John Collins shared about an incident when he and two of his friends were off the coast of Englewood, Florida in a 20 foot Aquasport center console recreational boat. They were completing a series of open water dives and finished the first one without any problems. After the group moved on to the second dive location about 13 miles offshore, they backed off plane and quickly realized the hull was rapidly accumulating water.
Realizing that this event likely marked the end of their day on the water, and concerned that the situation could get much worse, two men commenced manual pumping of the bilge while another crew member hailed May Day on the VHF radio. They immediately headed towards shore but could not get the boat on plane. It was now obvious to everyone that they weren't going to make it.
One of the divers reached for his personal EPIRB and tried to activate, but it failed. Collins also had a signal beacon, and promptly activated his McMurdo Fast Find 210. He felt a slight sense of relief when it began signalling immediately. And as it had been advertised, the Fast Find operated as intended, prompting a rapid response by authorities.
Rescue personnel assisted them in getting back to shore, and the U.S. Coast Guard confirmed to Collins after the event that they received the Fast Find 210 signal (without any signal from the other unit). In Collins' own words: "I believe in this product whole-heartedly. It was a great outcome that could have been a lot worse if it hadn't worked."
As part of the Survitec Survivor Club policy for Survitec Group Americas, John Collins was offered a free battery replacement for his Fast Find, delivered locally by Solution One Maritime in Tampa, FL. To learn more about the most recent model of Fast Find, click here.