Communication and common sense

[Seinerman]

That time of year is here again when everyone is hitting the water to do some hunting and fishing. I hope everyone uses good sense in making their decisions and also brings along a reliable form of communication. I spend a lot of time early and late in the Sound, and one thing I've noticed over the years is the number of "Pan, Pan" calls I hear from the Coasties. Everytime, I've responded in some manner, only to find out that someone failed to let their wife know they decided to stay a couple of days because they were having a good time or the weather wasn't good enough to travel. The most recent was last fall when we cut our hunt short and joined a helicopter, two cutters and three other vessels running a grid pattern to find an overdue boat, only to find out that they were holed up having a good time. Needless to say we were pretty upset that our plans were interrupted, and all these unnecessary calls are starting to make me reluctant to jump in and change my plans to help some knucklehead who doesn't need help.

Responding to these types of calls puts others in jeopardy and ties up government resources. Let's save the pan pans for those times when someone really needs help, we all know that trouble can happen to anyone regardless of experience or what type of vessel they have. Do your part and file a float plan and stick with it, and have some way to let your wife know you really are ok and just "waiting on weather" to get back to the old salt mine.

Good luck to everyone heading out this spring, be safe, and have a good time with family and friends. Oh, yeah. Give the guys already hunting an area a little room, too.

[Marc Taylor]

Very thoughtful thread. I'm not on the open waters but make sure I leave my trip plan with at least two unassociated persons. And I update my plan by satphone if it changes.

Have a good year!

Taylor

[kodiakrain]

Great Post, I agree with ALL that,

Have a good time out there, but be wise

Make a good plan, including room for all the contingencies of Alaskan Wilderness Cruising

There's also something to be said for talking with your wife or whoever is left at home,
all that could go wrong (non-emergency wise) that could still delay your timely return,

The Quick Trigger Finger on the Coast Guard call, costs everybody,
(crying "Wolf" is not a joke or a fairy tale)

and especially be considerate of the CG crews,
they actually carry high risk flying around in Helicopters and C-130's
Not to be treated lightly, Educate Your Wife, or whoever about the "whole scene'

[Chisana]

And I update my plan by satphone if it changes.

This is something a person can't do with a SPOT. Most of the air taxis I work withe despis the SPOT because it only allows for minimal/vague messaging. Spend the extra $$$ and go with a sat phone rather than a next to worthless SPOT.

[Bullelkklr]

I totally disagree on the SPOT. I don't consider my SPOT worthless at all. If you program it correctly and use it responsibly I feel that it is a whole helluva lot better than nothing. I program mine to send messages to the appropriate people that I am having trouble but am OK. They know that IF I send the help button that my arse needs saving.

Surely it is not as good as a sat phone, but it is 100 times better than nothing and it gives coordinates so that the rescue team will know which bay I am in...

It also keeps the wife and relatives from calling 911 if I am a day late...

[ccs]

I'm curious about the SPOT's effectiveness in remote places. I've had times where a rented sat phone had pretty terrible or no reception. Those that have used a SPOT before, have you had communication problems with it or does it always send the message when you need it to? I'm particularly interested in mountainous terrain when sheep hunting, mountaineering, backcountry skiing, etc...

[Old John]

I totally disagree on the SPOT. I don't consider my SPOT worthless at all. If you program it correctly and use it responsibly I feel that it is a whole helluva lot better than nothing. I program mine to send messages to the appropriate people that I am having trouble but am OK. They know that IF I send the help button that my arse needs saving.

Surely it is not as good as a sat phone, but it is 100 times better than nothing and it gives coordinates so that the rescue team will know which bay I am in...

It also keeps the wife and relatives from calling 911 if I am a day late...

I totally agree... I may not be able to tell the wife Why I'm running late, but being able to tell her I'm OK tells her not to panic (yet)_
and the google satellite map with my position pinpointed is very nice.... /John

[spoiled one]

A little story from last season. We spent last 4th of July weekend out on PWS. We spent the first part down in the southern end, but the weather forecast took a turn for the worse. We decided to head a bit closer to Whittier. We spent the next two nights in Surprise Cove spinning around on the hook in the wind. There must of been fifteen boats in there with us. One by one you could hear them contacting the coast guard by radio. Each and everyone had the coast guard relay the same message. Lots of guys had to pick their wives up at the airport and weren't going to make it do to weather. Coincidence? I found it quite humorous.

