How important is safety gear, ask the 12 people rescued just 14 miles out of Freeport Texas on October 1,2013. They had a radio and were able to call the coast guard, they had life jackets and were able to stay afloat, but was there more that could have been a factor? The answer is yes, these situations are all different.
Being prepared is the best thing any boater can do. Educate yourself, educate your crew, and have more than one safety item available to use. The short list is VHF Radio, Life Jacket (PFD) for each crew member, Life Raft, EPIRB or PLB (both is even better) and a ditch bag full of safety essentials.
A VHF and life jackets did the job in this instance, but consider that the water could have been cold and the VHF may not have worked. Then what? You need a life raft to get you out of the cold water and an EPIRB or PLB to bring the rescue authorities to you.
You can see information on hypothermia in this post
We strive to provide the best information about safety and help boaters with all of their safety gear needs. We do community outreach and we now offer a leisure boating Offshore Safety Class for local boaters.
