A friend with two female passengers took his boat a little too far offshore when their engine quit. They had no radio. They waved various objects and flashed lights at the many small aircraft that flew nearby. A CG helicopter kept flying nearby but it refused to slow down or take notice.

Thing changed when the two ladies removed their tops. The helicopter slowed down and got closer. Once they were close enough my friend held up a sign made of his tee shirt with "HELP" written on it in engine grease The pilot asked over the speaker what the problem was. They indicated engine problems and signed that they were otherwise safe but had no radio.

The pilot indicated that help would be there soon. About ten minutes later a small CG boat pulled up and gave them a tow. On the way back the ladies flashed, waved and generally flirted with the CG crew. The CG was nice enough to pull them right up to their launch site and announce the help was free. There may have been an exchange of phone numbers.

Lesson: If your going to get into trouble have a couple of nice looking ladies close by. Your average male rescue worker might miss a 10' square distress flag that's close enough to touch. But can spot a well formed rack at a kilometer through fog.

Like fishing, you have to use the right bait.