McMurdo was the first company to adopt the much-awaited and frustratingly delayed Return Link Service (RLS) system, integrating it into their FastFind PLB. The next to arrive, roughly a year later, was the ACR's ResQLink at the 2021 METS trade show, winning a design award for manufacturing and engineering (DAME).
These are the only two beacons currently offering the Return Link Service. RLS is a major development which gives anyone who has activated a PLB a reply confirming that their beacon signal has been received and help is on its way (see panel, previous page).
Both units are a similar size. The FastFind has a rubberised bumper around the bottom and feels more robust than the ResQLink, which is texturized hard plastic.
Antenna deployment
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Esta historia es de la edición Summer 2022 de Practical Boat Owner.
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Orca sink yacht in Strait of Gibraltar
Spain's maritime rescue service, Salvamento Maritimo, has reported that a 15m (49ft) yacht sank in Moroccan waters in the Strait of Gibraltar following interaction with a pod of orca.
No kill cord or lifejackets were worn during fatal powerboat crash
A kill cord and lifejacket are useless unless worn-that's the warning from the Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB), following its investigation into a powerboat crash that killed a 32-year-old woman and five-year-old girl on 2 October 2022.
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