Emergency beacon saves trans-global PWC riders

When Kiwis Jeremy Burfoot, Travis Donohoe and their Croatian mate Ivan Otulic set off on their "Ultimate Ride" on See-doos from London to Auckland, they were warned it would be tough -- but the daring trio never anticipated just how nasty the Med can get when the wind gets up.

The 32,000 km ride was to promote a message of healthy living, cancer prevention and to raise funds for cancer research. It had the backing of a number of cancer organisations around the world.

But, unfortunately, is was called off when the team reached Fenike, a port on the south coast of Turkey, when they were planning the leg to the Suez Canal. The NZ foreign affairs department warned that the risk of terrorist and pirate attacks in Yemen had risen to an unacceptable level and that the adventurous trio would have been prime targets.

The three riders turned back into the Aegean Sea to return their Sea-doos to Croatia when they ran into a massive late summer storm. The storm struck the riders just after dawn on August 31 and by 8am they were battling 60-70km head winds and seas of three to four metres.

After three hours of savage battering from the elements, all three Sea-doos were beginning to take on water and were unable to make headway in the appalling conditions. Burfoot, a highly experienced and well prepared mariner, made the decision to activate their GME MT410G personal locater beacons (PLBs) and wait for rescue.

The GPS equipped PLBs sent out a signal that was picked up by the COSPAS SARSAT Geo Stationary satellites within a few minutes. Search and rescue authorities immediately had an accurate position and the full details of the beacon owners and their "vessels".

The Greek Airforce and the Coastguard from the Greek island of Santorini coordinated the rescue effort and the three men were safely ferried ashore by helicopter after being winched aboard.

Back on dry ground, Burfoot thanked the team's rescuers for their total professionalism, and helpful and friendly attitude. He said that the GME beacons had saved their lives.

Such accuracy in pinpointing the rescue location and rapid response is available only with GPS equipped beacons. Standard 406MHz beacons can take several hours to be detected and have an accuracy of around 5 kilometres.

GME PLBs are available from authorised dealers around Australia. Check out London-Sydney.com for more details on the ill-fated adventure.

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