Rescue Stories involving McMurdo Beacons

A McMurdo EPIRB (Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon) has saved the lives of two Trans-Atlantic rowers, who were successfully rescued when they activated the beacon after their boat sank in the middle of the Atlantic.
The transatlantic rowers, Briton Tom Fancett and Dutchman Tom Sauer, were nine days into the Talisker Whiskey Atlantic Challenge, a 3,000 mile endurance rowing event from the Canary Islands to Barbados, when a freak wave struck their boat and caused it to capsize and sink.

The Falmouth Coastguard received the alert at 7:54pm on Tuesday 13th December, 480 miles South West of the Canary Islands from the UK registered McMurdo beacon, belonging to the Atlantic Challenge rowing boat PS Vita. The Falmouth Coast Guard broadcast an alert to all vessels in the area. Four vessels picked up the alert however approximately 120 miles from the location, and closest to the scene, was Crystal Serenity a Bahamian registered cruise ship which was en route to St Martin in the Caribbean from Tenerife.
The two rowers, who had spent at least 10 hours adrift in their tiny life raft before being saved, were rescued uninjured by the crew of Crystal Serenity in the early hours of the morning on Wednesday 14th December.
McMurdo offers a range of emergency location beacon products including EPIRBs, PLBs (Personal Location Beacons), SARTs, AIS Beacons, NAVTEX and VHF Radios – must-have devices for all safety-conscious sailors.

McMurdo’s range of EPIRBs are designed to alert search and rescue services in the event of an emergency by transmitting a coded message on the 406 MHz distress frequency. The G5 Smartfind EPIRB also includes a GPS receiver ensuring that the exact position of a casualty is relayed to the rescue services.

Three crew members of the fishing vessel, Bear, were airlifted to safety by a US Coastguard helicopter after their boat ran aground in Aniakchak Bay, 196 miles southwest of Kodiak, Alaska. The crew were able to alert the emergency services to their situation by activating their E5 SMARTFIND Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon (EPIRB), manufactured by McMurdo.

The US Coastguard received the EPIRB’s emergency signal via the COSPAS SARSAT international search and rescue system at 0323 on 30th August. This gave the first indication that the F/V Bear required assistance, and indicated the vessel’s location. The Coastguard were able to identify the vessel as the 52-foot Homer-registered vessel, via the EPIRB’s registration details.

Having received the initial alert, the Coastguard was then able to contact the vessel’s captain via sat-phone, who confirmed the severity of the situation; the crew had donned their survival suits and were taking to the life raft.
The Coastguard helicopter was consequently scrambled from Air Station Kodiak, arriving on the scene at 0625. Despite poor weather conditions and low visibility, the rescue team were able to locate the stricken vessel quickly and efficiently by homing in on the EPIRB’s secondary 121.5MHz signal.

A group of seven 16-18 year old backpackers were rescued by State Troopers in the early hours of the morning on Sunday 24th July, after activating their 406MHz Personal Location Beacon (PLB) following a vicious attack by brown bears. The PLB, a Fast Find 210 from leading emergency distress beacon manufacturer McMurdo, alerted the emergency services who were able to find the group by following the beacon’s signal. The incident took place in the remote Talkeetna Mountains, north of Anchorage, Alaska.

Two McMurdo EPIRBs and two McMurdo Fast Find PLBs were activated last night by the crew of Tony Bullimore’s 102ft racing catamaran Spirit of Antigua when she capsized some 120 miles SSW of Brest last night. Bullimore was not on board.

The McMurdo beacons alerted search and rescue services to the crew’s plight around 2130 hours in the evening. The giant grand prix catamaran, well known as a winner and record holder on the racing circuit and capable of speeds of up to 38 knots, was cruising offshore off Finnistere around 160 miles to the south west of the Pointe de Penmarch’h, when the CROSS Griz Nez (the maritime organisation responsible for control and safety of shipping in the area) received the alert. The rescue mission was quickly got underway as a helicopter from the naval air base at Lanveoc was sent to the area around midnight. The helicopter team located the yacht whose seven crew members had managed to take refuge in the upturned hulls of the catamaran. They were winched up into the helicopter and taken back to dry land safe and sound.

An injured hunter was rescued in a remote forest in North Island, New Zealand, when search and rescue (SAR) authorities responded to a signal from a Fast Find 211 Personal Locator Beacon (PLB) manufactured by the company.

The hunter, Adam Fisher had accidentally shot himself in the left foot but managed to drag himself some distance to within earshot of a friend, Todd Bickerton, who was accompanying him on the trip. It was clear that he was badly wounded. Luckily Todd was equipped with his pocket sized emergency beacon, the Fast Find 211 and lost no time in activating it at 7.05 pm in the evening in total darkness. The rescue helicopter approached overhead just one hour and five minutes later and was able to land nearby.

