Safety and navigation have come a long way in the last decade. I see a new app pop up every couple months to assist us in steering clear of harm or getting us where we want to be as efficiently as possible while connecting with like-minded boaters. Eventually, as a member of this community, you’ll stumble across an article or video that touts the brilliance of some acronym you’ve never heard of. The inevitable next thought, “Maybe I need this amazing bit of tech on my boat.” The answer to that is really going to come down to what kind of boating you do. Let’s go over several types of safety and navigation equipment to evaluate from a Freedom Boat Club perspective.
As Freedom members, we are not on the ‘high-seas”. In fact, most of us rarely even pursue interests more than a mile offshore. The vast majority of our boats are under 24′, have less than 150 horses in the barn, and are required to be safely moored to a dock from sunset to sunrise. This means we don’t have the same needs as a 45’ overnight charter headed to the Middle Grounds or a cargo ship en route through the Sunshine Skyway to destinations abroad. We are primarily day-boaters who enjoy fishing within 25 miles of the shoreline, island hopping the inland waterways, or cruising to restaurants. While this does put us in a specific category when it comes to required safety and navigation equipment, it doesn’t mean we can forego it all and throw caution to the wind. For example, the VHF radio is an absolute necessity for our offshore boaters. Our cellphones, incredible as they are, still won’t be able to transmit or receive a call much past 9 miles out. While the GPS signal will stay intact (coming from space, and all) the data transmitted to your phone via the cell towers, will cease. Therefore, if you’re out 17 miles off Hernando Beach at the Richardson Reef, and you need immediate medical assistance, you’re trusty cell-phone is of no use. The VHF radio is now your lifeline. Just hit channel 16 and start broadcasting your relative location so our brave U.S. Coast Guard service members can get out to you asap.
So, then, what is an AIS? Well, it’s the Automatic Identification System, of course. The AIS works in conjunction with the VHF. It is required on commercial vessels greater than 65′ and tells whomever may be tracking the boats around them (by radar or even on www.marinetraffic.com) the speed and heading, the ship’s name, port of origin, size/draft, etc. Can it be useful? Absolutely. In poor visibility, it can tell you which way large commercial vessels are moving. Can it be useful to us? Not really. First of all, we rarely need the use of radar. We’re not out at night and, as pleasure boaters, we don’t have a fishing quota or delivery schedule that would necessitate our risking low-visibility weather on a regular basis. Secondly, as small boats, we should not be frequenting areas that have loads of commercial ship traffic when it can be helped.
And DSC, and MMSI? Ok, this will be easier if we group these together with AIS as part of VHF communication. The DSC, Digital Selective Calling, is a function built into the VHF and allows the MMSI, Maritime Mobile Service Identity, to be broadcast similarly to how AIS is used for commercial vessels. It allows for one-touch emergency call capability via the little red button on each mounted VHF. Just touch it and the Coast Guard has the boat information and heads out to save the day. Why isn’t the MMSI button on our Freedom VHF active? It’s dangerous for everyone when false emergencies are called in to the USCG. Can you imagine the number of false emergencies the USCG would get if all of our boats (many with children aboard) had that little red button registered. Instead, I would suggest that, as the captain of your vessel, it’s your choice to purchase a handheld VHF and register an MMSI for it. You can find out how at https://www.boatus.com/MMSI/MMSI/FAQ.
That brings us to the PLB and EPIRBs. Many outdoor enthusiasts have heard of a Personal Locator Beacon. It’s a great little item to have when going off the beaten path so that, if you get in trouble and can’t find help, a signal from your position will alert authorities to come find you. I think this is a very useful tool for us as Freedom boaters. I have even witnessed a member putting a PLB to use after running too hard over large waves and spinning his hub 25 miles offshore. It would have taken the rescue search team far longer to locate the boat without that item. They are compact and easy to pop in your boat bag in case you need it. Similarly, an EPIRB, Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon, is designed to find send out a homing signal but for the boat it’s registered to. EPIRBs are mounted on the vessel so that when it gets wet (as in, the boat has gone under), it floats free, automatically activates, and brings the authorities to it.
In the end, these examples of complex sounding boating safety devices are really just reminders that although our modern internet can get us all the info we need about them in an instant, it’s really our own common sense that will tell us whether or not it can prove effective for what we’re planning to do.
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