board aircraft and boats and from handheld personal locator beacons.

When a satellite finds the location of a distress signal within the United States or its surrounding waters, the information is relayed to the SARSAT Mission Control Center at NOAA's Satellite Operations Facility in Suitland, Md. From there, it is sent to a Rescue Coordination Center, operated by either the U.S. Air Force, for land rescues, or the U.S. Coast Guard, for water rescues.

As of 2008 COSPAS-SARSAT has been credited with supporting more than 24,000 rescues worldwide, including 6,045 in the United States and its surrounding waters.

2008 SARSAT Rescue Highlights

* Two people were rescued near Port Aranas, Texas, when their disabled boat was swamped by 12-foot waves.

* An injured hiker was rescued after using his personal locator beacon while hiking in a remote area near Hemet, Calif. The rescue became even more challenging when mountain lions were spotted nearby.

* A pilot was rescued about 70 miles southeast of Galena, Alaska, after his Cessna plane crashed into trees.

* Alaska topped the list for the most saves in the United States, with 49 lives rescued in 2008. Rounding out the top five states were: New Jersey, with 18 rescued; Florida, with 15 rescued; Hawaii, with 14 rescued; and California, with 12 rescued.

James Hightower 61, Todd Davey 38, Grayson Saunders 59, and Neil OSullivan 39, the crew of the sailing vessel Hot Ticket, activated their EPIRB on January 2nd, 2008 when they lost steering and the vessel began to take on water.

The unlocated but registered EPIRB signal was received by search and rescue coordinators at the Eighth Coast Guard District Command Center in New Orleans.

Eighth District controllers then contacted the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administrations U.S. Mission Control Center in Suitland, Md., to obtain the Hot Tickets position from the agencys Cospas-Sarsat program satellites.

Controllers at the Seventh Coast Guard District were then notified of the case. The position of the Hot Ticket was also checked against information passed by the captain to a friend during a satellite phone call.

"This case demonstrates just how important it is to have all the necessary safety gear aboard your vessel," said Petty Officer 2nd Class Alexander Jimenez, a search-and-rescue controller at Coast Guard District Seven. "The crew of the Hot Ticket had an emergency position indicating radio beacon, a VHF marine radio and a satellite phone. If one failed, they had another piece of equipment to use."

According to the United States Coast Guard the rescue of two crewmembers from the sunken fishing vessel Della C on February 24, 2009 off the California coast was largely a result of the required safety equipment maintained on board.

The DELLA C, homeported in Moss Landing, had a valid Commercial Fishing Vessel Safety decal issued on October 22, 2007. This means the vessel participated in a voluntary dockside examination program and as a result, had proper safety equipment on board allowing the vessel to operate out to 20 nautical miles from shore. Additionally, the vessel was boarded while underway by a Coast Guard Patrol boat in December. During this boarding records noted on the vessel indicated that the operator had received special training for conducting emergency drills aboard commercial fishing vessels and that the crew had conducted the required safety drills.

Two key pieces of the safety gear, the Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon, commonly referred to as an EPIRB, and the liferaft, self-deployed as they were designed to when the vessel sank. The EPIRB sent a signal which was received by the Coast Guard indicating the vessel was in distress along with an approximate location. The liferaft self deployed and inflated. It had a canopy to provide shelter for the survivors until help arrived. Since the vessel capsized and sank so suddenly it appears the crew members were not able to reach and don their immersion suits.

Unfortunately, the captain lost his life in this case. The search was suspended after Coast Guard Cutter Steadfast, Air Station San Francisco and Coast Guard Station Monterey searched throughout the night and again at first light on Sunday morning. The fishermen were not wearing lifejackets at the time of the incident. The Coast Guard urges boaters to maintain all required safety equipment onboard their vessels, and to wear lifejackets particularly in heavy seas or during critical on deck evolutions or keep them readily accessible in the event of a sudden emergency. Communication equipment, including a marine VHF radio and a 406 MHz EPRIB increases the chances of an early, accurate MAYDAY or distress signal and successful rescue.