On 2/13/11 9:04 AM, Gene wrote:
On Sat, 12 Feb 2011 22:42:13 -0500, L wrote:

Gene wrote:
On Sat, 12 Feb 2011 18:37:04 -0800 (PST), Frogwatch
wrote:


http://enews.earthlink.net/article/u...5-ef95f7b033c7
A sad fishing accident.
Hey, at least it is boating so lets discuss it instead of spoofing.

"...their twin-engine boat's motor went out an hour later..."

Huh?






They took on water. Both were probably submerged.

That is kinda, my point.... It appears that they were as little as
three miles off shore and that the waves and wind were negligible.
Losing multiple engines usually means fuel, but in this case, since
they took on water and sank without appreciable wave action.... I
don't think they lost engines then took on water, I think just the
opposite occurred...

Perfect reason to have an EPIRB (if you can afford one) or at least a
submersible VHF handheld.

I was surprised by the water temperature... looks to be no better than
the mid 40's. Personally, I'd like to have some sort of clothing to
fight the cold (water) in that case...

Personal EPIRBs are, now, under $200..... you almost can't afford to
be without one....

I would never discourage anyone from carrying a VHS radio... but due
to their line-of-sight method of communication, if you are in the
water you have a VERY limited transmission radio. There are
exceptions. I am lucky enough to have a USCG station radio antenna at
about 200' height in the sand over the river, AICW, and ocean...
exactly where I boat. If you have a similar circumstance, it makes the
VHS a lot more reliable...







Within the last two weeks, several guys on a 21-footer died when their
boat capsized in four foot waves maybe 200 yards offshore, near the
Calvert Nuke Plant. The water temp was just above freezing. You have to
be really stupid to go out in a boat that small when the wind is kicking
up four footers, especially so in the middle of winter.

We don't typically have "sudden-onset tostitos" here. It probably was
pretty choppy when they set out and got worse. When it did, they could
have easily ran the boat to shore. The bottom there is sandy and they
could have beached their boat and waited it out.