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SPOT RESCUE ALERT: OCEAN KAYAKER RESCUED OFF COAST OF TASMANIA
Capsized and Stranded Ocean Kayaker Rescued After Sending Distress Message and GPS Location Using SPOT Satellite Messenger; Locals Assist in Rescue
MILITAS, CA (March 4, 2008) – Sea kayaker Derek Crook was rescued off of the west coast of Tasmania near the Pieman River after pressing the 9-1-1 button on his SPOT Satellite Messenger™. Crook, an experienced Canadian paddler, was attempting to circumnavigate Tasmania in a 36 day expedition when he was hit by rough seas near Conical Rocks and flung from his boat on a reef just off shore.
Mr. Crook managed to hold on to his kayak and activate 9-1-1 on his SPOT Satellite Messenger, which allows users to communicate from remote locations around the globe independently of cellular networks, to initiate an emergency response call. The distress message alerted the GEOS International Emergency Response Center used by SPOT, who contacted local Tasmanian rescue authorities with Crook’s GPS coordinates.
“I always thought I could self rescue in any condition. However, while attempting to beat the wave breakers and land in a safe zone, my kayak’s stern hatch came off and filled with water,” said survivor Derek Crook. “This changed everything and I discovered after a long difficult time of trying to save myself, as I was being swept by high winds several miles out to sea, that I was not going to be successful on my own. Luckily for me I had purchased SPOT before my expedition. I recommend SPOT to everyone who strays off of the beaten path.”
Mr. Crook was spotted by locals on shore and picked up at sea by their dingy at the same time a search and rescue helicopter arrived on scene and met them on land.
"I was suffering from severe hypothermia and in a very remote area, many miles from any medical attention,” added Crook. “Thankfully the rescue helicopter and paramedics, notified by SPOT, were there to transport me to the hospital quickly."
“The authorities were notified by GEOS of his updated GPS coordinates so they knew where to find him. The SPOT Satellite Messenger takes the search out of search and rescue,” said Darren Bassel, Director of Marketing for SPOT Inc. “SPOT is waterproof (to 1 meter up to 30 minutes) and floats which makes it very applicable to the maritime community including boaters and off-shore fisherman.”
The rescue was assisted by a Westpac Police Rescue Helicopter, a police vessel from Strahan, and search and rescue crews from Qweenstown, Zeehan and Burnie, Australia.
The National Association of Search and Rescue estimates that there are over 50,000 search and rescue missions launched each year in the United States alone. Most of these are initiated without knowledge of the victims’ location. The SPOT Satellite Messenger gives users a way to alert responders of their GPS location independently of cellular coverage. SPOT enables users, to send their location and message to friends, family, or emergency responders, and to visually track the location of the SPOT satellite messenger through four simple functions:
Alert 9-1-1 notifies emergency responders of your GPS location
Ask for Help sends a request for help to friends and family
Check In lets contacts know where you are and that you are OK
Track Progress sends and saves your location and allows contacts to track your progress using Google Maps™
Weighing just over 7 ounces and sold at U.S. $169.95 SRP, the SPOT satellite messenger provides a new level of safety and peace-of-mind for anyone who spends a considerable amount of time in the outdoors or just wants to stay connected with a line of communication.
The SPOT Satellite Messenger, the world’s first satellite messenger, uses both the GPS satellite network to determine a customer’s location and the SPOT network to transmit that information to friends, family or an emergency service center. SPOT Inc., a subsidiary or Globalstar, Inc. (NASDAQ: GSAT), provides lifesaving communications technology that allows users to communicate from remote locations around the globe. Thanks to this affordable, cutting-edge personal safety device, the company offers people peace of mind by allowing customers to notify friends and family of their location and status, and to send for emergency assistance in time of need, completely independent of cellular phone or wireless coverage. For more information on how SPOT Inc. is helping users live to tell about it(SM) – from disaster preparedness to outdoor adventure purposes – visit www.findmespot.com.
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SNOWMOBILERS AIDING AVALANCHE VICTIMS USE
SPOT SATELLITE MESSENGER TO SEND 9-1-1 MESSAGE FOR HELP
GPS Device Sends Location Data and Alert Message to Emergency Responders
Milpitas, Calif. (January 7, 2008) – When Natalie Bertsch bought her husband a GPS-enabled SPOT™ Satellite Messenger for Christmas, little did she know that only a week later he would use SPOT while coming to the aid of four friends swept away in an avalanche near Laramie, Wyoming. On Jan. 2, 2008, Brian Bertsch contacted an emergency 9-1-1 call center by pressing a single button on his handheld SPOT.
A group of snowmobilers were riding when they heard an avalanche nearby in the area where four of their friends were riding in the Snowy Mountain Range. Upon arriving on the scene, Bertsch sent his GPS location and distress message by pressing a single 9-1-1 button, and immediately started helping to dig his friends out of the snow. They were able to free three before rescuers arrived. One man, reportedly in his forties, was also buried but did not survive the accident.
“I received an OK message from Brian’s SPOT telling me that he was safe. In fact, I was viewing his location through Google Maps online at findmespot.com when I was called by the Emergency Response Center used by SPOT. They contacted me instantly and notified the local area emergency responders within minutes,” said Natalie Bertsch. “SPOT’s quick response was critical in the rescue communication. I can rest easily knowing that Brian will have SPOT with him every time he snowmobiles because of the safety capabilities and peace of mind it gives me.”
The National Association of Search and Rescue estimates that there are over 50,000 search and rescue missions launched each year in the United States. Most of these are initiated without knowledge of the victims’ location. While the popularity of GPS navigation systems and the increased coverage of wireless phone networks give some people a sense of security, anyone who routinely ventures into the wilderness knows how unreliable phone service can be in remote areas. The SPOT Satellite Messenger significantly raises the safety factor for the hundreds of millions of people around the world who take to the outdoors each year.