[Chisana]

I totally agree... I may not be able to tell the wife Why I'm running late, but being able to tell her I'm OK tells her not to panic (yet)_
and the google satellite map with my position pinpointed is very nice.... /John

I totally disagree on the SPOT. I don't consider my SPOT worthless at all. If you program it correctly and use it responsibly I feel that it is a whole helluva lot better than nothing. I program mine to send messages to the appropriate people that I am having trouble but am OK. They know that IF I send the help button that my arse needs saving.

Surely it is not as good as a sat phone, but it is 100 times better than nothing and it gives coordinates so that the rescue team will know which bay I am in...

It also keeps the wife and relatives from calling 911 if I am a day late...

Glad the SPOT has worked for you guys, but you're some of the only people I know of who've had positive experiences with those things.

[Wyo2AK]

I've found my SPOT to be very helpful if used with some forethought (meaning let people know to expect messages and perhaps clarifying what they mean). Twice last summer we were camping/fishing around the corner from Homer in the Chugach Islands and had to wait a day/spend an unplanned night waiting for weather to die down. And the SPOT worked great to let everyone know we were still alive and waiting out a storm. Our loved ones know we're okay if we're not back on time and our bosses know why we're not showing up for work. For such trips I use my custom message as a "we're weathered in, don't panic" message. Then we send an ok message when we're back on our way and another when we hit the harbor.

I will agree that a SPOT isn't a great way to communicate with an air taxi or something like that where you will need some back and forth communication. In those cases I rent a SAT phone and don't think twice about it.

[Brian M]

Glad the SPOT has worked for you guys, but you're some of the only people I know of who've had positive experiences with those things.

Mark me down as another who has had great experiences with the SPOT. It doesn't replace a sat phone, but it's always in my backpack and has it's uses.

[Seinerman]

Thanks for the reps, guys. I'm not sure what they are, but I'll take 'em. It really doesn't matter whether you use a SPOT or a sat phone, as long as the significant other knows your situation. In the past, I've made calls for guys who were smart enough to wait out the weather and ask me to make a call home for them. Their wives ALWAYS appreciated hearing a call that their old man was being smart and playing it safe.

As for relaying with the Coast Guard on vhf, there are a couple of things to keep in mind. If you have a low wattage radio or a crappy or cracked antennae, you will be virtually impossible to hear on the radio. Also, vhf efficacy is affected by inclement weather and the surrounding terrain. If you are heading up into that bay to anchor up, make the radio call before you get up inside the bay in order to make sure your call gets relayed.

There is nothing more disheartening than changing hunting plans or pulling my anchor in the middle of the night to go look for someone who doesn't need to be found. I'm glad this thread got some discussion going and I hope everyone has a safe boating season.

[Chisana]

Mark me down as another who has had great experiences with the SPOT. It doesn't replace a sat phone, but it's always in my backpack and has it's uses.

Arghhh! Wasn't expecting that!

[Chisana]

Spot

I don't really with anyone other than my transporter (and sometimes taxidermist and meat processor because they both book up quickly) when I'm in the field so the SPOT doesn't really fit into my program.

But I know plenty of dudes whose wives call transporters daily so for those in that sort of situation I guess it may have some utility.

[tboehm]

Well here is one for the +1 on the spot. Used it in a couple of places in alaska and it works great. The newer one has the ability to pre-program a message and can track you position if you want. I just program a couple of different email addresses to multiple people are getting it.

The marine in me always has a back up and like the spot as added insurance to the phone. it is also a weight savings. What i mean is that its always with me when I leave camp and the phone stays at base. If anything ever happened I have a 911 chance right off the bat. The other thing is that its nice to look on the computer when everything is over. One other thing to consider is, that when you sign up you have the option of getting rescue insurance for something like 12.00 and that in it self is worth the price of admission.

Then there is always murphy's law.........electronics have a way of failing when you need them most. Something what weighs only a few ounces is worth it weight in gold.