Back in 2022 the Ocean Racing Club of Victoria released a report delving into the number of inadvertent activations of PLBs, but more importantly provided information on how to protect and correctly store a PLB with checks you can do to ensure your PLB has not been activated accidentally.

With the increase of personal AIS beacons being worn, there has been an increase in the inadvertent activation of these devices too.

Both these tools are important assets should a crew person fall overboard, however when deployed inadvertently can cause unnecessary angst and use up emergency services valuable time.

Routine checks of your personal equipment are vital while racing to keep you and your crew safe.

The detailed ORCV report can be read here.

More information on PLB’s can be found here on our website.

By Melanie Peasey