A couple and their 21-month-old son were rescued after activating their personal locator beacon (PLB) when a sudden storm overwhelmed their boat during an inshore fishing excursion in Christmas Bay, near Freeport in Texas, this June.

In an emotional video documenting the terrifying experience, the beacon owner and dad Wesley Clepper has hailed his ACR Electronics PLB as ‘life-saving’ and urged all boaters to carry a beacon when adventuring outdoors.

The family headed out early in the morning on Saturday, June 14th in their boat, which Wesley had bought in 1998 and restored in 2004, with the weather forecast predicting about a 30% chance of rain.

However, after stopping at a sandy beach in the bay, Wesley noticed a dark black cloud quickly approaching from the east, with the wind increasing to 25 to 30 mph and a worsening sea state.

They aimed for the boat ramp, about 3.75 miles away across the bay, but were hit by gusts of 40 mph, forcing Wesley to head for the nearest land with 3.5 ft waves knocking the boat sideways.

“Once we were about 40 feet from land, I got into the 1-foot deep water with my two anchors,” related Welsey. “After fighting the waves for 15 minutes while standing on the anchors, I was exhausted. The boat finally washed up on the land and walls of water kept crashing over the boat until it finally sunk. I knew we were not going to die because we reached the safety of land. That’s when I activated my PLB!”

After 3 to 4 minutes, Wesley received a call from U.S. Coast Guard Sector 8 out of New Orleans, LA. Shortly after, the Brazoria County Sheriff’s Office called to say they were contacting the Gulf Coast Rescue Squad.

Spotting the Coast Guard helicopter on the scene, two men from another vessel walked to check on the situation, helping to pull the boat back into the water and then following the family back to the boat ramp.

“Once I loaded my boat on the trailer, I will never forget how my son looked up at me with his innocent smile,” continued Wesley. “We were finally safe and it was over!

“I don’t care what body of water you’re on, no matter if it’s the ocean, an inshore bay or a freshwater lake, or off-roading or hiking or whatever outdoor adventure suits you, I cannot stress to you enough how important it is to carry a PLB with you! I never thought I would need a PLB inshore fishing as long as I had my cell but keep in mind, if it’s pouring down raining and the wind is blowing, your touch screen cell phone is basically non-functional and worthless! I found this out the hard way. Also, once my boat sunk, I purposely killed the power as I was concerned that the saltwater could short out my electrical system and could start a potential fire. So that means no VHF radio either! Only thing left that was a guarantee was the beacon!”

Wesley and his family are the latest ACR Electronics’ beacon owners to submit their story and join the growing club of ACR Survivors. Read the full story here.

ACR’s ‘Prepared to Survive’ campaign reinforces the difference 406 MHz emergency beacons can make in life-threatening situations and aims to ensure that more boaters carry a registered PLB and register an EPIRB for their vessel.

Learn more about ACR Electronics and its life-saving beacons at www.acrartex.com.