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02-26-2013, 10:38 AM
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#1
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Guru
City: Inside Passage Summer/Columbia River Winter
Vessel Name: Alaskan Sea-Duction
Vessel Model: 1988 M/Y Camargue YachtFisher
Join Date: Jul 2012
Posts: 8,050
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A Good Reason to have an EPIRB
Coast Guard releases distress call from boat carrying missing family off California coast
Published February 26, 2013
FoxNews.com
In an attempt to identify the family that went missing far off the coast of Central California Sunday, the U.S. Coast Guard released the audio distress call from the sailboat that was taking on water.
A man's voice could be heard in the recording. He identified the name of the boat-- the Charmblow-- and confirmed that its passengers were abandoning ship. The boat was 60 miles west of Monterey at the time. Passengers said they'd try to make a raft out of a cooler and life rings.
"There is still no information on where the boat was coming from, where it was going or who the people on board are," said Coast Guard Chief Petty Officer Mike Lutz. There have been no reports of missing persons in the case.
The unidentified family of four included two children under 8. Forecasters had issued a weekend advisory warning boaters of rough seas in the area, and water temperatures typically are in the 40s and 50s, making long-term survival difficult.
The group made its first distress call late Sunday afternoon, said Coast Guard Lt. Heather Lampert. The boaters reported that their 29-foot sailboat was taking on water and the electronics were failing.
"We will just saturate the search area with as many assets as we can, so we can hopefully rescue them," Lutz said.
Investigators determined from the broken distress calls that the family included a husband and wife, their 4-year-old son and his cousin, Lampert said.
The boat's location initially was reported farther north, but Lampert said investigators now believe the call came from west of Monterey Bay, about 100 miles south of San Francisco. The boat did not have a working GPS system.
Calls to harbors in California have failed to locate the boat, and database searches have come up empty, Lampert said. The Coast Guard was expanding its search to Hawaii, the Seattle area and north into Canada.
The Associated Press contributed to this report
Read more: Coast Guard releases distress call from boat carrying missing family off California coast | Fox News
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02-26-2013, 11:03 AM
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#2
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Guru
City: Cowichan Bay, BC
Vessel Name: Gray Hawk
Vessel Model: Defever 43 Offshore Cruiser
Join Date: Oct 2009
Posts: 570
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Its easy to armchair QB these but this is looking more and more like a hoax. I certainly hope that's all it turns out to be because if its not then it was certainly criminal to take kids out that far on a boat that ill equipped in those conditions.
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02-26-2013, 11:25 AM
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#3
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Moderator Emeritus
City: San Jose, CA
Vessel Name: Pineapple Girl 3
Vessel Model: Silverton 38c
Join Date: Jun 2010
Posts: 2,171
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Hi Bob, this is all over the news here since it is local. The Coast Gaurd triangulated on the radio signal (probably not proper terminology) and it came from 60 whatever miles off shore, where they started searching. So it seems unlikely it is a hoax??? Otherwise someone would have seen the vessel that DID make the VHF transmission?
__________________
-Jennifer
2003 Silverton 38c (not a trawler)
Marina Village, Alameda
San Francisco Bay Area
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02-26-2013, 11:53 AM
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#4
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Guru
City: Cowichan Bay, BC
Vessel Name: Gray Hawk
Vessel Model: Defever 43 Offshore Cruiser
Join Date: Oct 2009
Posts: 570
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Jennifer I'm sure it is a media circus which is precisely the main reason why I think this may be a hoax. Its getting worldwide coverage - so where's the family/friends who were expecting these people or worrying about their trip? If it was my 4 year old travelling at this time of year I'd be all over it. If it was my brother/friend I might not be quite as obsessed but I'd be paying attention nevertheless.
At that distance offshore VHF location is a guess at best. Which could explain why the search has turned up nothing. There was a 13 metre fishing boat lost off Halifax last week - they found the vessel in a storm and then lost it again for 2 days despite "knowing" its location. That's also a bigger vessel than the one they are looking for off the California coast.
I sincerely hope I'm right and this turns out to be a hoax because if you are right and its legit then they're all dead.
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02-26-2013, 12:13 PM
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#5
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Senior Member
City: Monterey, CA
Vessel Name: Mahalo
Vessel Model: Defever 44
Join Date: Jun 2011
Posts: 406
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60 miles off Monterey, why? And it was nasty this weekend, I was going to go out on Saturday just to run the engines but it didn't look comfortable even in the bay. No dinghy, no life raft, no epirb.
We're all hoping it is a hoax but the Coast Guard lady on tv this AM seemed sure it was real.
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02-26-2013, 12:32 PM
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#6
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Guru
Join Date: Jan 2011
Posts: 622
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very sad indeed and very very irresponsible.
keep in mind there was a weather advisory on these dates, swells reported to be 12ft.
i did hear the fellow on the radio and it struck me he sounded very calm, not at all panic stricken or stressed..
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02-26-2013, 12:39 PM
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#7
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Guru
City: Cowichan Bay, BC
Vessel Name: Gray Hawk
Vessel Model: Defever 43 Offshore Cruiser
Join Date: Oct 2009
Posts: 570
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Per
.........i did hear the fellow on the radio and it struck me he sounded very calm, not at all panic stricken or stressed..
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Do you mean you heard him on the VHF or you listened to the recording?
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02-26-2013, 01:27 PM
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#8
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Guru
Join Date: Jan 2011
Posts: 622
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bobofthenorth
Do you mean you heard him on the VHF or you listened to the recording?
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i listened to the recording broadcast by the news media..
