That is what I came on this board for, the EPIRB deal. I am a
diesel mechanic that works on trucks mostly, but some of my
other co-workers work on the big boats, like 30-200+ feet
with engines that range from a couple of 550 C.I.D. in size
to four 64 Liter engines. Anyway, after 17 years
of working around these guys(well they were out most of time
at the boat while was stuck at a shop, but you get my point),
conversations come up about stuff like EPIRBs, not to mention
there are these boating magazines that they send to the shop
and sit in the lunch room.
All this means that I know what an EPIRB is, and that all of
the sexton in the life raft, and trying to get the radio to
work earlier was pointless, because there is no way IN THE
WORLD that a boat like that would have an inflatable life
raft that did not have the EPIRB connected to it, and as soon
as it was inflated and in the water, it would be activated.
Most of them sit right up top on the cover/roof of the raft
with a strobe deal on it. There would be rescue guys sent
right to it. plus there is an EPIRB that activates when it
turns upside down, so when the boat capsized the first time
it would have went off, and depending where you are, either
the Coast Guard guys would come find you, or the U.S. Navy.
And one last thing, If you watch very closely in the movie
"Cast Away", when Hanks has the life raft, they make it
a very, very clear point that the bag that comes with the
life raft had got stuck and had to be cut off. That bag
not only had flares and first aid, but also and EPIRB, and
if he had the bag, there would be no Cast Away movie, because
he would have been rescued in the first day or two.
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espike007
10 years ago
Just watched this non-epic film. You said everything I was gonna say! This guy was so unprepared to be sailing in the Indian Ocean. He makes one mistake after another. In Castaway, the audience in on what he's trying to do and you root for him. In this film, you don't even know his name and you have no idea what he's doing from one minute to the next. What's he looking for in his half-sunk boat? Where is his Sat Phone? That could have dried out (I know, no movie.) I fly helicopters over the Pacific Ocean and we carry more stuff in our little helicopter than this guy carries his ocean going yacht. He should have had EPIRB, an ON-Spot, as well as his sat phone. How about a hand-held marine radio in a waterproof bag? When opens the old box with the sextant in it and there's a greeting card, I'm thinking he's gonna read it and we'll learn his name or something... "Dear Jim, please take my grandpa's sextant with you on your trip to the Indian Ocean. Good luck!" It's kind of cheap ripoff of Castaway, but without a good story or good cast.
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MadRotaryOne_DDCgod
10 years ago
Exactly. In fact, there should have been an EPIRB in the boat, and another in
his raft. Many people actually lease/contract those rafts, due to the fact that
they need maintenance. They basically swap the raft out for another one like once
a year, cause the bottle and EPIRB need to be swapped out. The EPIRB has a battery
that only last so long and needs to be charged and/or replaced and the gas bottle
that inflates the raft needs to be checked to make sure the gas hasn't leaked out.
Not to mention the food rations expire along with the first aid kit has stuff that
expires in it. So to make sure you ALWAYS have a raft that you know will inflate,
you also can be sure that the EPIRB will work so they can rescue your ass, plus
have food/water/first aid thats good to go.
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TRhett
10 years ago
He spoke for me, too . . . unfortunately, this kind of thing is happening a lot in movies in the "technological age." Almost every situation that used to provide the narrative drive in "survival stories" like this (and horror movies) is now pretty much moot - thanks to cell phones, GPS, Sat Phones, locator beacons, and other tech gadgets. So they have to start the movie out by explaining all that away - I always laugh when a movie like this starts out with the obligatory, "Damn, no cell coverage!" or "Damn, my GPS is smashed!" LOL! Who the hell goes to sea in a 40' boat in this day and age without a working GPS/locator system? You're telling me he remembered the sextant but not the Sat Phone? This is not nitpicking . . . it seriously undermines the whole endeavor. I remember seeing a movie called "30 Days of Night" (about vampires invading Barrow, Alaska - the northernmost and most remote town in the U.S. - during its Arctic Circle sunless phase), and the VERY first thing they did was have a guy (working for the vampires) burn every Sat/Cell phone in town. Apparently, he crept into every house and building - unnoticed - and stole all communication equipment to burn and keep them isolated. Right. I guess the bottom line is that today's high-tech world is just not as conducive to stories like this. I think it could still be done, and done well . . . but not like this. On the other hand, Robert Redford is still a dignified, commanding presence. Watching him begin to crack illustrates why he's such a big star.
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