Tracking the race ? Discussion ?

[BobJ]

John, the situation is critical here. As we speak the Coasties have closed the Gate to racers while US Sailing investigates the Low Speed Chase casualty. I didn't ask the details from Rob yesterday but pulling the permit is probably a bitch, especially for a single-handed race to Hawaii.

Unless you just don't want to, please do the race. It just won't be the same without you. I'd do it if I could, tracker or not - I'd just ignore the damn thing back there like I did for LongPac. Nothing else changes, roll-calls as always . . . "HARRIER . . . "

 

[John Hayward]

Hi Bob,

Thanks, you have always been a friend and I respect your thoughts. In this case, we must agree to disagree. I feel we are already *way* to far down the path of the coasties (government) telling us what we can and can't do. They are supposed to be there to help us if we need help, not to tell us what we can and can't do, or so I thought. What next, if we want to day sail past Bonita on our own, will we need permission?

When I did this race in 2008, I knew nothing about the "background stuff". I did not know we needed permits. I still do not know why a private club "needs" permits to run a race, rally or social event to HI?????? I was niave enough to think all the requirements were there just to keep us safe, not to just satisfy an insurance company or the coasties.

Part of the appeal of the race to me was the fact that I was "on my own". If I screwed up or was not properly prepared I was going to have to deal with it "on my own." This no longer appears to be the attitude. We must let big brother *know* where *everyone* is all the time even though Barbara Euser has been blacked out for 2 races and made it to HI just fine. If we rely on the YellowBricks and they crap out, what then??? If a YellowBrick stops giving position reports do the coasties start a search and rescue automatically, NO!!!!!! Why is it so damned essential then????? There has been no talk of eliminating the twice daily checkins via HF or SatPhone..... What does this realistically gain anyone racing or onshore in terms of peace of mind. To me it's just another thing that can go wrong, that I can't control, that costs money and that Jan will have to worry about if it goes dark.

I retrospect, I am really glad that I got to do two races. Had the current thinking been in place in 2008 I probably would have had to just sail to HI on my own.

My biggest regret at this point is the fact that I already spent over 5 grand on things "just for this race" including $600 this morning for a sat phone SIM card that I now have no use for. Actually that's not true. My biggest regret is something big that I enjoyed enough to want to do 3 times has been changed in a way that makes it undesireable for me to do again.

Things evolve. Guess this is the way of the future? I would have sailed to HI the first time alone but thought I would learn something by participating in a race. I did, and the camradarie was great!!! This is why I did it the second time and why I was planning on doing it again this year. I didn't go the first time because someone would be "watching out for me" or "holding my hand" and the more of that I encounter, the less interested I am in participating. Seems to me to violate the whole concept of "Singlehanded Sailing"...... Guess I am in the minority, but I'm comfortable with that.

Thanks for the worry.

John

 

[BobJ]

John, here's a thread where this was discussed. There's some chaff but if you can get through that, I think you'll find we're mostly in agreement:

http://www.pressure-drop.us/forums/showthread.php?2508-investigation-of-LSC-ocean-racing-ban...

Post 32 from "Thing-Fish" answered my question about the Coast Guard's legal authority to require and if they choose, withhold permits. The Coast Guard has always had this authority (since 1908 I think). Reading this probably won't sway your decision but at least you'll know I'm not willingly caving on the trackers. I just want the race and it's great traditions to continue.

I will speculate that for some participants, there is a "look at me" aspect now that makes trackers desireable. I prefer the "dark side of the moon" aspect of the race and I think many former participants did as well.

 

[Ragnar]

Surprised in SoCal

Wow. This thread is full of surprises. I guess I need to check this more often.

Hi Rob, by now I'm sure you're regretting volunteering for your role. Please know I'm sensitive to your position, and thanks for all your work.

