Received: from opus.hpl.hp.com (opus-fddi.hpl.hp.com) by jr.hpl.hp.com with ESMTP (1.37.109.24/15.5+ECS 3.3+HPL1.1) id AA211900260; Thu, 30 Jul 1998 07:51:01 -0700 Return-Path: <waledisc@nicmad.nicolet.com-DeleteThis> Received: from hplms26.hpl.hp.com by opus.hpl.hp.com with ESMTP (1.37.109.24/15.5+ECS 3.3+HPL1.1) id AA144930256; Thu, 30 Jul 1998 07:50:56 -0700 Received: from atina.com ([204.95.179.100] (may be forged)) by hplms26.hpl.hp.com (8.8.6/8.8.6 HPLabs Relay) with SMTP id HAA00306 for <wind_talk@opus.hpl.hp.com-DeleteThis>; Thu, 30 Jul 1998 07:50:46 -0700 (PDT) Received: from nicmad.nicolet.com ([89.0.22.212]) by atina.com (4.1/SMI-4.1(dpo V1.4)) id AA21453; Thu, 30 Jul 98 09:47:13 CDT X-Envelope-To: wind_talk@opus.hpl.hp.com-DeleteThis Received: from nicmad by nicmad.nicolet.com (4.1/SMI-4.1(dpo.2.41)) id AA28573; Thu, 30 Jul 98 09:47:04 CDT Message-Id: <2.2.32.19980730144309.006cdd08@nicmad.nicolet.com-DeleteThis> X-Sender: waledisc@nicmad.nicolet.com-DeleteThis X-Mailer: Windows Eudora Pro Version 2.2 (32) Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Date: Thu, 30 Jul 1998 07:43:09 -0700 To: wind_talk@opus.hpl.hp.com-DeleteThis From: Claude Waledisch <waledisc@nicmad.nicolet.com-DeleteThis> Subject: Re: VHF Radio for rescue *to Peter*
Peter,
Great post.
Thanks for the tips.
Claude
At 11:01 AM 7/29/98 -0700, you wrote:
>I recently traded in my Icom M-1 waterproof radio for a submersible rated
>Apelco 520. The Icom had failed once when the water proof bag it was in
>leaked. On a second occasion the battery of the Icom shorted from water
>exposure and was ruined. I now carry the Apelco with no waterproof bag- just
>let it get wet and dry it after sailing.
>
>I got a chance to test the Apelco yesterday at Crissy in 4.5 conditions when I
>found a rig floating about a mile off the beach. The rig had a one bolt
>universal plugged in but the nut that should have been threaded at the foot of
>the base was gone... so was the sailor and the board that had presumably
>sailed the rig out.
>
>I recently switched to a uphaul that can be easily detached from my boom after
>having seen Ken Hartz use such an uphaul in two different cases to quickly set
>up for towing a board ( in one case I caught the free floating board at Rio
>but didn't have my tow line and couldn't do any thing but hold onto it). I use
>my uphaul to connect the mystery rig to my equipment and pulled the radio out
>of my fanny pack. I was glad I had put a wrist strap on the radio given the
>swell. I contacted Coast Guard on channel 16 and described the situation. They
>quickly asked if I was Greg since a sailor named Greg had gone in to call in
>the info from the beach. From that point on I broadcast as "Windsurfer Peter"
>to distinguish myself from anyone else who might call in. There was a healthy
>amount of confusion as to who was who and who or how many missing, etc.
>
>The Coast Guard immediately started trying to gather info so that they could
>locate the sailor or determine if the sailor was onshore. It took quite a
>while for that issue to get resolved, and I was getting pretty cold waiting
>for them to dispatch a boat for the rig. I noticed that I was not drifting
>inbound or outbound and let the Coast Guard know that we were at slack tide in
>my area in case it would aid them in knowing where to look. The sailor
>eventually turned up on the beach, having been towed in by another sailor. I'm
>not sure how the board made it in, but it was recovered. The sailor's
>universal slid out of the track in front of a ferry and he lost both board and
>sail when he swam for it.
>
>It ultimately took an hour before the inflatable arrived. As I got cold in my
>3/2 suit (4/3 suit in the shop for repair), I considered strapping my strobe
>onto the rig and letting it go. Many cool Crissy sailors slowed to check if I
>was in distress. The inflatable ended up blasting past me well upwind as I
>tried to vector them to my location. It seems like the signal going over the
>chop is much worse than the communications with Coast Guard at YBI where they
>have the antenna well above the water. When the inflatable arrived, the petty
>officer in charge told me that they had great trouble understanding me due to
>wind noise. A key piece of advice would be to face downwind and shield the
>mike when broadcasting.
>
>Greg sailed back to help me de-rig the sail for the Coast Guard. It was
>definitely a two man job. I was wishing I had a leash for my radio but
>ultimately used the wrist strap to connect it to my foot strap so I could have
>both hands free. Only one bozo found it neccesary to sail by 10' upwind of us
>and put a wall of water up in our faces.
>
>It was great to have a reminder how much harder it is to do simple things when
>you ad the wind and the waves. I'd take a radio that can get repeatedly dunked
>over a cell phone any day. I don't think a cell phone would have stayed dry
>and operable, or conversly, if I was positioning myself to protect the phone,
>I could not have tied off the sail or de-rigged it. Sitting in the water for
>an hour also reminds you why a 4/3 is smart. I've been seeing some shorties
>and even a guy yesterday with no wetsuit at Crissy. That's probably okay if
>you never break down, but gear breaks.
>
>The Apelco 520 ain't cheap ($280) but it worked great and still has good
>charge after quite a bit or broadcasting at 5 watts. I'm think the 5 watt
>capability is well worth the money since I have had some trouble being
>understood on two different occasion like this. If I was at 1 watt, I'm sure
>it would have been worse.
>
>Peter
>
>
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