Re: [Paddlewise] walkie talkies & VHF

Agreed.

I observed that, while sailing, the slow speed (not
that different from the speed of a seakayak) made it
unlikely that I could get to the scene of an incident
in time to be of much help.  I figured it really
wasn't that useful as a rescue tool for me.

It turns out that that was just plain wrong.  I have
been out a couple times when I was probably the ONLY
one who saw someones flare and called it in (at night
or during the winter there often isn't much traffic on
the Chesapeake).  Even when the victim is out of range
for you to get there in a reasonable time, you can
still get on the radio and report the sighting.

Also sometimes you are just at the right place at the
right time.  This has happened to me as well.  I don't
think that in any of the cases that I assisted someone
was it really a life or death situation, but you never
know when it will be.

I personally like to think of the VHF a tool to make
my presence or intentions known, and as something that
is likely to help someone else get assistance.  I plan
to never need to use it to request assistance for
myself.  Thinking that way keeps my decisions a little
less reckless.

Pete

--- Shawn Baker <shawnkayak_at_yahoo.com> wrote:
> Don't sell yourself too short.  You may be the one
> who sees the
> accident in the first place, and might be able to
> save precious minutes
> or hours by being the one who alerts the USCG or
> other vessels nearby
> who may come to the boaters' aid.


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