Media Release
When
to call for help
Boaters and anglers are being urged by safety
experts to have a clear safety process developed before they leave the shore.
Recent incidents have indicated that in some situations of distress,
boaters have hesitated in calling for outside assistance, with loss of life
being the outcome.
According to boat safety expert Garry Schipper, knowing how
to react in certain situations will save lives.
Garry is well known to boaters across
“Boaters who face an engine
failure, dead battery, swamping or the like, invariably need to call on outside
assistance,” Garry said. “It
makes good sense to practice before leaving the dock and for everyone on board
to know what safety resources are on the boat, where they are, their purpose and
how and when to use them.”
“All
too often, we are confronting a tragic boating fatality that could have been
avoided had the boaters activated a flare or their Emergency Position Indicating
Radio Beacon (EPIRB).”
“In one instance, a person on
Port Phillip Bay, in Victoria, decided to swim 500m to shore for help, rather
than set off a flare and in his mind ‘trouble’ the rescue authorities.
Tragically, the swimmer drowned but all others on board were rescued when they
set off a flare.”
In the ideal world, vessels should be
equipped with a marine radio, flares and an EPIRB in addition to the standard
kit of safety equipment required by local state laws and regulations.
Only boaters know when they are in danger.
In circumstances where you are unable to reach the shore or safety on
your own, you are in a position where rescue is needed.
Sometimes you may need urgent assistance where a boat is sinking, other
times there may be no immediate danger, however further life threatening
problems could arise if affirmative action is not taken.
“The first action is to use a marine radio
to call for help,” Garry Schipper said. “A
mobile phone is a poor substitute for a marine radio as cell phones can have
flat batteries, do not like the water environment and can be outside signal
coverage when at sea.”
“An EPIRB should be used if genuinely in
distress or if there are people on board who are injured.
Once activated, the golden rule is that you do not turn the EPIRB off
until told to by the search and rescue authorities. The search and rescue people
rely upon the beacon to home in on the location.
Also, an EPIRB that suddenly stops transmitting after a short period may
be regarded by authorities as a hoax.”
AMSA, (Australian Maritime Safety Authority)
say that an Epirb should be used when you are in grave and imminent danger. This
is almost certainly the case if the only way out of the situation is a long swim
to the shore.
If in the event of an EPIRB being activated,
flares, like the recently released
“If all a boater has on board is a pack of
flares, these should be used when you think there is a chance of the signal
being spotted,” Garry Schipper said. “You
may see a passing boat, aircraft or people on the shore and try to attract their
attention with the flare.”
Other means of attracting attention can
include waving arms above the head, waving a shirt tied to an oar, v sheet,
Seamarker dye or at night, using a torch or strobe light to flag down other
boats.
“Just as we advise 4WD people never to
leave their vehicle in the bush, the same principle applies to boaters,” Garry
Schipper said. “It is a lot easier
for searchers to find a boat at sea, than the head of an individual bobbing
about in the water.”
“The golden rule is to never leave your
boat, even if it is upturned.”
Garry Schipper is available to
deliver safety presentations and safety demonstrations on the correct use of
Pains Wessex flares, EPIRBs and other Pains Wessex safety products.
Typically, these talks are delivered to
boating and sailing clubs, anglers and other water based user groups.
For
further information contact
Marine
Sales & Marketing Manager
Chemring
Australia Pty Ltd
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