New app will help with sea rescue
A new voluntary safety identification scheme for sailors has been launched by the RYA and the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA).
The RYA Safetrx app replaces the CG66 scheme and is free to use in UK territorial waters. It utilises smartphone technology to monitor boat journeys and alerts designated emergency contacts should you fail to arrive on time. Users can also be connected direct to the Coastguard.
Richard Parkes, the MCA’S director of maritime operations and HM Coastguard, said RYA Safetrx would mean ‘a swifter response with the right resources’. The geolocation feature, for example, would allow the Coastguard to know where the caller was, a vital consideration if they were in distress and disorientated, he said.
RYA Safetrx, which does not replace GMDSS, EPIRB, PLB or AIS, went live in July and is available via Google Play and the Apple app store or the safetrx.rya.org.uk website.