I wanted to call attention to the disapperance/deaths of a crew of 7 (6 Americans) on a sail from New Zealand to Australia last summer: http://www.sail-world.com/index.cfm?Nid=111589&refre=y&ntid=0&rid=4

They were de-sailed and adrift due to a storm at sea. Their Iridium text message was evidently stalled on Iridium's server (?) and never delivered. New Zealand rescue was not informed of the text for some 25 DAYS!, and was only able to retrieve the actual text some 30 days after it was sent!

The ship's SPOT and non-automatic EPIRB evidently did not activate, suggesting a sudden capsize or other traumatic event.

Good argument for EPIRB that automatically activates on submersion (see also the experience of the 3 crew saved in the tragic capsize of the race crew off of San Francisco in a race in April 2012 around the Fallones Islands: http://media.ussailing.org/AssetFactory.aspx?vid=18654 , where a stuck "talk" button on one of the witnessing boat's VHF radio screwed up VHF reports to Coast Guard!

The disapearance of the wooden schooner Nina was extensively debated over at Cruisers Forum, by some highly experienced sailors. The mods finally locked the thread after more than 900 posts (sailors love to argue). I sampled few of the posts. More than you ever wanted to know about South Pacific weather patterns, EPIRBs, seaworthiness (or lack therof) of Nina, competence (or lack therof) of New Zealand SAR, etc etc. Some very heated exchanges, and strong opinions.

Regarding "....EPIRB that automatically activates on submersion ....", the EPIRBs used on sailing vessels are typically dual activated. They are clamped in a mounting bracket with a hydrostatic release (activated by water pressure). Since in a big storm, waves can and do wash clear over vessels, the hydrostatic release is designed so that it only releases the unit when it is several meters under the water (in other words when the boat sinks). When the EPIRB is released from the bracket, it flips a switch that turns the unit on. The EPIRB then bobs to the surface and starts signaling. The EPIRB can also be activated manually by simply pulling the EPIRB from the bracket.

Some possible reasons no EPIRB signal was recieved:
1. It was stuck in the bracket by corrosion or similar.
2. It released but was tangled in ropes or sails as the boat sank, and carried down with it.
3. The EPIRB was defective (dead battery, or loose antenna, etc).
4. Whatever sank the boat also smashed the EPIRB.

most likely a very sudden event. could the boat have capsized in heavy seas and thrown everyone overboard? the Tasman Sea is a very rough stretch of water - it has always had that reputation. doesn't sound like a capsizing event would necessarily activate the EPIRB.

anyway - to be honest it sounds like the real problem is computer servers. it doesn't matter how these messages are sent ... if the server bombs out then you are toast. i wonder if the server at SPOT can go down, or if they have multiple redundancy?

Pete2

I think Mr. Ritter would point out the difference between a general-purpose communication system and a dedicated emergency beacon monitoring system.

Both can fail, (as in this case) but a message getting lost by the server would be considered a major failure to be guarded against for an beacon vs. a mere nusiance for a text messaging system.