medical emergency call?

Seems to be a missing piece to this thread.
There are a number of direct ways to initiate an emergency response: 911 cell or landline, 400MHz epirb, ch16, and a number of hfssb channels.
Lots of other means to make contact so someone ELSE starts a 911 response: ham radio, phone home, sat call to a service provider, etc.
realize though some situations are complex and it sure is convenient to talk directly to the rescuers and not deal with a 3rd party.

Medical Emergency Call

Diver Dave must have just come up from the DEEP ;>, although he did mention SSB & ham, if you carry 1 on board and a landline, which I'm not too sure how you would do that.

As was also brought up, a cell tower may not be close at hand. VHF does also have it's limitations, depending on how high your antenna is.

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As to 3rd party responders, let me add this;

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An EPIRB or PLB will tell people where you are but not what is going on. Would you like to have someone show up with a bandage for a heart attack?

We all know that there is NEWS, that has brought up issues with 'services' like GEOS, SPOT uses something similar, but we also know we can always trust the news media to only report the facts, right?

I think at this point, I've added all I can add.

Just realize that there are alternatives out there and keep an eye out, it changes all the time.

Stay safe out there.

Rather have someone show up with bandaids than not at all...yet also the capability of transporting me....the system is built around different technology...PERIOD..... I was at the pointy end of that spear for a long time.

Plus the OP asked about the ICW where 99 percent of the time the fastest way to communicate distress is most likely 911.

Just because some of us don't use it or believe in certain technologies is not because we are ignorant of them...maybe just the opposite because we know their weaknesses within a system not built around them.

As an ADDED tool in areas outside if cell phones and DSC range...great...but not really oart of the OP's question.

Medical Emergeny Call

The whole nature of social systems, and Trawler Forum is a social system, is that they morph, from the original topic to another. The AICW is a body of water and while the original question may have targeted that area, the question is 1 that should have answers, suggestions, incites, ideas in any body of water. Seems inshore would help a lot of people who aren't necessarily just inshore or specifically on the AICW. I doubt that the original poster really cared that the discussion morphed to a broader coverage area.

BYW, would 1 consider the Chesapeake Bay part of the AICW? A lot of people travel that to get to FL. Would this discussion be a benefit to them?

Notwithstanding the pointy end of the spear, there have been a number of technologies that have had less than favorable acceptance early on that are now part of everyday boaters usage. Technologies change, get better and finally get acceptance by everyone, well almost everyone.

I've seen on other forums comments akin to you don't need technology at all. Stick to paper charts, and a set of dividers and you are set. How about paper charts as an ADDED piece to the puzzle.

Me, IF someone shows up with a bandaid for a heart attack, that is the same as not showing up at all. I'd rather have an AED handy in that circumstance, but then, we could be back to charts with dividers.

I like the fact that some of the items I have on our boat allows my family & friends to not only see where we are, and be part of our adventure, in a limited way, but also to be a backup should something turn bad.

Safety is our 1st and number 1 concern and I prepare as best as I can to be overly safe. I believe that my comment, "Just realize that there are alternatives out there and keep an eye out, it changes all the time" is a comment about "As an ADDED tool".

In closing, knowledge is a variable thing. I know about seatbelts, but since they haven't been proven to save lives I won't discuss them, could have been a discussion many years ago. I wanted to present in my discussion, that there are a number of ways to contact 1st responders. Some items will offer 2ndary options and might just be nice to have onboard.

Have fun out there but stay safe.

Yeah, Sometimes i'm in "too deep".. One last point. Last Aug, I was in the part of the AICW a dozen miles N of Key West. Guess what. No cell phone in range, either Verizon or Att. That's true for much of the lower keys, where you are > 7 miles from US1.

psneeld said:

Obviously the situation dictates the type of call...just like it would on land...

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On the contrary, a 911 call may not be the best option. As a 911 operator myself, anything on water that we deal with goes to the coast guard. Our fire department and first responders only respond to local emergencies in close proximity to the city.

If you're on part of the ICW that isn't close to a major city, any responders dispatched by 911 may not be able to get to you, and they may not be able to pinpoint exactly where you are.

Nepidae said:

Safety is our 1st and number 1 concern and I prepare as best as I can to be overly safe. I believe that my comment, "Just realize that there are alternatives out there and keep an eye out, it changes all the time" is a comment about "As an ADDED tool".

In closing, knowledge is a variable thing. I know about seatbelts, but since they haven't been proven to save lives I won't discuss them, could have been a discussion many years ago. I wanted to present in my discussion, that there are a number of ways to contact 1st responders. Some items will offer 2ndary options and might just be nice to have onboard.

Have fun out there but stay safe.

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Knowledge, preparation, equipment. A friend of mine who is a captain was running a boat this weekend from Naples to Fort Lauderdale. It was a large Hatteras and it was him and a mate he often uses, a very knowledgeable and good 69 year old man. They were docked at A&B in Key West and the Captain stepped down to the head while the mate was finishing up wiping the boat down. Suddenly, the Captain heard a yell from someone telling him his buddy was down. The Mate was laying on his back in the cockpit, mouth open, eyes open, no pulse, no breathing, grey in color. The captain immediately began chest compressions. He would gulp for air but stop if the CPR was stopped. A captain from an adjacent boat brought an AED and they used it, then returned to CPR as appropriate. His eyes started moving and he started breathing just as the paramedics arrived. He was talking but no idea where he was.

The captain went to the hospital and saw him. He was alert and joking. They said he'd had a massive heart attack and helicoptered him quickly to Mt. Sinai in Miami. That was Thursday and it's been rough since then but he's awake and alert, no longer put to sleep, off the vent. Had stents put in but likely to have an additional one put in when they feel he's strong enough.

The point is the mate is alive today through a combination of luck (had it happened midway from Naples to Key West, he might well not be), quick action, knowledge of a captain, availability of an AED, quick EMT response and good medical care since.

Medical emergencies take everything. It helps to react quickly, contact 911 immediately, know what to do meanwhile, have access to the right equipment (whether AED or meds or bandages or wraps or whatever) and you must combine skill and training with luck. It was terrifying, but so far the mate is alive and it's been 72 hours.

We've never encountered a medical emergency on our boat, have a couple off the boat, at a marina or on a bus to town. We've never done anything as dramatic or serious as this captain had to, but his night sure put it all in perspective for us.

It also shows why this thread is such a valuable one.

This has become a game of what ifs, not all the time, what happened to me was.....etc.

Of course you have to use your head all the time in case of emergencies...if you dial 911, 10 miles off the coast or in the middle of the Chesapeake or in the Georgia sounds...you will get what you deserve.

Don't make it all harder than it really is.

We had a senior paramedic(now a trainer of paramedics),member of our Club, deliver a talk one night. Based on it,no AED and the Mate would be dead. Mind you, our paramedic had a sideline selling AEDs....
I agree with the 911(= 000)here issue about defining location. Ours are fixated on a two street cross reference.I suspect a pan-pan or mayday on16 would be best, but hope I never have to find out.

BruceK said:

I agree with the 911(= 000)here issue about defining location. Ours are fixated on a two street cross reference.

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In the states, if you call from a land line we'll get your exact address. However most calls come in via cell phone. In the last few years technology has allowed us to triangulate a cell phone's position within a 30-80yard radius of where the call is made. The problem is that if the cell phone is moving the location is not always accurate.

The other issue is that even if you do call 911, and the operator can triangulate your position, their agency may not have the resources to get to you - at which point you would be transferred to an agency such as the Coast Guard, or other agency that is equipped to respond.