A McMurdo FASTFIND Personal Locator Beacon was used to alert search and rescue authorities when a light aircraft en route to Athens from Popham in the UK made an emergency landing in June. The plane landed in a forested area 15 minutes after take-off from St Etienne in France on the third leg of a flight bound for Aix-Les- Milles in the South of France.

Three experienced pilots were on board the plane. Despite careful weather route planning unexpected bad weather forced them to turn back to St Etienne. However, they were ultimately forced by lack of visibility in a mountainous area to attempt a precautionary landing. The pilot, Mike Vernon was able to bring the plane to a controlled halt on the top of the tree canopy but the subsequent drop to the ground caused substantial damage and injuries amongst the crew, one of whom was in hospital for a month.

Rescue services came to the aid of a group of kayakers in rough Scottish waters after the group leader activated his McMurdo FASTFIND PLUS Personal Locator Beacon.

Keith Lawrie, an experienced kayaker, left Portknockie on Scotland’s east coast with a group of three colleagues and his 6-year-old son in gentle seas and with a fair weather forecast. However, some miles off the coast the sea state deteriorated quite rapidly and the group, having already decided to head back to the shore, became overwhelmed by breaking surf on the top of large waves, and one of Keith’s companions was thrown out of his kayak. The group performed a rescue on the overturned member and after a brief recovery the group set off again for the main land only to have the companion rolled again by the increasing swell.

McMurdo provided the lifesaving personal locator beacon that was activated by a Hampshire, UK woman resulting in her being airlifted to safety in Russia. The distress signal from the McMurdo-manufactured Fastfind MAX G was picked up 3,700 miles away by a Scottish RAF base. The alarm was raised by a research party from Nottingham University after Kimberley Warren, from Sway, Hampshire, fell from a horse and broke her leg. The McMurdo MAX G signal was picked up by the international search and rescue satellite system monitored by RAF Kinloss in Moray.

In a story which is making UK national news headlines, Russian rescue teams were alerted and sent to the remote Kamchatka region. The 406 MHz MAX G triggered by the research party is registered in the UK but can be used anywhere in the world to alert search and rescue authorities. It uses GPS technology which gives very quick and accurate position information once activated.

The lives of three fishermen have been saved thanks to the McMurdo MOB Guardian man overboard and vessel locater alert system. The system was designed by the RNLI in partnership with McMurdo, one of the world’s leading suppliers of emergency distress beacons. This is the first time that the McMurdo manufactured system has demonstrated its full effectiveness in helping to save lives in a real emergency situation.

The RNLI, which operates the MOB Guardian, received a vessel overdue alert off Sark at 6pm, Tuesday 24 June, in its Operations Room in Poole, Dorset. After verification the alert was transferred to the agencies responsible for coordinating maritime search and rescue – first to Falmouth Coastguard, who then passed it to the Channel Islands Search and Rescue authority. The RNLI St Peter Port lifeboat from Guernsey was then tasked to search for the missing fishing vessel, FV Guyona.

James Baker was a young man, sailing on a shoe string with no engine. Yet he was an extremely experienced sailor and he and his family had no doubt about his capabilities. James was reluctant to carry an EPIRB or PLB on board: he could not imagine having to put so many people to such trouble if they had to come and rescue him. However, the last thing his father gave him as he left on his trip was the McMurdo FastFind PLB which he thrust into his hand on the dockside.

James’s father Jeremy told McMurdo “I went to ask Falmouth Coastguard for their advice and they told me that in their view the lack of an engine, of a ham radio and of most other modern electronics was of little importance, as long as an EPIRB or PLB was on board.

A yachtsman was rescued on 4th January after activating his McMurdo FastFind Plus GPS Personal Location Beacon off the coast of Africa when his yacht got into difficulties in severe storms. The 1929 gaff rig cutter Mina was extensively damaged by waves leaving the yacht stranded.

22-year-old boat-builder James Baker was sailing from Portimao, in Portugal, to the Caribbean. He activated his McMurdo FastFind Plus PLB at 0053 which alerted the MCA (Maritime Coastguard Agency) and Falmouth Coastguard in Cornwall. The latter then coordinated the rescue operation and contacted the authorities in Morocco, Portugal and Spain. Following alerts to a number of vessels in the vicinity, an Orion aircraft from the Portuguese Navy found the yacht 74 miles west-north-west of Casablanca. Naval staff then directed the German commercial vessel, the MV Wappen Von Bayern, which recovered James around midday.

Two kayakers were rescued in the Bass Strait in December 2007, when they activated their McMurdo PLBs.

