WHEN THINGS GO WRONG

Clinging to an overturned boat, hoping for a rescue may be a lot easier if you know help is on the way.

No matter how carefully you prepare and plan for an excursion on the water, things go wrong. Sometimes badly wrong. Traveling with a personal locator beacon or a satellite messenger can make the difference between returning safely—or not at all.

A personal locator beacon (PLB) is the first defense in surviving an accident at sea. It uses GPS satellite signals to establish your position, and satellite communications networks to transmit it to international search and rescue (SAR) authorities so you can be plucked from disaster.

PERSONAL LOCATOR BEACONS

PLBs have the single purpose of capturing your position via a US or international GPS satellite network and transmitting it to the government SAR agency through a free one-way rescue satellite messenger. Some PLBs have satcom communications capabilities piggybacked onto them that require a satcom contract, but most are simply rescue beacons.

SATELLITE MESSENGERS

Satellite messengers, or satellite communicators, are closely related to PLBs in purpose but accomplish a rescue in a very different way. Satcom rescue devices can offer the ability to reliably send an SOS with your position to the well-established GEOS travel-safety group, which contacts, coordinates and monitors SAR efforts until you are safely home. GEOS operates 24/7/365 to coordinate rescues directly with the US Coast Guard or other rescue authority nearest your position. Some devices offer GPS navigation screens, and most offer two-way communications. All of this is for a fee.