First, regarding the Yellowbrick trackers. It sounds as though the trackers are in response to a potential threat to not provide a permit for the race. I'm with John Hayward on this - I really don't understand how they help actual safety. If they are for safety, would someone please explain the logic? It escapes me. If they aren't helping safety and it's a political panacea then why would the USCG really care? If it's so the RC and the USCG can say: "see we're doing something to improve safety," then I call bullshit on this whole effort. Someone should sit down with the USCG & figure out what would really help improve saftey. This is a poor way to learn from and honor those lost on the Farallones. If they are for publicity, friends & family, OK fine then make the trackers optional this year since this is a costly last minute change.

Second, this thread apparently revealed (to me anyway) that boats without an SSB receiver will not be receiving position reports. This is clearly penalizing boats with satphones only, which is quite a surprise. It seems to me that if you want to run a fair race, you should either provide position reports to satphone only boats, have mandated SSB receivers earlier on, or not allowed satphones at all. You can do what you want, but I would think you would want to run a fair race. Fairness before camaraderie? If you are an SSB boat and just barely beat at satphone only boat, would you feel like you beat him fair and square? After all the time, money & effort spent getting to Hanalei, tragic doubts could remain.

Third, now that I've completely pissed you off, I look forward to having you pass my last minute inspection!

Cheers,

Whitall Stokes
Slacker

 

[Pogo2USA806]

Short answer: no. SSB only.

you are not serious: for boats equipped with sat phone only, there will not be any broadcast of everyone's position? How is this fair racing? This is seriously wrong. When I signed up and talked to Rob, he said that racers could choose sat phone or SSB, without any preferences. Now that I have chosen sat phone and have no plans to get an SSB, I am penalized. Excuse my french, but this sucks, especially for a race that pretends to fly high and clear the "corinthian spirit". Why can't a simple text message with racers position being sent to all with sat phones? It creates 5 minutes to get the list and no time at all to send GPS positions...weird, and unacceptable.

as for the trackers, I agree with cafemontaigne, "idefix". I find it completely useless safety wise but definitely good entertainment....It seems that most of us agree on that. I have no money left to spend in this race and another $300 30 days before the start is definitely bad news. If we all agree that the trackers is definitely entertaining, why doesn't the viewers pay for it?

Rob, one last thing, I was lucky enough to check the forum today. I have very little time to be on the computer and never received any of those emails you mentioned...

I have never raced the transpac alone or in a crewed boat. I am looking forward to it. My only objective is to reach Hawaii and hug my wife and my boy as soon as I will arrive. I will be racing "myself". This being said, if a race there should be, we should all have the same access to outside resources and make sure that it is fair to everyone.

To be continued...

Jerome Sammarcelli
Team Open Sailing
Pogo 2 USA 806

 

[BobJ]

you are not serious: for boats equipped with sat phone only, there will not be any broadcast of everyone's position?

Speaking as a former SHTP racer and not in any official capacity:

SHTP has never had a dedicated comm boat. Hopefully three or four racing participants will offer to compromise their own race somewhat to help with the SSB net, accept radio relays, read incoming e-mails, write down boat positions and attempt to e-mail those to shore. This is a race-what-you've-got, let's work together to make it happen thing. For those of you who think you are entitled to receive every boat's position twice a day, ask yourself if YOU are willing to dedicate yourself to collect and disseminate that data while racing your own boat, because that's how it happens.

In the two SHTP's I did, getting the satphone-only boat positions (and there were only 3-4 such boats each year) was always a hit-or-miss proposition. While it sounds simple, it takes someone on shore to collect those e-mails twice a day and send them back out to the volunteer comm boats, who might be mid-broach at roll-call time. As I wrote earlier, I did the on-shore part last race, and I was tied to my computer twice a day because for the sat-phone boat positions to be read they had to be collected and sent back out to the fleet in time for the SSB net. It was about a half-hour window twice a day.

