[Milsurplus] So Much for "Modern Technology"

[David Stinson]

>From the latest ARRL Letter:


==>HAM RADIO INSTRUMENTAL IN PACIFIC MARITIME RESCUE

Amateur Radio played a critical role May 4 and 5 in rescuing two people from
a foundering sailboat that had been en route to Colombia. Members of the
Maritime Mobile Service Net (MMSN) and Intercontinental Net on 14.300 MHz
were involved in getting the man and woman aboard the 35-foot s/v Sailabout
to safety after they ran into trouble some 700 nautical miles southwest of
the Galapagos Islands in the South Pacific.

The couple, identified as Gunnar Hansen and Grethe Haraldsen, both Norwegian
nationals and neither an amateur licensee, put out a Mayday call on the
Intercon/MMSN 14.300 MHz frequency the morning of May 4 after Sailabout
sustained damage to its bow -- possibly as a result of losing a forestay,
which helps to keep the mast upright -- and started taking on water. ...
 The Sailabout had only recently been equipped with an
HF SSB transceiver.....

Amateur Radio relays alerted the US Coast Guard at Alameda, California, to
the Sailabout's predicament. At the Coast Guard's request, *relayed via ham
radio,* Hansen set off the vessel's Emergency Position Indicating Radio
Beacon (EPIRB). Job says Henderson -- assisted by several other stations --
passed critical information to the Coast Guard. .... (they got rescued. ds)
Throughout the ordeal, various Amateur Radio stations -- some of which
simply stood by if needed -- made themselves available to update the Coast
Guard, **which never had direct contact with Sailabout.**
(emph mine)

Call me a luddite, I guess...
D.S.



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