The tough EPIRB that fooled them all

8:22 PM Sat 4 Sep 2010 GMT

'Lifeboats to the rescue' .

It was just after 1300 when the distress call came in last week - a good time, given that there were still some hours of light for a search. For the Coastguard station, monitored by volunteers, an Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon (EPIRB) distress was a signal to spring into action, adrenaline up. Half drunk coffee was forgotten, all knew their jobs. The position was identified, on or near the coastline, which could mean a vessel on or nearing rocks or sand. The EPIRB was not registered, indicating it could be a foreign vessel, or an unregistered owner, so no ...

Click here for full story.

by Nancy Knudsen