Boat U.S. - January 2008 - (Page 10) BoatU.S. National Advisory Council Meets Global Search & Rescue System Turns 25 Its genesis was a plane crash in Alaska in 1970 in which two congressmen were lost, and no trace was ever found despite a massive search. Congress reacted by mandating that aircraft carry emergency locator transmitters (ELTs); in a crash, they automatically transmit a homing signal. In October, a milestone in the development of this modern mayday system was marked as the Search and Rescue Satellite-Aided Tracking System (SARSAT) celebrated 25 years of service to the world’s mariners, aviators and outdoor trekkers. The satellite rescue system is operated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), in partnership with other agencies including the U.S. Coast Guard, and 29 other nations, including original partners Canada, France and Russia. A truly global system, there are now 45 ground stations and 23 mission control The annual meeting of the BoatU.S. National Advisory Council convened at a Washington Dulles Airport hotel in midNovember for a two-day meeting to review the Association’s public policy agenda and set a course for the coming year. On the agenda were numerous regulatory and legislative challenges facing recreational boating, including the pending EPA discharge permit, mandatory education, operator licensing, anchoring restrictions and a review of the Aquatic Resources (Wallop/Breaux) Trust Fund. Pictured seated from left are: Ruth Wood, BoatU.S. Foundation president; Lenora Clark, Recreational Boaters of California president; Robert W. Davis, a former member of Congress; Council Chairman Tony Gibbs, a former editor of The New Yorker and Yachting; Nancy Michelman, BoatU.S. president; William Husted, USPS Government Relations chairman; Kris Carroll, president, Grady-White Boats, Inc; Margaret Podlich, BoatU.S. VP Government Affairs. Standing from left are: Michael Sciulla, BoatU.S. Magazine publisher; Major John Fetterman, National Association of State Boating Law Administrators president; Dean Clarke, executive editor, Sport Fishing magazine; Bill Oakerson, BoatU.S. CEO; John Bonds, former executive director, U.S. Sailing Association; Chuck Husick, columnist and former Chris-Craft president; Gene Seibert, former National Commodore, U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary; Adm. Robert Nelson, former Vice Commandant, U.S. Coast Guard; Chuck Hawley, VP Product Development, West Marine; Charles Holmes, national director, Sea Scouts/Boy Scouts of America; Richard Schwartz, BoatU.S. Chairman and Founder; Jim Ellis, former BoatU.S. president; and Elbert Maloney, author of Chapman’s and Dutton’s. For 25 years, SARSAT has picked up distress signals from vessel EPIRBs (1), relayed them via satellite (2) and alerted rescue agencies (3-5). centers worldwide that serve as Search and Rescue Points of Contact. It works when a mayday signal from a special beacon is picked up by a constellation of satellites and relayed back to land-based rescue agencies. Boaters use EPIRBs to send a distress call, and hikers and climbers can use a PLB (personal locator beacon). Since the system began in 1982 with the first satellite launch, some 22,058 lives have been saved by SARSAT, including 5,709 in the United States. Boaters with the older EPIRBs should note that beginning in February 2009, EPIRB signals sent on 121.5/243 MHz will no longer be responded to. The more effective and accurate 406-MHz EPIRB or PLB is the only one approved for satellite use today. For more, go to www.sarsat.noaa.gov. Image courtesy of NOAA. 10 BoatU.S. Magazine January 2008 http://www.invisibleglass.com http://www.invisibleglass.com http://www.sarsat.noaa.gov
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