I spotted this account of a rescue at sea this fall (9/30/2010) of a jet ski operator who ran out of gas off Cherry Cove, Catalina Island, California.

He had a lot of things go south:

- his fuel calculations didn't account for the heavy seas,
so he ran out of gas 5 miles short of Cherry Cove
- his waterproof VHF radio failed soon into the trip
- his flares were duds
- His eventual rescuer had seen and dismissed his distress signal mirror flash as an accidental flash.
- " He had seen lots of boats but no one had seen his waving arms or heard his shouting voice or the flash of his signal mirror."

9/30 A rescue at sea - Cherry Cove, Catalina Island