The sat-phone check-in option was reluctantly added as an alternative to requiring that every boat have an SSB, but it makes the job harder. Therefore the intentional bias towards all boats having SSB. We've had this argument every SHTP and when you get into the details (which new participants usually haven't dealt with), you come to understand the problem. Just last race Pacific Cup finally allowed non-SSB check-in's, and only for the double-handed boats, and THEY have a dedicated, non-racing comm boat shadowing the fleet. It ain't as easy as it looks.

Jerome, I'm thrilled to see you in the race with your Mini. Isn't it true that Mini's have to carry SSB receivers? Can't you listen to all the positions that way?

 

[Paul Elliott]

Just last race Pacific Cup finally allowed non-SSB check-in's, and only for the double-handed boats, and THEY have a dedicated, non-racing comm boat shadowing the fleet. It ain't as easy as it looks.

Actually, in the past several races, the Pac Cup comms boat has also been a racer. In 2008 and 2010, (and 2012) VALIS was volunteer comms boat. In some previous races the comms boat was a non-racer, but not since at least 2006. True, VALIS isn't a hard-core competitive boat, but we do try to do our best. In my first race (2006) Cayenne was volunteer comms boat, and she was competitively raced.

That said, I understand Bob's position on this. This year the Pac Cup is accepting position reports via SSB, satphone voice, and any sort of email. To handle these non-SSB position reports requires shoreside people to transcribe the satphone voice messages, process the email, to format all this so it can be emailed to the comms boat. The comms boat announces all the non-SSB positions during the morning roll-call (we have just one roll call), then sends the combined reports back to the shoreside support person, who will (for this race) email the positions to those who have requested them. There will be a several-hour delay on these email reports. If a boat wants the freshest positions, they must at least listen to the SSB net. All this takes preparation, programming, time, and energy -- shoreside and definitely on the comms boat. I spent well over two hours every day running the position-reporting stuff, and I had five other crewmembers to cover for me. For a singlehander, I would want to see the comms duties be as simple as possible.

We are carrying Yellowbrick trackers, with a varying delay on the tracking website (details TBD). Most of our racers like the trackers, as they are appreciated by family and friends. They also provide a backup position report. I don't know if the USCG figured into the decision to carry the trackers, but it wouldn't surprise me.

 

[BobJ]

Thanks Paul - and a fine racer VALIS is, too.

Slack, I'd attach the actual CG Permit from 2010 but I don't want to overstep by bounds. I can tell you that in bold letters it put the burden squarely on the Race Organizer to maintain constant postion information on every racer. If a racer was one hour late for one roll-call the CG was to get involved, doing call-outs for the missing boat and if unsuccessful, actually launching a S&R. I read the permit to everyone at the final skippers' meeting before the 2010 race. We had one boat that couldn't start and another turn around a few hours into the race because they wouldn't be able to make roll-calls reliably.

Many folks here know I'm not a fan of trackers, but if they make it possible for the SSS to keep the race going, I'm okay with carrying them (reluctantly).

And no, I'm not at all pissed off. We've been through these arguments more times than you can imagine.

 

[Ragnar]

Going Hayward

If a racer was one hour late for one roll-call the CG was to get involved, doing call-outs for the missing boat and if unsuccessful, actually launching a S&R.

More surprises. Sorry, I'm new to all this permit stuff and I'm really struggling to find the logic of the embedded rules.

So if my boat's tracker and satphone/SSB or battery craps out, or if I oversleep, or if I leave my satphone off, or if I'm busy on deck getting an hourglass out of my spinnaker, or if I shouldn't leave the helm due to rough conditions, the CG launches a S&R? This is absurd on its face. What's the point of carrying an EPIRB? I can just imagine it, sailing along at 7 knots under spinnaker having a wonderful day and then here comes a CG helicopter. I'm sure they would hit me with a huge bill also.

