Re: [Paddlewise] SPOT - A few observations

On Thu, Oct 2, 2008 at 4:40 AM, Dave Kruger <kdruger_at_pacifier.com> wrote:

>
>
> I thought there was a specific "911" button which circumvented using email
> to a monitor or minder.  Am I mistaken in this?
>
> No... the "911" function routes to the "GEOS Emergency Center" which, one
presumes, is manned by people less likely to panic than Aunt Mabel. However
the "center" might have its own problems. For one thing, we don't know how
it is routed and, as has been pointed out, if it's as email on the Internet
there can be substantial delays. But those can be mitigated by the fact that
SPOT keeps on sending the 911 message over and over until its batteries die.

If a paddler runs into trouble we assume that some form of Coast Guard will
be the likely rescuer.  And if that's the case then that unlucky paddler is
probably going to be rescued because, at least in the USA, the Coast Guard
is well organized and efficient at rescues in places where it is prepared to
do so.

But if I run into trouble on, say, Moses Lake (where I paddle the most) it
could be a far different story. The USCG, good as they are, have never been
sighted on Moses Lake. The most likely rescue authority is very likely to be
the local fire department or the County Sheriff. But which one would the
"center" call?

One thing is pretty certain: They can't call "911" on a telephone and get a
person who is locked in to the appropriate rescue authority near Moses Lake.
Nor will they be likely to find a "rescue center" in the phone book because
the local 911 authority is a private business called the "multi-agency
communications center" that contracts with the local agencies to coordinate
all their emergency and radio communications.

SPOT may have resolved this but they hadn't as recently as last August when
a hiker in the Cascades near Wenatchee carrying a SPOT activated his "911"
feature and had to wait for literally hours until someone figured out
exactly who to call to send him help. This hiker was, fortunately, on a
ridge. Fortunate because, as we have been reading here, SPOT's weakness is
in areas where there is no clear and unobstructed view of the sky (and not
just the southern sky, either).

If SPOT has a place in the rescue scenario it's probably in the marine
environment where there is a clear view of the sky and there is a clear-cut
SAR authority. There are a plethora of stories on SPOT's web page about
people who have been rescued due to their carying a SPOT device. I wonder if
there is a web page for people who have activated their SPOT's "911"
function and then *not* been rescued.

Craig Jungers
Moses Lake, WA
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