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Peter thanks for the info on use of the radio. Instead of using a wrist
strap, have you considered a neck strap then sliding the radio under your
wetsuit and wear it at your chest? Let me know if this is practical as it
would protect your radio from excessive water and physically protect it
better than in the fanny pack. Is there a difference in size for the 1 watt
versa 5 watt, besides the battery size?
At 07:54 AM 7/30/98 -0700, you wrote:
>Peter,
>Great post.
>Thanks for the tips.
>Claude
>
>At 11:01 AM 7/29/98 -0700, you wrote:
>>I recently traded in my Icom M-1 waterproof radio for a submersible rated
>>Apelco 520. The Icom had failed once when the water proof bag it was in
>>leaked. On a second occasion the battery of the Icom shorted from water
>>exposure and was ruined. I now carry the Apelco with no waterproof bag- just
>>let it get wet and dry it after sailing.
>>
>>I got a chance to test the Apelco yesterday at Crissy in 4.5 conditions
when I
>>found a rig floating about a mile off the beach. The rig had a one bolt
>>universal plugged in but the nut that should have been threaded at the
foot of
>>the base was gone... so was the sailor and the board that had presumably
>>sailed the rig out.
>>
>>I recently switched to a uphaul that can be easily detached from my boom
after
>>having seen Ken Hartz use such an uphaul in two different cases to
quickly set
>>up for towing a board ( in one case I caught the free floating board at Rio
>>but didn't have my tow line and couldn't do any thing but hold onto it).
I use
>>my uphaul to connect the mystery rig to my equipment and pulled the radio
out
>>of my fanny pack. I was glad I had put a wrist strap on the radio given the
>>swell. I contacted Coast Guard on channel 16 and described the situation.
They
>>quickly asked if I was Greg since a sailor named Greg had gone in to call in
>>the info from the beach. From that point on I broadcast as "Windsurfer
Peter"
>>to distinguish myself from anyone else who might call in. There was a
healthy
>>amount of confusion as to who was who and who or how many missing, etc.
>>
>>The Coast Guard immediately started trying to gather info so that they could
>>locate the sailor or determine if the sailor was onshore. It took quite a
>>while for that issue to get resolved, and I was getting pretty cold waiting
>>for them to dispatch a boat for the rig. I noticed that I was not drifting
>>inbound or outbound and let the Coast Guard know that we were at slack
tide in
>>my area in case it would aid them in knowing where to look. The sailor
>>eventually turned up on the beach, having been towed in by another
sailor. I'm
>>not sure how the board made it in, but it was recovered. The sailor's
>>universal slid out of the track in front of a ferry and he lost both
board and
>>sail when he swam for it.
>>
>>It ultimately took an hour before the inflatable arrived. As I got cold
in my
>>3/2 suit (4/3 suit in the shop for repair), I considered strapping my strobe
>>onto the rig and letting it go. Many cool Crissy sailors slowed to check
if I
>>was in distress. The inflatable ended up blasting past me well upwind as I
>>tried to vector them to my location. It seems like the signal going over the
>>chop is much worse than the communications with Coast Guard at YBI where
they
>>have the antenna well above the water. When the inflatable arrived, the
petty
>>officer in charge told me that they had great trouble understanding me
due to
>>wind noise. A key piece of advice would be to face downwind and shield the
>>mike when broadcasting.
>>
>>Greg sailed back to help me de-rig the sail for the Coast Guard. It was
>>definitely a two man job. I was wishing I had a leash for my radio but
>>ultimately used the wrist strap to connect it to my foot strap so I could
have
>>both hands free. Only one bozo found it neccesary to sail by 10' upwind
of us
>>and put a wall of water up in our faces.
>>
>>It was great to have a reminder how much harder it is to do simple things
when
>>you ad the wind and the waves. I'd take a radio that can get repeatedly
dunked
>>over a cell phone any day. I don't think a cell phone would have stayed dry
>>and operable, or conversly, if I was positioning myself to protect the
phone,
>>I could not have tied off the sail or de-rigged it. Sitting in the water for
>>an hour also reminds you why a 4/3 is smart. I've been seeing some shorties
>>and even a guy yesterday with no wetsuit at Crissy. That's probably okay if
>>you never break down, but gear breaks.
>>
>>The Apelco 520 ain't cheap ($280) but it worked great and still has good
>>charge after quite a bit or broadcasting at 5 watts. I'm think the 5 watt
>>capability is well worth the money since I have had some trouble being
>>understood on two different occasion like this. If I was at 1 watt, I'm sure
>>it would have been worse.
>>
>>Peter
>>
>>
>
>
>
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