After setting out from Tasmania, Australia the pair were caught out in strong winds and adverse tides off Wilsons Promontory in Victoria. They found themselves in difficulty and became separated in the dark. Luckily both carried a McMurdo FastFind Personal Locator Beacon and they each activated them at separate times, alerting search and rescue authorities who tracked the signals quickly but could not pick them up at night. The police ground crew found both easily next day and they were picked up at first light.
Both Fastfinds were sold via Chemring Australia and their outlet EPIRB Hire.

Philippe Comte, a Belgian national, used his McMurdo Precision Category II EPIRB to get himself rescued, when all other options failed. After his boat was wrecked, he was lucky to get ashore, but once landed, there were no signs of life on the deserted island.

Philippe tells his own story: “After waiting for the right pre-frontal winds in Georgetown I decided to head out on November 10th to Providenciales in the Turks and Caicos aboard my 1974 Dufour 34 sloop. The winds were light and I was able to sail around Long Island and close to the Crooked Island passage. As a cold front caught up with me I anchored in the lee of West Plana Cay to wait for the strong NE winds to ease out. The waves had built up considerably and the swell was rounding that little island badly, making this anchorage very dangerous. I was in the back of a reef barrier and as close to the beach as I could be but my 6ft draft would not allow me to shelter any more. The waves were rolling to the shore making this place a perfect surfer spot.

A McMurdo FastFind PLB (Personal Locator Beacon) was involved in the swift rescue of four fishermen whose boat was gutted by fire. The Gismonde, based in Co. Waterford, Ireland, caught fire on the morning of Friday 24th August when fishing in the Irish Sea

According to a report in the Irish Times the crew, under skipper Seán Stafford, sent out an EPIRB (emergency position-indicating radio beacon) distress signal. A tragedy was swiftly averted by the quick thinking of an official from the Irish Marine Institute, who happened to be on board the vessel at the time. He activated his McMurdo FastFind PLB, a personalised handheld version of the EPIRB, and its distress signal alerted search and rescue services.

Ross Hobson was rescued mid-Ocean following the activation of his two McMurdo EPIRB distress beacons after his Class 3 trimaran Ideal Stelrad capsized in 50 knots of wind, during the Route du Rhum ocean race.

Ross managed to run to the edge of the yacht as it flipped over and then crawled inside the upturned yacht through an emergency hatch. He activated the McMurdo Smartfind EPIRB which sent its signal via the satellite system to the Falmouth Coastguard. He also tried to use his satellite phone but it got soaked by a wave and became inoperable. Ross then activated the other McMurdo EPIRB, to make it obvious that the first was not an accidental activation.

The owner and three crew of a Swan 44 Kratos were rescued by an Italian coastguard vessel following the activation of a McMurdo FastFind PLB (personal locator beacon) which crew member Matt Sillars said he “always carries in his pocket”. The yacht caught fire following an electrical fault in an extraction system in the heads, and the crew were quickly driven out by the overpowering smoke and were forced to abandon ship into the liferaft.

Despite putting out a mayday call by VHF, the call for help was not correctly interpreted, and, following a faulty valve which caused the liferaft to start to sink, the crew began to fear the worst. Matt decided to activate his FastFind PLB, which by luck he only purchased one month ago. This enabled him to put out a speedy distress signal which went via Kinloss (the 406mhz listening station) and was then forwarded to the Falmouth Coastguard in the UK. Meanwhile Matt was able to reach the Falmouth Coastguard via the Solent Coastguard using his satellite phone. This call validated the signal that had already been received from the Fastfind PLB, enabling the rescue operation to be speeded up.

Yacht designer Richard Woods and his 32ft catamaran Eclipse were caught in a 'Perfect Storm' in the Gulf of Tehuantepec, southern Mexico. With 70-knot winds and 20ft seas, his small boat was soon in serious trouble - especially once the parachute anchor burst, giving Woods no choice but to run before the massive waves.

In danger of capsize, Woods sent out a Mayday and activated his McMurdo Personal Locator Beacon (PLB). A few hours later a US Navy helicopter emerged out of the dark skies and terrifying conditions. Woods and his crew were helicopter airlifted to the safety of US frigate USS Ford.

Dom was rescued from his kite-powered purpose-built craft Little Murka in mid-Atlantic after he had activated his McMurdo EPIRB. Enduring hurricane force winds and mountainous seas Little Murka had repeatedly rolled and broken free from her sea anchor before finally capsizing and filling with water.

When help arrived, and before he abandoned ship, Dom switched the EPIRB off and left both the EPIRB and his boat to their fate. 11 months later the yacht was washed up on a Northern Ireland Beach at Malin Head, having travelled un-manned an astonishing 2,500 miles across the Atlantic. There she was discovered by a fisherman who unwittingly triggered the EPIRB a second time. This re-alerted the Search and Rescue authorities for a second time who contacted Dom, and were able to re-unite him with not just his boat, to which he owed his survival during many storms, but with his valuable film and photographic collection from his trip.