Izzy,
I am not a land lubber, and I DO keep my radio (and now my PLB) on me at all times. Many times the radio will get you help in a lot less time than the PLB which can make all the difference. In many places I would take the radio over the PLB if I had to go overboard with only one. Even before the PLB I carried a small EPIRB (boat unit) with me. Before that was available, neither were reasonably portable radios.

Respectfully,
Jerry
That's good to know then. And I can see how in a major traffic area the radio would be quicker response. As Maritime law states other ships in the vicinity of a SOS are obligated, I think, to aid in the rescue. As the story above showed there was a commercial ship closer by than the Coast Guard and they saved the day. Lucky guys.
I also found that interesting. Fortunately in this case the radio that could float, did, and they were pulled out of the water by a nearby boat listening to presumably Ch. 16 --
wow. All this leads me to thinking an
ICOM VHF radio may be a good companion to my ACR ResQLink for use off-shore. IIRC, Coast Guard helo's are Marine VHF capable.