Safety Equipment

Safety is of course paramount in any endeavor such as this, and to that end all crews are competent in sea survival and in the use of the boat’s safety and rescue equipment. The boat is equipped with an Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon (EPIRB) that can be used to send a distress signal, which complements the VHF radio already onboard.

We will also carry an ARGOS beacon, a positioning and emergency system that utilizes US environmental research satellites to send the ARGOS support team in France up to 25 position reports per day. In addition the beacon can also act as a further form of distress beacon as they can be used to send signals if assistance is required. For redundancy purposes, 2 beacons are carried per boat.

Given the small size of the boat, it is also equipped with a radar reflector called a See Me. This effectively increases the radar return of the boat by several orders of magnitude making it clearly visible to other, larger vessels.

Lifejackets and a life raft are also carried within the boat, whilst crew are secured by harness lines to the boat whilst rowing, in the event of a man overboard situation.