Make locator beacons compulsory for all solo boaters, coroner urges
The death of a lone dinghy sailor prompts another call for boaters to think about their personal safetyA Victorian coroner has urged all solo boaters to carry emergency beacons out on the water after an inquiry into the death of a solo dinghy sailor on Port Phillip Bay.
Ethen Hyde, aged 24 and with almost a decade of experience behind him, died in 2019 after he was separated from his off-the-beach Laser sailboat up to two days before he was found.
Hyde was wearing a life jacket, wet suit and helmet, but as he had left his mobile phone ashore had no way of alerting rescue authorities that he had been separated from his boat. The coroner’s report notes that he drowned.
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His disappearance was not noted until he had not turned up to work for two days. Hyde’s body was found later that day, and his Laser, which had a broken mast, the next day.
According to the coroner’s report, weather conditions on Port Phillip Bay on the day Hyde is believed to have drowned had deteriorated, going from calm and warm with light 6.0-knot winds to cold with 21-knot gusts.
Cold water
In his findings, Coroner Leveasque Peterson said ending up in cold Victorian water – the water temperature at the time of Hyde’s disappearance was only 15 degrees – was one of the greatest risks to the safety of boaters and paddlers.
“In the event of an emergency on water, EPIRBs (emergency position indicating radio beacons) and PLBs (personal locator beacons) may be activated to alert search and rescue services,” Peterson said.
“They are a vital search and rescue tool which can make the difference between a successful outcome and failure.”
He noted that Victorian maritime regulations only required sailboats to carry EPIRBs if they were heading more than 2.0 nautical miles offshore in coastal waters.
“Once activated, an EPIRB transmits a distress signal for at least 48 hours that can be detected by satellite and overflying aircraft,” Peterson said.
“They are waterproof and will float upright for best signal transmission and have a lanyard which can be attached to a person or a floating object.
“... A PLB is smaller and more convenient to carry than an EPIRB.”
He said it was recommended that all boaters alone out on the water carry a PLB to alert authorities in an emergency.
Human-powered vessels
Other Victorian coronial inquiries have urged authorities to mandate blanket PLB use for human-powered vessels on all the state’s waterways.
If introduced, compulsory PLB use is likely to only apply to paddlers in high-risk situations such as heading out alone, and not low-risk situations such as when the watercraft is in sight of the shoreline.
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