In this case, a wise man would pick up his 406 Mhz GPS EPIRB and push the
big red button, not his little 5W walkie talkie for calling the dingy.

That's what the EPIRB is for!



Commodore Joe Redcloud© wrote in
:

Add dismasting to possible and likely problems that would constitute
an emergency. How well does your fixed VHF work if the antenna is
mounted at the top of a mast that is now pointing horizontally from
the water's surface... even assuming the cable is intact, which is
probably isn't. Boats that go offshore usually have a second VHF
antenna on a pivoting bracket on the lifelines that can be raised
upright and connected if needed. VHF is "line of sight", so unless
your mast is taller than those mountains, it won't get you much
anyway.


Commodore Joe Redcloud¸