... National safe boating week may 18 through may 24...
This is the third in a daily series of messages produced by the
partnered National Weather Service and National safe boating Council.
The cospas-sarsat system is an international satellite based search
and Rescue system used to locate emergency radio beacons
transmitting on a frequency of 406 megahertz. Since 1982... this
cospas-sarsat system has been instrumental in the Rescue of over 30
thousand individuals worldwide including more than sixty seven
hundred here in the United States. NOAA is the lead representative
for the United States to the cospas-sarsat organization.
Emergency position indicating radio beacons or epirbs are a type of
emergency radio Beacon developed for use in marine environments.
There are two types of epirbs which when equipped with GPS may help
Rescue forces find you more quickly. Category 1 epirbs can be
activated automatically or manually. Category two epirbs can only be
activated manually.
These are becoming increasingly affordable and act as a last line of
defense if disaster strikes.
Once an epirb is purchased..it must be registered. The information
provided for the registration may help Rescue forces find you faster
in an emergency. The information also allows the Rescue coordination
center to determine if a distress alert is real or false and
possibly prevent a needless dispatch for a false alert.
You can Register on line at www.Beaconregistration.NOAA.Gov. For
questions please call 888-212-7283.
For more information on epirbs visit www.Sarsat.NOAA.Gov
