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PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHICAGO IL
900 AM CDT MON MAR 20 2013

...THIS IS SAFE BOATING WEEK...
...EPIRBS...

THE FOLLOWING IS A SAFE BOATING MESSAGE FROM THE NATIONAL SAFE
BOATING COUNCIL AND THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FOR THIS YEARS
NATIONAL SAFE BOATING WEEK.

THE COSPAS-SARSAT SYSTEM IS AN INTERNATIONAL SATELLITE BASED SEARCH
AND RESCUE SYSTEM USED TO LOCATE EMERGENCY RADIO BEACONS
TRANSMITTING ON A FREQUENCY OF 406 MHZ. SINCE 1982...THE
COSPAS-SARSAT SYSTEM HAS BEEN INSTRUMENTAL IN THE RESCUE OF OVER
30000 INDIVIDUALS WORLDWIDE AND MORE THAN 6700 INDIVIDUALS IN THE
UNITED STATES. WITHIN THE UNITED STATES...THE NATIONAL OCEANIC AND
ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION IS THE LEAD REPRESENTATIVE TO THE
COSPAS-SARSAT ORGANIZATION.

EMERGENCY POSITION INDICATING RADIO BEACONS OR EPIRBS ARE A TYPE OF
EMERGENCY RADIO BEACON DEVELOPED FOR USE IN MARINE ENVIRONMENTS.
OTHER TYPES OF EMERGENCY RADIO BEACONS SUCH AS PERSONAL LOCATOR
BEACONS OR PLBS ARE AVAILABLE FOR DIFFERENT APPLICATIONS...HOWEVER
THEIR EFFECTIVENESS CAN BE COMPROMISED WHEN USED IN THE MARINE
ENVIRONMENT. 406 MHZ EPIRBS ARE DIVIDED INTO TWO CATEGORIES.
CATEGORY 1 EPIRBS ARE ACTIVATED AUTOMATICALLY OR MAY BE ACTIVATED
MANUALLY. CATEGORY 2 EPIRBS CAN ONLY BE ACTIVATED MANUALLY. EITHER
OF THESE TWO TYPES OF EPIRBS MAY BE EQUIPPED WITH GPS WHICH WILL
HELP RESCUE FORCES LOCATE YOU MORE QUICKLY. AS PROVEN BY
EXPERIENCE...AN EPIRB OFTEN SERVES AS THE LAST LINE OF DEFENSE WHEN
DISASTER STRIKES. ALL TYPES OF EPIRBS ARE BECOMING INCREASINGLY
AFFORDABLE AND ALL MARINERS SHOULD INVESTIGATE PROCURING
ONCE...ESPECIALLY THOSE OPERATING IN HARSH ENVIRONMENTS OR OFFSHORE
AREAS.

ONCE YOUR PURCHASE IS MADE...MAKE CERTAIN THAT YOU REGISTER YOUR
EPIRB WHICH IS MANDATORY. THE INFORMATION YOU PROVIDE ON YOUR
REGISTRATION MAY HELP RESCUE FORCES FIND YOU FASTER IN AN EMERGENCY.
THIS INFORMATION ALSO ALLOWS RESCUE COORDINATION CENTER PERSONNEL TO
DETERMINE IF A DISTRESS ALERT IS REAL OF FALSE AND PREVENT THE
NEEDLESS DISPATCH OF RESCUE FORCES TO LOCATED A FALSE ALERT. YOU
MAY REGISTER ONLINE AT WWW.BEACONREGISTRATION.NOAA.GOV. FOR ANY
REGISTRATION QUESTIONS...PLEASE CALL 888-212-7283.

FOR MORE INFORMATION ON CASPAS-SARSAT OR EPIRBS VISIT
WWW.SARSAT.NOAA.GOV.

THIS MESSAGE WAS BROUGHT TO YOU BY THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AND
THE NATIONAL SAFE BOATING COUNCIL. VISIT THE NATIONAL WEATHER
SERVICE ON THE WEB AT WWW.WEATHER.GOV AND THE NATIONAL SAFE BOATING
COUNCIL AT WWW.SAFEBOATINGCOUNCIL.ORG.

$$

SEELEY