58 Saltwater Boat Angling
able to ring a friend to cadge a lift. This is a
great idea for people to try in their area,
just pass your mobile number on and have
a few contacts to help if you need a lift.Railblaza visibility kit
Happily, with the addition of my Railblaza
visibility kit, I’m now more visible while
on the water (the flag pole sits over a
meter above the water line). I was also
advised by the RNLI to add a small
waterproof box that holds a waterproof torch,
next of kin/personal contact details and a small first aid kit,
which is permanently held inside my kayak. I can be
confident that what I have will get the thumbs-up off the
RNLI keeping standing me in good stead should I ever need
assistance.Making that call
So, when do we make that call for help,
and how many of us would know how
to place an assistance call or a mayday
call? The RNLI volunteer crew were
overwhelming in their response when
asked about this said ‘sooner rather than
later’. They would rather be called out
and not be needed, than for people to
wait until things have deteriorated to
the point their lives are at risk. There is
no need for perfect radio procedure,
even if we were to ask for assistance with a brief location
on channel 16 the coastguards are trained to be able
to gain the information they require without too much
effort from us.
We have all, at some point, found ourselves on the
downward spiral of events that, no matter how hard we try,
don’t improve and this is the time when we all have to learn
the call needs to be made. Barry Pearson RNLI Deputy
Launching Authority states ‘You can
never call to early, but you can call
too late’.The RNLI is the charity that
saves lives at sea. For
information on how to stay
safe while enjoying activities such as
kayaking, visit.http://www.respectthewater.com/activities/kayaking/
http://completeguide.rnli.org/default.htmlSAFETY AT SEA
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