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July 12, 2000 — Paul Royall did not expect to actually use the emergency radio beacon he rented for $45 from the BoatU.S. Marine Center in Clear Lake, Texas. After fixing the diesel engine and repairing the steering cables of his 32' Ericson sloop Pappa's Boat, Royall and his wife, Josie, set sail recently for the 400-mile trip from South Padre Island, Texas, to the Galveston Yacht Basin.

About five hours after they left, with a stiff breeze pushing them along at 7 knots, they discovered they'd lost all steering capability. The rudder had dropped off and disappeared. They were more than 35 miles off the coast of Padre Island, and after an hour of trying to reach the U.S. Coast Guard by radio without success, the couple decided to activate the 406 EPIRB (Emergency Position-indicating Radio Beacon) they had rented from BoatU.S. When activated, a 406 EPIRB broadcasts a unique, repeating SOS signal that is detected by satellites operated by NOAA and the Russian government. This signal helps rescue units find the boat's position and identify the boat and its crew.

"Our biggest concern was that the weather would change, which would put us in a dangerous situation without a rudder. We activated the EPIRB because no one heard us out there and we only had a few hours of daylight left," said Josie Royall. Fortunately, she reported, the 406 EPIRB "worked like a charm." Its signal was sent to NOAA's U.S. Mission Control Center in Suitland, Md., and relayed to the U.S. Coast Guard rescue center. The Coast Guard then contacted the BoatU.S. 24-Hour Dispatch Center in Alexandria, Va., which has a file on each BoatU.S.-EPIRB rental including the vessel name, description, how many people are on board and the trip itinerary.

Once the position of the vessel was verified, a Coast Guard jet located Pappa's Boat, established VHF audio communication with the couple and a Coast Guard cutter towed the boat and crew to Port Aransas, Texas. The Royalls were soon back on land. "We will never go out in the ocean again without a 406 EPIRB. It made our rescue much faster. We'll definitely rent one from BoatU.S. for our next offshore cruise," Royall said.
Collaborating with the U.S. Coast Guard, the BoatU.S. Foundation enables boaters to rent a 406 EPIRB by calling (888) 663-EPIRB toll free.

Click image for larger view. Emergency position-indicating radio beacon, or EPIRB

The 406 EPIRB Rental Program, now in its fourth year, provides inexpensive access to rescue beacons that are registered with NOAA and offer worldwide satellite coverage. Most of the funding support for the rental program comes from individual donations by the 500,000 members of BoatU.S. The program now has more than 180 406 MHz EPIRBs available for rent.

To register an EPIRB, go to the Search and Rescue Satellite-aided Tracking Web site or call toll-free (888) 212-7283.

Media Contact:
Patricia Viets, NOAA Satellite Service, (301) 457-5005.