gear test
EasyRescue on test
Locating a man overboard can prove impossible in rough conditions. PBO’s
David Pugh tested the latest aid to personal rescue: the EasyRescue AIS-SART
F
alling overboard
occupies the minds of
all sailors from time to
time – how to prevent
it, and how to be
recovered as quickly as
possible if the worst happens.
SARTs, EPIRBs, handheld DSC
radios and MOB alarms are no
substitute for clipping on and
staying firmly on board, but as
Prue Nash’s story showed (see
PBO October 2010), even
clipping on can sometimes fail
to keep you safe.
If Prue had carried some kind of
personal homing beacon, she
might have been picked up more
quickly than the two hours she
spent in the water. But which one
should she have used? A
Personal Locator Beacon can
contact the international
search-and-rescue network and
start a rescue operation, but if you
have just fallen off a crewed yacht
the most likely rescue vessel is
your own boat – and a private
boat will not be fitted with the
necessary homing equipment.
Onboard MOB alarms such as
Raymarine’s LifeTag system are
great at alerting the crew if
someone goes overboard, but
can only give the
position at which
the person left
the boat
with no
further
50 Practical Boat Owner 529 December 2010 • www.pbo.co.uk
homing information. And there’s
no way of sharing that information
with other vessels in the area
unless someone on board
manually sends a VHF or DSC
alert with that position.
AIS SARTs
One possible solution is to make
use of AIS, which is becoming
increasingly common on board
boats of all sizes. Conventional
Search-and-Rescue
Transponders (SARTs) send a
signal which pinpoints the SART
on a radar screen. AIS SARTs
do the same thing,
but the signal will
appear on any
AIS receiver,
making it much
more likely
to be seen
by small
boats.
AIS SARTs are usually a similar
size to radar SARTs, intended to
belong to the boat or liferaft rather
than an individual, but German
AIS specialist WeatherDock
recently launched EasyRescue,
an AIS SART small enough to be
carried on your person. This has
the advantage that an MOB can
continually transmit their position
in a format visible to all other
yachts in the area, thanks to the
unit’s built-in GPS. It doesn’t call
the emergency services, but if
they are alerted by a boat in the
area they will be able to home in
on the SART. In Prue’s
case, it could have
dramatically
shortened her
rescue time.
LEFT A test
button (top)
allows local
testing of the
unit, to about
20m distance
FAR LEFT To start
the unit, break the
red seal by sliding
the clear cover up to
release the antenna,
then press ‘On’
LEFT the data page for one of our
test units, showing the special
MMSI number
BELOW all three units lined up on
Hurst Spit, clearly visible at a
distance of five miles
EasyRescue on test
We first tried the EasyRescue
using the AIS receiver on my
Contessa 26 Red Dragon, but
unfortunately a problem with the
antenna led to some spurious
results which fell a long way
outside what could be expected
from the specification. However, it
did serve to point out that as
these units transmit at under 2W,
as opposed to the 12W allowed
for a commercial Class A AIS
transponder, it’s essential that
your AIS antenna has a good
connection and is mounted high
enough to ensure clear reception,
especially at longer ranges.
We later repeated the test on
board Mike Phillips’ Nelson 40
EchoPilot: EchoPilot are the UK
distributor for WeatherDock
products. Leaving technical
director Chris Phillips on Hurst
Spit to set up three units evenly
spaced in the shingle close to sea
level, we motored off towards the
western Solent.
EchoPilot has an antenna height
of about 5m above sea level,
which gives a theoretical radio

horizon of five nautical miles for a
signal transmitted from an
antenna at sea level. All three
units appeared consistently on
the screen in the correct
positions, and to check that the
units could be quickly reacquired
if the signal was lost due to wave
interference we stopped at both
three miles and five miles
distance and asked Chris to
switch the units off and switch
them back on again. In both
cases, all three units appeared on
the screen immediately after
being switched on, showing that
they could be expected to be
seen to their maximum theoretical
range in our case. WeatherDock
say that with higher antennas they
have seen results at eight miles,
so a sailing boat might expect a
longer range, and also that
helicopters have spotted the unit
at ranges of 20 miles or more.
What the rescuers
see on the screen
At present, an AIS SART
appears on your plotter
screen looking exactly like a
ship – it’s not until you go
into the detail that you see
the MMSI number will start
with 970, the identifier for a
search and rescue device.
Software updates for
plotters are already
becoming available by
which they will flag up
SARTs as rescue
beacons, so even if you
have no plans to buy
an AIS SART it’s worth
keeping your software
up to date.
The problem
facing such a device
is the angle at
which it is expected
to be seen. Unlike
an EPIRB or PLB,
which simply
needs a clear
view of the sky to
make contact
with the satellite
network, a SART
The aerial springs upright
when the clip is released
Practical Boat Owner 529 December 2010 • www.pbo.co.uk 51
We set up three EasyRescue units on the tideline at Hurst Spit, and motored off towards the western Solent
needs to be seen by a surface
vessel, so must send its signal at
a much flatter angle to the surface
of the sea. On our test this was no
problem as the Solent was like a
millpond, but in rough conditions
wave action will inevitably block
the signal from time to time. For
this reason, explained Wolfgang
Werner of WeatherDock, the
EasyRescue transmits a group of
eight messages with a two-
second spacing, followed by a
44-second gap before the next
group is transmitted. These
messages alternate between the
two frequencies allocated to AIS
transmission, strategies which
WeatherDock say create the best
compromise between conserving
battery life and being seen in
rougher conditions.
So which should
you buy?
None of the technology for
locating an MOB is cheap, so
boat owners are inevitably going
to have to choose which device or
devices suit their sailing style the
best. Nearly all boats now carry
a DSC VHF which is a great way
for coastal sailors to alert the
coastguard of a problem, and
now that OfCom has lifted the
regulations which prevented
the use of handheld DSC radios,
a logical extension is to carry one
on your person and trigger it if
you go in the water. This alerts the
coastguard of a problem, but
provides no homing signal for a
EasyRescue AIS SART
Mike Phillips’ Nelson 40 EchoPilot, with an antenna at approximately 5m
boat to find the MOB – just the
position at which the alarm was
sent. However, the MOB does
have the chance to communicate
with further DSC messages or by
voice, so may be able to help
guide a rescuer as well as receive
reassurance that help is coming.
Rescue vessels and aircraft also
have the facility to pinpoint a VHF
signal, and a DSC handheld is
useful in non-emergency
situations and can be recharged,
unlike PLBs or SARTs which need
returning to the dealer for battery
replacement after use.
MOB alarms are a great way to
alert the crew of an MOB, but
rescue must be effected before
the crew lose sight of the casualty
as there is no means of homing in
on them. An AIS SART solves this
problem but does not raise the
alarm, although future versions of
plotter software may address this
to sound an alarm on board a
boat that sees the signal.
For offshore sailors or
singlehanders there’s little
T
E
S
T
E
D
argument that a PLB is the way to
go. Your distress call will be
received wherever you are, and if
there’s no-one else on board your
boat your best hope of rescue is a
quick response from the
emergency services.
For coastal sailors the issue is a
little cloudier. Both the AIS SART
and handheld DSC radio have
significant and unique benefits,
and WeatherDock are on the brink
of launching a new version of the
EasyRescue which will trigger
automatically on contact with
water, making it a useful device
for locating an unconscious
casualty and complicating the
decision still further.
Perhaps the ideal coastal rescue
device would combine the two.
For now though, it’s a very
personal decision balancing risk
against budget, where you are
likely to sail, and the number,
strength and skill of your crew.
Price: £344
Contact: www.echopilot.com