Fishing Boat Carrying NFL Players Reported Missing in Florid

Hayesie Daze":1z5ltj1s said:
Just rogering up...again the SPOT does not transmit on 406 or 121.5. Additionally with the spotty coverage (no pun intended) up here in South East Alaska, there is no real certainty with the SPOT satellite systems where the ones that monitor the 406 net are owned and operated by NOAA or other international partners.

The 24 hours on the PLB is a absolute minimal transmission standard in very cold conditions as shown in the table below from ACR website. The warmer the weather the longer the transmission time.

Typical Performance:

36 hours @ -20°C (-4°F)
20 hours @ -40°C (-40°F)

Byron
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Byron, you make a good positive point on the SPOT. With the SPOT you have the ability to test coverage and know where coverage may be marginal. With my EPIRB I trust that its going to work everywhere. I can test the battery but the government does not think to highly of test epirb activations. I have high expectations that the EPIRB will work in the marine environment (on the water) but I am not as sure that it will be 100% inland in the woods and in canyons. It would be nice to be able to send some test msgs

Roger
 
Float or not--(and many of the PLB do not float)--they should be tethered to you. Even floating they will not transmit--the antenna has to be held out of the water. You will be in bad shape if the unit drifts away--as if it sank.

But if you want it to float--put some styrofoam around it. That is the way my first 406 EPRIB came in the 70's.

There is a Revere Fastfind MAX-G 406 PLB W/Built-in GPS for $529 which does float and transmits for 48 hours, if that is more to one's liking. I have found in several places:

"

he Fastfind Plus and Fastfind Personal Location Beacons feature the same advanced technology as found in the award winning Rescue and Precision 406 GPS EPIRBs. Designed using miniaturized components to fit into an aesthetically styled compact casing both versions employ a simple three-stage manual operation and feature user replaceable battery packs, which are available for use in temperatures of -4 and -40 degrees Fahrenheit

So there seems to be some debate about the battery change and in what unit?
 
My god some one at a paper knows how to write! Great article and good info.
 
I lived in Hudson, FL for 5 years and regularly (weekly) fished from Hudson>Anclote Keys>WikiWachee>Clearwater>Tampa Bay and out 45-50 miles in a 23' Suncoast (local FL built) center console walk-around. Generally speaking, there really aren't that many reefs @ the 45-50 mile offshore mark. Tournament fishing we'd drift fish. I never had more than two people (myself and one other) that far offshore - because of the considerable weight difference/shift. Whenever we anchored, it would be only during calm (2'-4' seas); and, then when we'd anchor it was only because we were going spear-fishing on the rock piles. I'm not sure if folks are (possibly) meaning rock-piles rather than reefs (again, there aren't that many reefs @ the 45-50 mile mark).

I was surprised to hear they had anchored and when I did hear they had anchored, I was thinking they must have been spear-fishing the rock-piles. Of course, you don't need much water to capsize, and the water isn't very deep @ 45-50 miles offshore (maybe 50'-60' - if you're lucky).

Even during the rare occasion I've been caught offshore with developing seas, storms, etc - I never really recall the seas ever approaching anything like I've encountered in any other area I've boated - other seas, oceans, bays, etc. IMO, even 45-50 miles offshore from Clearwater the wave period is nearly 8-9 seconds and often even greater - the slope is so unbelievably gradual all the way to shore.

I can't help to think the way they anchored may have been the significant contribuiting factor (in my mind anyway). And what I mean by that is I can't help but to think they had a very, very, very limited scope - 30'-40' - which isn't nearly enough - especially if you're hooked up to a rock-pile (in particular). If you know the seas are running high, I'll generally ensure I have double the scope for depth and seas. Whenever I've anchored on those rock-piles we'd toss out about 200' scope - which as I recall was always more than ample. If seas are tall, and you shorten the scope to less than (and significantly less than the minimum), you just ask to get beaten up. The longer the scope, the greater the ability to weather those tall knarly rogue waves.

In any case, it's sad and a good reminder (for myself anyway) to always toss out the maximum or greater scope on building seas or even during normal seas especially if they're running high.

Very sad.
 
Good article, but it does ignore that ALL of the crew tried to stay out of the water--and Nick Schuyler was the one who was able to hang on, and survive longer. His core temperature was down to 89 degrees.From 98.6 to 95 there is moderate shivering. Below 94 degrees the body has a severe shivering response, with weakness and often the loss of cordination, and had difficulty staying on the boat, dillusions and a desire to give up! This apparently is the stage when the others slipped away.

Below 90 degrees shivering stops, as there is no energy left. The temperature drops rapidly and person cannot walk or hang on to even the motor, and would become unconscious at 86 degrees F. Schuyler was close to death and if he had not been found would not have lasted much longer.

The reports I read, it was reported that all of the crew were in and out of the water, and they tried to stay on the bottom of the boat, but it was slippery and there were heavy waves--and that Schuyler was in the water part of the time. When the others slipped off (gave up?) he was the only one left and was able to hang on to the motor. If they had been able to rig lines to tie themselves all on top, they might have been better off. But each body reacts differently and has a different rate of temperature loss.
 
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