  |
|||
|
|
|
||
|
Posted by Alan Sorum May 16, 2007 |
Soundings is boating magazine founded in Essex, Connecticut that covers issues of interest to pleasure boaters. The magazine has a strong online presence that includes breaking news of yachting trails, regional events, and an extensive database listing boats for sale. A new feature of the online magazine is called the Rescue Channel.
The Rescue Channel will present boating survival and safety stories through the use of multimedia audio, video, photographic and web story files. Stories surrounding the challenges of the ocean and waterfront are always of interest to sailors, and the lessons learned through review of these incidents is invaluable.
A recent story covered on the Rescue Channel has been related to the severe weather experienced off the North Carolina coast in the last couple of days. With seas of forty feet and winds reaching 60 knots, the US Coast Guard launched HH-60 Jayhawk helicopters and C-130 aircraft from Air Station Elizabeth City to assist a number of sailboats in distress, homing in on signals emitted from EPIRBs. These included sailboats Lou Pantai, the 37-foot Seaker, the 54-foot Flying Colours, and the 67-foot Illusion, with some 13 souls onboard. The full-scale search and rescue operation is detailed as it unfolded. Video commentaries are posted for the rescues of the S/V Seaker and S/V Lou Pantai.
Following an intense weeklong search effort that covered 282,000 square nautical miles, the Coast Guard announced on May 14th that they would suspend the search for the Flying Colours. In the news release, Coast Guard Rear Admiral Larry Hereth said, "Suspending a search is always a difficult step for the Coast Guard because we understand the impact that it has on the families involved. In the last six days, Coast Guard cutters and aircraft, along with numerous aircraft searched all of the likely and unlikely areas where the crew could be. Sadly, the threshold of survival seems negligible."
Soundings Magazine has developed an interesting resource for boaters that are interested in learning more about marine safety and boating survival.