According to the paper this morning, the crew discovered at sea that
all the lifejackets were gone. They were presumably pilfered.
Prefloats are not part of the boating culture the way preflights are
in aviation. This is a good example of why they should be.

The lack of communication from the son was also reported to be because
of low batteries. Sea and wind conditions were pretty gnarly and we
all know how much more likely engine problems are in rough conditions.
A charging problem might easily go undetected on a shorthanded boat in
this weather.

An emergency battery that can be easily switched into the radio
circuit is something I'm going to install. It may be a dry cell set
that won't self discharge and can be completely isolated from the rest
of the system. With our little diesel, it might even start the engine
in a pinch.

This accident is starting to sound a lot like many aviation accidents,
experienced pilot, challenging weather, high work load. A couple of
not immediately critical items (lifejackets, charging problem?) get
over looked and things snowball.

--

Roger Long