Fat lotta good a tracker did for the crew of the Aegean, and would have been similarly useless to the crew of LSC. As singlehanders we already know about the importance of jacklines and tethers. We're back to the safety uselessness of trackers and this just being political to pacify the CG so they will let us go sailing. If this ridiculous nanny-state monitoring is a condition of the race, I'll have to seriously reconsider my participation. This flies in the face of the whole point of why I singlehand.

Finally, the PSSA also has roll-calls, but they are specifically not about safety. They are for position reporting and camaraderie only. If someone misses a roll-call we cannot assume they are in trouble and launch a S&R. Typically the boat is having radio issues. That is why we require PLBs and strongly suggest our racers wear them while on deck.

Rob, please confirm the above race requirement, or if the start location changes to Half-Moon Bay or what's going on here as I'd like to be able to make a decision fairly soon.

I'm really sad. I have a feeling I really would have enjoying sailing with you guys.

Thanks,

Whitall Stokes
Slacker

 

[BobJ]

Whitall, most of us agree with you - the current situation with the local Coast Guard sucks. They really, really don't get what we do or why we do it, or how hard we try to look out for ourselves and our fellow solo skippers, or why it can't be made as absolutely safe as they would like it to be so they can look good to their superiors. It's a difficult time right now, but it will die down as it has before.

Historically the SHTP roll-calls have been for the same reasons as PSSA's. That's why I see the trackers as irrelevant to the skippers - things have gotten muddled because of skippers wanting to access the information about the other boats. I think that's been solved with the six-hour delay.

Anyway, don't take it out on the race or ultimately on yourself. You will enjoy the race and the comaraderie during roll call and in Hanalei - it's unmatched. It's killing me that I can't race this year.

In the races I did nearly every boat made every roll-call, and only one per day is required to avoid the time penalty. There are a lot of "ifs" in your last post.

 

[Ragnar]

Hi Bob,

If it were just the faux-safety of the CG mandating trackers, that is one thing that I could probably swallow as it's just another piece of gear. But now I find out they also require notification if someone is over an hour late for roll-call and will launch an S&R effort if one's radio is out. This non-value added pre-emptive intrusion into private affairs is beyond what I am able to stomach. I really don't want to see a CG helicopter and a bill if I over-sleep after staying up all night dealing with issues. What else did they require in 2010 that I am not aware of? What will they require for this year give the LSC incident? I don't mean to sound like I'm taking it out on the race. I'm really taking it out on the CG, but I understand how I'm coming across.

I'm very aware of the arguments that say: "if the CG is expected to bail you out, then they rightly should have a say in how you conduct your race." I have two responses to this.
1) Yes, I agree with the logic. I'm all for regulation that improves safety. We seem to all be in agreement that is not the case here.
2) I don't expect the CG to bail me out if I get into trouble, nor do I understand the public interest in bailing me out. The risks I take are my responsibility alone, and I take responsibility for them. If I don't take care of myself, I'm fine with meeting my maker, and so is my wife.

Finally, I don't think I would be taking it out on myself. I don't have to do this race. I sail singlehanded in part as the self-reliance brings my life meaning. As the CG removes self-reliance, the meaning for me is reduced. To be honest reaching & running down to Hawaii doesn't feel like a huge challenge. I'm not competitive enough to have to win or anything like that. It's just something I would like to do as it's the longest SH race on the West Coast. You're right, it is a big disappointment as the boat and I are ready, and the time has been blocked out. But given the nonsensical & intrusive CG terms and conditions of your race that take away the meaning of singlehanded sailing for me, I'd be happier just sailing over to Hawaii or elsewhere on my own. Even if I'd miss the friendly competition and camaraderie of like-minded crazies like me. Maybe things will be more amenable in future editions of the race.

Anyway, Rob please let me know the CG's terms & conditions for the race.