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02-26-2013, 01:31 PM
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#9
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Moderator Emeritus
City: San Jose, CA
Vessel Name: Pineapple Girl 3
Vessel Model: Silverton 38c
Join Date: Jun 2010
Posts: 2,171
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Bob I totally agree, where is the family stepping forward to say it was their kid that was the "cousin" on the boat? I, too, hope it was a hoax from the standpoint of hoping four lives weren't lost. Doesn't seem like anyone has come up with a boat called "Charmblow" but hearing the recording, I can't say for sure that was the name of the boat!!
__________________
-Jennifer
2003 Silverton 38c (not a trawler)
Marina Village, Alameda
San Francisco Bay Area
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02-26-2013, 02:27 PM
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#10
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Guru
City: Inside Passage Summer/Columbia River Winter
Vessel Name: Alaskan Sea-Duction
Vessel Model: 1988 M/Y Camargue YachtFisher
Join Date: Jul 2012
Posts: 8,050
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02-26-2013, 03:44 PM
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#11
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Guru
City: Ft Pierce
Vessel Name: Sold
Vessel Model: Was an Albin/PSN 40
Join Date: Oct 2011
Posts: 28,149
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kinda smelled like one from the beginning...though if the USCG actually triangulated the broadcast...not many originate from 60 miles out...
unless it's bad guys looking to pull the assets out of some place else....
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02-26-2013, 05:22 PM
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#12
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Guru
City: Sydney
Vessel Name: Sojourn
Vessel Model: Integrity 386
Join Date: Oct 2011
Posts: 13,329
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It will be a great relief, in one sense, if the distress call turns out a hoax. But there is another side.
It appears any number of pieces of equipment, and people, were utilised in the search. Some people may have risked their own safety to assist. What of someone in genuine emergency where help was delayed or denied, while safety authorities responded to the hoax,(if it be so).
To prosecute authorities must identify the "hoaxer", if a hoax. If so, sure and swift prosecution should follow.
A GPS EPIRB would have identified the position of the caller within 100 metres or less.
__________________
BruceK
2005 Integrity 386 "Sojourn"
Sydney Australia
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02-26-2013, 05:59 PM
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#13
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Guru
City: Cowichan Bay, BC
Vessel Name: Gray Hawk
Vessel Model: Defever 43 Offshore Cruiser
Join Date: Oct 2009
Posts: 570
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Assuming this turns out to be in fact a hoax I expect there is very little chance anyone will ever be charged. I can't imagine what twisted psyche would find this entertaining. There's a lot of things in this world that I don't understand.
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02-26-2013, 06:07 PM
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#14
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Guru
Join Date: Jan 2011
Posts: 622
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Bob,
It seems Psneeld thinks might be bad guys who wanted to shift the CG resources away from their scene, guess is possible but man what a bad hoax.
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02-26-2013, 06:12 PM
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#15
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Guru
City: Cowichan Bay, BC
Vessel Name: Gray Hawk
Vessel Model: Defever 43 Offshore Cruiser
Join Date: Oct 2009
Posts: 570
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Per
Bob,
It seems Psneeld thinks might be bad guys who wanted to shift the CG resources away from their scene, guess is possible but man what a bad hoax.
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At this risk of turning this thread in the wrong direction, there's a lot of things in your country getting blamed on those evil "bad guys". My experience in life is that more is explained by stupidity than malice.
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02-26-2013, 06:28 PM
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#16
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Guru
Join Date: Jan 2011
Posts: 622
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bobofthenorth
My experience in life is that more is explained by stupidity than malice.
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I agree wholeheartedly.
Hopefully this was a hoax and no one was in trouble.
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02-26-2013, 06:51 PM
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#17
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Guru
City: Ft Pierce
Vessel Name: Sold
Vessel Model: Was an Albin/PSN 40
Join Date: Oct 2011
Posts: 28,149
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Having been the Law Enfocement officer at USCG Air Station Miami, Fl during the quick rise of the drug war and a few other places with peaking water crimes.....my experience knows false alarms go hand in hand...
Don't know about this case...but it's always a possibility....
You are right thinking supidity is an overwhelming and common force when it comes to some boaters....
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02-27-2013, 08:59 AM
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#18
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Guru
Join Date: Jan 2009
Posts: 897
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As a member of the USCGAUX in Southern California I had the opportunity to work the radio stations and equipment that does the triangulation for VHF calls. It's pretty accurate and triangulates rather quickly on approximate positions. The positions are approximate. The call more than likely did indeed originate offshore so not a shoreside hoax. But that doesn't mean someone from offshore wasn't playing games. I suspect only time will tell. I would also think that any vessels offshore whether in trouble or not would be picked up by the search teams. Chuck
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02-27-2013, 09:15 AM
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#19
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Enigma
City: Slicker?
Join Date: Oct 2007
Posts: 16,565
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Greetings,
Is it possible for a VHF signal to "skip"? Meaning the call might have originated from a very long distance away and been picked up in LA.
__________________
RTF
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02-27-2013, 09:42 AM
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#20
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Guru
City: Ft Pierce
Vessel Name: Sold
Vessel Model: Was an Albin/PSN 40
Join Date: Oct 2011
Posts: 28,149
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Quote:
Originally Posted by RT Firefly
Greetings,
Is it possible for a VHF signal to "skip"? Meaning the call might have originated from a very long distance away and been picked up in LA.
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I'm not sure the exact definition is skip...but yes VHF can go much further than line of sight.
However, I don't think you could triangulate on a "skip"...maybe a ham could chime in..
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