By Cris Italia
On Thursday, August 15, Senator Hilary Clinton and Assemblyman Tom DiNapoli met with the public to discuss a possible upgrade in technology for the Coast Guard and radio beacons for recreational boating vehicles in fishing competitions.
"On June 15, 2002 four families lost their loved ones and our community lost four great men. Indeed, with radio beacons, boats would be located in no time, taking the search out of 'search and rescue.' This simple step may help avoid future tragedies." DiNapoli said.
Of the four men lost were Robert Wright and Peter Quinn of Island Park, father and son, Robert Hammon Sr. and Robert Hammon Jr. Desperate mayday calls were made that morning, but the Coast Guard could not find the Eleni II in time. Radio beacons would prevent that from ever happening again.
"In the wake of Sept. 11, the United States Coast Guard has been asked to take on far more responsibilities, yet they are still expected to execute lifesaving search and rescues every day," Clinton said. "We have an obligation to provide these courageous men and women with the proper communication technology that their jobs require so that they can continue to save lives."
DiNapoli explained, the use of Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon (E-PIRB) devices would enhance rescue missions for the Coast Guard. The E-PIRB devices transmit a distinctive radio signal, which provide an immediate global position system (GPS) position to search and rescue units. Currently, E-PIRBs are required on commercial fishing vessels operating three miles offshore in marine waters and three miles offshore in marine waters and three miles beyond the coastline in the Great Lakes. The federal government is also moving toward requiring E-PIRBs on all vessels operating in federal waters by 2008.
The Assemblyman's legislation would mandate that all boats in fishing competitions of ten or more participants traveling one or more miles offshore in the Atlantic Ocean or Great Lakes have an E-PRIB stored in a suitable location on board the boat. It would also mandate all fishing competitions of ten or more participants register with the DEC and provide notification to the boat captains of the E-PIRB requirement.
The device would have made the rescue attempt of the Eleni II much more efficient. Unfortunately after two months parts of the Eleni II have not been found. The bodies of Robert Wright and Robert Hammon Sr. have been recovered, but the others were never found.
