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Connecticut Ham Uses Radio to Help Rescue Young Canoeist

A

ARRL

Well-Known Member
Nov 15, 2008
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Connecticut radio amateur Keith Mutch, KB1RBI, of Torrington, was on Ocean Beach looking out over New London Harbor the evening of May 4 when he spotted a young girl and her dog in distress in a canoe. The unidentified 12-year-old, not wearing a life vest, was attempting to paddle through rough water and increased winds when she got into difficulty.



Unable to contact authorities via his cell pho...





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In other words, this whole thing would have been avoided if the watery tart had simply worn a life-vest.

(Sorry, didn't mean to detract from the Ham's contribution, which is obvious).
 
It says he contacted the Coast Guard with his HT. I'm curious how he did that. Did he broadcast on the VHF marine band? Pretty sure that is illegal.

Even if it is to save a life I think the authorities want to know why you have a radio transmitting out of band.

However, maybe he contacted another ham that called the Coast Guard.

Anyone know anymore about this?
 
Even if it is to save a life I think the authorities want to know why you have a radio transmitting out of band.
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As I understand it,if it is a matter of life or death, you can use whatever means necessary.
And in that circumstance, I would do it as well, and just deal with the result.
They want to send me a pink slip for working out of band to save a life, so be it....I will take it.


73
Jeff
 
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I thought the rule was any frequency, any mode and any power level required to get an emergency message through that pertains to the immediate saving of life. I hope Keith was able to fire up right on 156.800 and summon the Coast Guard instantly. Good for him having the sense to know what to do and being prepared for an emergency when the cell phone failed.

This is a prime example of how radio can be better than 911. By calling 911 Keith would have gotten a central dispatch that probably would have handed off to the Marine Police and the Coast Guard. If he used VHF channel 16 he got the message to everyone who could help instantly. Large vessels like that Ferry are required to monitor this frequency and as it turns out were the first to help. If his cell phone worked the response probably would have been slower.
 
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In an emergency instance, a lot of law books go out the window. Like said, I would rather save a life and deal with any bs that may follow, I would want the same done for me!! God bless the guy that saved his life by doing the RIGHT THING!! can't put a price on a life. God bless.
 
I find it hard to believe that he could not reach the coast guard via cell phone. Perhaps he simply did not have the number and ignored 911, instead turning to his modified HT to contact them.
 
Agreed capt. Who doesn't carry a cell phone or tablet and the wifi connections are all over the place. I don't believe that not being able to reach 911 should be his excuse if that is what he is saying, in the end a life was saved no matter the form of contact. Right, wrong, or indifferent, he at least made an attempt to help someone else, that is something to me as it seems as most there is a vast amount of people that don't want to get involved. This is what I have noticed through the years myself. I try to help as often as possible and will stop and help if needed. Guess I think that maybe just maybe someone might do the same for me one day. JMO. God bless.
 
With his history, I am surprised he still has his callsign. He may have saved a life, but last time it was a little different. With his history, his cell most likely had good service. He just wanted to transmit on Coast Guard freq.
Rich
 
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222DBFL said:
Agreed capt. Who doesn't carry a cell phone or tablet and the wifi connections are all over the place. I don't believe that not being able to reach 911 should be his excuse if that is what he is saying, in the end a life was saved no matter the form of contact. Right, wrong, or indifferent, he at least made an attempt to help someone else, that is something to me as it seems as most there is a vast amount of people that don't want to get involved. This is what I have noticed through the years myself. I try to help as often as possible and will stop and help if needed. Guess I think that maybe just maybe someone might do the same for me one day. JMO. God bless.
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I agree with you. Many years ago before everyone had a cell phone I used my 2m ht to contact another ham regarding a fatal car accident I was first on scene at. No problem as it was on the ham bands. One poster above alluded to the fact that this individual has an apparent history of this so therefore my comment about finding it hard to believe he could not get the coast guard via phone stands.
 
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Yes sir agreed, if he has had run in's in the past then he needs to learn his lesson. Just because he did something good, I don't condone the illegal use of emergency frequencies for personal use period. Only if there was no other alternative would I resort to transmitting illegally to save a life, but you and I know that's a different story. Sounds like this guy needs to have his gear taken. JMO. Maybe that will resolve the issue. God bless.
 

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