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The case for PLB's continues


Fun First!
A Fisherman in NZ has been found dead. He was not with his Jet Ski and was wearing a PFD.

If a rider is washed from their Ski or falls off the EPIRB will never activate. Even if it did the Ski and person are seperated and the distance between the two can become kilometers within minutes.

A PLB attached to the Rider allows for them to send a distress signal as soon as they are in trouble.

When are the legislators going to do something about their dangerous laws? How many lives are going to be lost because the people who make the laws have no idea what it is to ride a Jet Ski?

The legislators would prefer we all agreed that Jet Skis are unsafe but really the people who fail to make sensible laws are the dangerous ones.

Its time to fix this wt

Police have been searching for a missing jet ski fisherman since 9.30 last night when they received a report that he had not returned home. The jetski was located by Eagle about one and a half hour later.

It was anchored south of Waiheke with a fishing rod still out.

The fisherman was missing.

A search was commenced with Eagle and Deodar without success.

This morning another search was started with jet skis, boats and a plane.

Police received a call just before midday from a local boatie to say he had located a body floating in the water between Waiheke and Motuihe.

Deodar attended and found the deceased was the missing fisherman.

The deceased was wearing a life jacket.


Well-Known Member
Very sad.

Unless it is illegal to carry a PLB, a safer way (in case you cross the 2 NM distance) is to carry an EPRIB on your ski to satisfy the nobs and a PLB on your vest. Yes, it costs money. Don't get cheap on your life though.


Well-Known Member
Very sad indeed and a ridiculous and dangerous situation we are in.
Dirk what you propose is exactly what a marine QLD safety officer told me we should be doing. I told him he was being ridiculous.

Hopefully the powers that be will read the above. ( Mandy? ) and change the laws, so that they can be sensibly applied.


Fun First!
And they wonder why they get treated with no respect!

If I go around Straddie 6 times on 6 Skis on the weekend I need a $500 EPIRB registered to each of them. And they are customer Skis sometimes so how does that work?
Today I went around twice. The only safe solution is a PLB. Anyway watch this space lovf

Speaking of nobs. Today I was speaking to an MSQ representative who has done the safety management plan for this weekends XCAT racing.

I asked him what Jet Skis are to do for an hour and a half why the Seaway is closed twice each day.
He said they will be stopped from going out for half an hour before the closure. Then I said but they come from Jumpinpin and Tweed and he said there is no Jet Ski event on.
I explained that everyday riders do this all the time and that some will come from as far away as South Passage and will need access for fuel. He said they can sit and wait. So I explained that some Skis sink if they have no momentum to which he told me thats impossible.

Well bugger me! I've done a lot of impossible sinkings then. I explained to the said nob that they are neutral buoyancy and could easily sink and that Stand Ups are not even neutral. Well he hadn't even thought of them.

So said Nob went back to rewrite his safety management plan. I told him I wouldn't tolerate a sinking Ski harming a swimmer in the surf and consequently tarnishing our sport.

These people have never sat on a Ski and have no idea what they're doing. They are dangerous and we all have to work together as a team to educate them to respect our different requirements.

One step at a time ht15


Fun First!
Just by the way, if anyone's out riding on their own and don't have a PLB one of the things that @Milton teaches is to wear fins on a fin belt.

He always does this and its much more likely you can swim back to your Ski or to shore with a set of fins.


Fun First!
Cant wait to see the Guy at BCF who told me this would never happen wsle zl