On Sun, 01 Feb 2009 17:45:54 -0500, Wayne.B
wrote:

three of them were on shore but they were cold, wet, and about 30
miles from the nearest civilization. Unfortunately there was nothing
we could do to help them but pass on all of their information to USCG.
The Coast Guard called the National Park Service ranger station at
Flamingo for their help. We have no idea how it all turned out but
hopefully someone was able to get them out of there quickly.
Temperatures got down into the 40s last night and spending the night
in cold wet clothing could have easily been life threatening. Other
then getting in over their heads in the wilderness, their other
mistake was not having a GPS. Without that the best we could do was
approximate their position based on the description they gave.

Good job - soemtimes that's all you can do.

I've never been on the receiving end of a MAYDAY, but I have made the
call. It was a few years ago. I was fishing out towards The Race
when two idiots in Cessna 172s were "dogfighting" right off Elizabeth
Field. They collided and one went down right off North Hill - I was
right at the Indian Grounds (between the old Ferry Dock and North
Hill) when it happened and made the call. By the time I got the
trolling lines up and headed in that direction, two other boats got
there and were assisting, so I just stayed clear and stood by.

--

"I intend to live forever. So far, so good."

Steven Wright