How one man survived 5 days adrift in the Caribbean
Gary Stephen Ross 2 August 2023


https://www.readersdigest.co.uk/inspire/life/how-one-man-survived-5-days-adrift-in-the-sea

Wow! What a comedy of errors! Still, survival is, ultimately, graded pass/fail and he passed. Thanks for a great read.

That is one helluva story!

Thanks for posting.

Suffered for atleast an extra 3 days because he didn't know his GPS device had a SOS function.

Well, the story says it was his locator beacon, not a GPS with SOS (I'm not sure those exist). But he realized he might not have activated it properly, and tried again, and it was successful.

The time to figure out how your emergency beacon(s) work is when you first unpack it. How it functions, how to confirm it is sending out an alert, etc. Also worth reviewing on an annual basis when testing.

You'd think when you where going to purchase one you'd have some idea of capabilities you'd be looking for.

Is it a requirement to carry one on a boat? And he's just essentially bought it to check an item off the list, or someone else bought it for him.

I wonder if that emergency beacon came with the boat so he never bought or unpacked it? Or it could be a case of just forgetting when the time came.
The article also says he was able to restart the engine from an aux battery after the first part where the alternator died so he had no power. Where was the aux battery then? Or did he buy a second battery when he bought the replacement alternator? Lots of missed details.
I assume those beacons have a test ability, at worst case you call up whomever receives the alert and tell them you going to test. Its rare I'm somewhere without cell phone signal but I've though about getting one of those Garmin inreach so I have a satellite backup if needed but would want to test it bi-annually when I test other gear.

Yeah, sometimes have two test procedures, one for beacon functionality, and another for the GPS.

Comedy of errors. Buy an Ericson 38-200 (good coastal cruiser btw) -- https://sailboatdata.com/sailboat/ericson-38-200/ -- sight unseen and then sail across bluewater with little in the way of inspection. The boat's ill-maintained condition and the sailor's lack of prep took over. Color me not surprised.

I've been considering buying a boat for years. Mostly I look at local boats just so I can personally see the boat before having it surveyed by a professional. Even if it looks good, have an objective eye go over it so you know what needs to be fixed before it leaves port. Haven't bought one yet. The boats I can afford are either too small or the condition to poor. The boats I like are out of reach.

There's no question this individual is a seat-of-the-pants risk taker. He chose this situation, and made it out alive.

I can't imagine making these choices. Not my style in a million years. But a win is a win, and this dude seems to have a talent for dodging disaster. So far.

The thing is, he has way better swashbuckling stories to tell than I ever will. I confess this gnaws at me.