Cheers,

Whitall

 

[robtryon]

First of all, let me make it perfectly clear that the Coast Guard is not requiring trackers. I am requiring trackers as a positive response to the Coast Guard's wanting a better line of communication. We've always had a very good relationship with the CG and I intend to keep it that way. When I'm told that having trackers will "go a long way" in making the CG feel comfortable in signing off on our permit, I take that very seriously. We're in a very unique and extremely fluid position right now - we have US Sailing and a new advisory group made up of local sailors working with the CG, and we don't have a clue what the outcome will be. We don't even know if this weekend's Spinnaker Cup is happening yet!

What we do know is that we want to have a singlehanded race to Hawaii next month and I'm going to do everything in my power to make sure that happens. I'm sorry if anyone feels this is an intrusion on their self-reliance or self-sufficiency, but you'll still be sailing to Hawaii by yourself. The tracker isn't going to change that one iota.

I started singlehanding for the freedom I felt out there. It's the freest I've ever been. I did a lot of singlehanding without being part of an organization or race and I never carried an EPIRB, sat phone, liferaft, etc. To me safety is in my mind, it's not something I can buy. I was attracted to this race for many years and when it was my turn to participate, I was given the list of requirements. I found many of them distasteful but not so much as to stop me from joining. In fact, I wanted that belt buckle so bad that if the RC had required it, I would have stood on my head and sang show tunes throughout every seminar. Nothing was going to stop me from doing the race. I know that many of the racers this year feel the same way so I feel it's my responsibility to do everything I can to ensure the race starts off CYC on June 30 without a hitch.

As for the wording on the permit, we won't get it until a few days before the start. I have no idea what it will be, but can guess it will be similar to last time's which basically said we had to have daily contact with the racers. As for the 'hour late' check-in hypothetical, the trackers fix that issue. Also, remember that we have to get a permit from Hawaii CG as well, and that's dependent on getting the SF permit.

As far as the comm plan goes, that hasn't been written yet. There's concern from the boats only carrying sat phones that they won't get position updates. For the last couple of races, the sat phone folks have essentially been penalized, and maybe it's time to move beyond that. For what it's worth, my race would have been completely different had I not had an SSB. I have come to understand that it's essential to the spirit of this race, but others may not be as interested in that aspect of it. I'm looking at some options and I'd appreciate any feedback on ways to get the sat phone people position reports in a quick and efficient manner. I want the comms plan to be fair for everyone.

 

[Critter]

Just to reinforce what Rob said: The Coast Guard has placed no new requirements on ocean races since the LSC incident. They've just asked - OK, directed - all the clubs, plus US Sailing, to take a close look at what they're doing.

 

[algwind]

After reviewing the posts in this thread and discussing with Rob over the phone yesterday, I am realizing that the main discussion points are converging. Advances in technology make it possible to readily access positions for the entire fleet and this benefits the Coast Guard, the Race Committee and the Racers.

As long as we are going to have trackers, why not use them and the services offered by the provider to "broadcast" regular position reports to the entire fleet. Anyone including our comms boats, submitting an e-mail address would receive identical information, and this would be the only allowed method of receiving position information while racing. (I believe this eliminates the concerns on the effort of tabulating sat phone position reports; it is possible that the tracker provider would send the e-mails for us on a schedule). The comms boats would then read out positions during roll call; those interested in chatting after roll call would proceed as normal.

Check-ins via SSB or Sat Phone should still be required. Any equipment can fail, so in the event a tracker fails, check-ins are the best way to prevent unwarranted SAR missions. If radios or sat phones fail and check-ins are missed then the tracker data provides important information. Some of us will be carrying SSB, sat phone and a tracker, so all three would have to fail in the same time frame before going silent. I would be in favor of establishing a more specific protocol with the Coast Guard on SAR deployment. Clearly, the Coast Guard wants maximum situational awareness, but a threat to deploy 1 hour after a missed check-in seems a bit hollow. Why not go back to them and say that in exchange for carrying trackers we want a more sensible protocol. This could turn into a deeper discussion, but I for one, would be willing to divert my path to check out any nearby racer that had gone silent (no tracker data and no check-in), EPIRB or not. If we agree among the racers to something like this, then the Coast Guard should be willing to relax their deployment schedule.

