My experience with EPIRB's has been primarily with larger, offshore vessels. The idea of carrying one on a beach cat is relatively new (to me). How common is their use among sailors on this forum?

And speaking of cell phones, we had an interesting incident the other day here on Lake Champlain. A woman wandered out onto the ice, some distance from land. She became disoriented and couldn't figure out how to get back to where she started. She was carrying a cell phone. She dialed 911. It took the "rescuers' a bit of time to find her, but she "survived".

When I hear stories like that, it just makes me wonder about all the folks who get themselves into trouble because they figure that all they have to do is load up on the latest electronics to be safe.

Moral of the story: The bulk of a sailor's investment should be in the development of good seamanship skills, well developed judgment, and a healthy dose of common sense.

Sail safe