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...






I looked this one up before. It's surprising how short the effective
distance of VHF is before the horizon is a factor. Your 200' antenna
will reach only 17 miles. Two eight-foot antennae will only transmit
about miles.

http://www.ringbell.co.uk/info/hdist.htm