Perhaps we can devote some time during the upcoming seminars to discussing. I am hopeful that those of you thinking of retiring over these issues will reconsider.

Al Germain
Bandicoot

 

[BobJ]

Al, I know you were personally affected by the permit language in 2010. You did the right thing but it cost you, big-time. That notice language was sprung on us two days before the start in 2010 - I received the local CG permit on June 17th although I had applied for it months before (the start was June 19th). I couldn't say anything then because I was in my "official capacity" as R/C, but that one hour part was totally rediculous and inconsistent with everything this race has been for many of us. Had I been given any time to respond I would have asked them to get real and write something sensible.

So per your post, what seems to be the "logical next step" is a step too far for me. I personally hope trackers are a one-time band aid to get this race off and then we can go back to our roots.

Public apology to Rob: I went into this thread wanting to help but fear I've made it more difficult. I'm sorry.

 

[Ragnar]

Going Dark

Regarding sending racer positions to satphone only boats, I would suggest emailing positions to all boats, satphone or SSB.

I did some preliminary web searching and it appears the USCG does not typically bill for S&R efforts, unless they are hoaxes. This is somewhat reassuring but someone should contact them.

So if we won't know the CG's conditions until a few days prior, that puts me in the position of having to get up there & be ready to go before I really know what's going on. Awkward.

"Gone Dark" policy is worth discussion among the race committee and then the USCG. We had a boat go dark for maybe 2 days during the Guadalupe Race after his tracker and satphone failed and he could not check in. We shrugged as we felt the probability of him being in real trouble was quite low. SPOTs have to be reset daily and we knew he had trouble charging his phone. Tracker failure and charging problems is all that has to happen to "go dark". I'm trying to imagine scenarios where a dark boat that has not lit off an EPIRB would be in need of outside assistance. The skipper would have to have fallen overboard without a PLB, or be unconscious or incapacitated to the point where he couldn't activate the EPIRB if he wanted to, or I guess the EPIRB could have failed also. My sense is that gear failure is a far more likely occurrence than these 3 scenarios combined.

But what to do to help the USCG? If a competitor is nearby they could attempt a drive-by based on a last-known position, but it seems that if a boat is dark it would be difficult to locate them except by serendipity. The same is true for the dark boat. Since this boat can't receive positions (unless they have a working SSB receiver as backup) he will be lucky to make physical contact with another boat. So, maybe to get the CG off our backs, satphone boats should carry a backup SSB receiver, SSB boats could carry either a satphone or separate receiver (independent of main electrical system) so if there are problems and they do go dark, they could receive position reports, and I'm sure the Comm boat would broadcast the closest boat's position to proceed towards so the dark boat could locate it. Not that I'm in favor of more equipment requirements, but if it gets the CG off our backs, then maybe.

 

[Critter]

Not that I'm in favor of more equipment requirements, but if it gets the CG off our backs, then maybe.

I may be totally off base here, but I think you may be overestimating how much the Coast Guard is on your backs. As I wrote a few posts back, they have imposed no new requirements. Rob's addition of trackers was a voluntary initiative, a friendly gesture toward the CG as well as a cool feature for those who will be following the race and a huge labor savor for RC volunteers at home.

If he goes into the permitting process with the position that launching SAR on the basis of one or two missed checkins is unrealistic and impractical (easy for me to say, I know), and reminding CG that all the boats have EPIRBs, you ought to be able to have a communications protocol very similar to 2010.

Max

 

[solosailor]

I've been Down Under for a few weeks so I'm a bit behind in chiming in.

The trackers we own will not work for a Hawaii race, and the last thing we need, with a big fleet and everyone watching so closely, is for a racer to go silent.

Why would that be a bad thing? Yes trackers are neat for the viewing public and I will not deny that they provide a "last" position report for a boat that should be fresher than the daily check-in.

