I had some friends in town who wanted to take a ride on my airboat in the Everglades. We left the ramp around 3:00pm for a two-hour ride. While returning, the airboat capsized in a turn and all four of us fell into the water. The boat was on it’s side so we climbed on top. Of the three phones we had on board, one was lost and the other two wouldn’t turn on after being submerged. We waited a little while to see if any other boats were in the area but after 30 minutes I retrieved my ACR ResQLink+ from my bag that was full of water. It was getting dark and I knew we would be out there all night with the mosquitoes and alligators so I deployed the antenna and pressed the button. My friends were very concerned until I told them that the beacon would summon search and rescue. They were further relieved when the sheriff’s office helicopter was overhead and lowered a bag with a VHF radio, water, bug repellent and an assortment of other items. Once the radio was in hand we were told that an airboat from their office was on it’s way. They had to travel a long way but after less than three hours after the capsizing we were on their boat and headed back to shore.

Here are links from the local media:

http://www.nbcmiami.com/news/local/Tourists-Stranded-When-Airboat-Flips-281875781.html