On July 11, 2024, my husband Keith and his longtime friend Tim set out for a fishing trip in the Chesapeake Bay, just off Grandview Beach. They were hoping to hook into some cobia, a prized catch that often lures anglers out into the wide, rolling waters of the Bay. But that day, the weather was less than forgiving. The skies were unsettled, the wind was stiff, and the waves were churning with an unpredictable rhythm that made the water rough and treacherous.

At one point during the trip, Keith’s cobia dip net slipped overboard, carried quickly away by the restless tide. Without hesitation, and in the same instinctive way he always approached the water, Keith dove in after it. He was no stranger to the Bay, and his confidence in the water had been built over years of experience. But this time, the conditions were far more dangerous than he realized. The waves rose and broke around him, and the currents worked against his every movement.

Within moments, Tim lost sight of him in the turbulent water. Panic set in. Tim, unfamiliar with boating, had no idea how to maneuver the vessel to search for Keith. The anchor was still down, and the boat rocked and pulled against its line, keeping him helplessly fixed in place as he scanned the water in vain. Tragically, Keith never resurfaced. After a desperate search by authorities, his body was discovered by fishermen two days later.

Meanwhile, Tim faced his own life-threatening dilemma. With no boating experience, he didn’t know how to raise the anchor or steer the boat to shore. Alone, adrift, and frightened as the weather worsened, he called the U.S. Coast Guard for help. They guided him through the steps of activating the ACR GlobalFix V6 EPIRB, a small but powerful emergency beacon that transmitted the boat’s exact location. Within a short time, rescuers arrived, bringing Tim safely back to shore and towing the boat to the marina.

Though the day ended in heartbreak, there is no question that the beacon prevented an even greater tragedy. Without it, the worsening conditions in the Bay might have claimed not just one, but two lives that day.