But I remember the caveman days of the SHTP, cira way back in 2000 when check-ins were voluntary and many in the fleet went dark every race.... I did for 8 days as did others for even longer. FYI, EPIRBS were also not available for the first 20 years of this race. Then we required daily check-in with a time penalty if you didn't, now if you miss a check-in all hell breaks loose.

Remember, just because an electronics gizmo isn't working doesn't mean that racer is in distress. And I think you are all forgetting the failure rate of these devices and usually at least a few of these trackers stop working every race that has utilized them, EVERY race.

If the coast guard isn't requiring them then I don't understand why we are trying to make nice with them by adding this unnecessary device that also adds considerable expense a month and change before the race? If we are adding it for entertainment purposes, fine but don't be delousonal that they will add any safety.

The USCG doesn't have a right or legal mandate to tell us that our race even needs check-ins at all, which we don't. Please cite the Federal regulation that states the USCG, to issue a race permit, requires more than a sounding device, pdf and 3 red flares, or such?

We should run our race as we see fit, not try to fix something that is NOT broken.

The slippery slope - nanny state saling continues to gain momentum. Are we to require and utilize every piece of "supposed" safety gear that comes along? Where will it end?

Is it really true that if a boat misses a check-in the USCG goes into rescue mode, even though no one has called out for assistance?

How about this scenario... A racers entire electronics system fails, his sat phone dies, the tracker dies and the USCG goes into action even though the boats EPIRB hasn't been set off..... Then they boat is located or finishes in Hawaii without issue but the USGC is now really upset that they spends 100s of thousands on a false search.

The SSS is setting themselves up for a bad situation, mark my words. Self reliance is a thing of the past I guess.

 

[jakmang]

I have been following this thread with great interest. I have not done the race, but have spent some time at sea. I can see both sides of the argument and the emotions they provoke. In my view, there are the following points in regard to trackers:

Cons:

- Invasion of privacy.
- Cost.
- Possible failure causing problems.
- Due to checkins, everybody knows roughly where you are anyway.

Pros
- Family and spectators like it.
- Race committee likes it.
- Throws the Coasties a bone when there may be public pressure to act.
- Trackers did provide evidence in the Ensenada/Aegean disaster.
- May help an investigation if you are rundown by a ship.
- They might replace the requirement for SSB or satphone checkins in the future which would be cheaper and probably more reliable.
- Coast Guard will probably not monitor them.

In my opinion, safety would much better served by requiring AIS transmitters. Ships and competitors can see you if you are too close. Contact goes into the ship's log. You can call a contact by name. I have had close encounters with ships both with and without AIS and I would much rather have it.

As for self reliance, that is an attitude. I know some of the people in this group. I believe that they would do anything to resolve an issue themselves. I would cite Sparky and to a lesser degree Saraband as examples. Self reliance was probably lost with the advent of GPS, EPIRBS and the availability weather reports.

There have been serious problems on the return trips for the last two races. The Coast Guard was called in to help.

I'm not sure that I know of anyone who wouldn't push the button on that EPIRB, should the ultimate need arise.

Respectfully,
-jak

 

[solosailor]

In my opinion, safety would much better served by requiring AIS transmitters. Ships and competitors can see you if you are too close. Contact goes into the ship's log. You can call a contact by name. I have had close encounters with ships both with and without AIS and I would much rather have it.

This is even worse in my opinion. First, I don't know of any AIS transponders under $600+. 2nd they have to be on all the time dramatically changing the energy budget, especially of smaller boats. I was a very early adopter of an AIS receiver, that I turn on as I see fit. However in the ocean I often have "all" instruments off during the day, except for the VHF and possibly autopilot to conserve electrons and maximize solar charging. Then there is the competitive equation.... If I decide to gybe south to move away from the high I don't need to broadcast it to all competitors 50-100 miles away. They can find out on the next check-in my position.

There are lots of great electronic