I am a 70 year old heart transplant recipient. When on a kayak fishing trip and on my return a rogue wave from a passing super yacht tipped my kayak over and it immediately sank.  I attempted to tight the boat but it was to heavy for me and I had to give up.  Thankfully I was wearing a personal locator beacon.

I didn’t know that my Personal Locator Beacon automatically activated when I hit the water.  There was no one near to see what happened to me so I stayed with kayak as about a foot of the front of the boat was still afloat.  

While I waited, unaware of any help on the way, my activated PLB had already sent a distress signal to the Coast Guard in Miami. They quickly coordinated a rescue, alerting both local marine resources and deploying a helicopter and marine units to my GPS location.

I was rescued thanks to that beacon—a device I now consider essential for kayak fishing safety for seniors. Remarkably, the next day, the Coast Guard even returned my kayak to their docks so I could take it home.