The SPOT

Given the Zen-like state of my EPIRB, I decided to also carry a SPOT personal locator. It's like the EPIRB in that you press a button when the shit hits the fan and it sends your position to a rescue coordination center via satellite, but the SPOT is a lot more lightweight. This is partly because it has a tiny battery (which lasts "up to" 24 hours as opposed to "at least" 48 hours), and partly because it lacks the secondary homing transmission that can guide rescuers to your badly mangled, shark-chomped body.

But no worries, I have plenty of other stuff with which to bring rescuers in. Specifically, 9 signal flares (3 red, 3 white, 3 parachute), signal mirror, strobe, horn, whistle, glowsticks and fluorescent dye. Though I've read reports that this dye is a shark attractant possibly because the sharks were trained during WWII that the scent of this dye marked the presence of a juicy pilot. I'm hoping that the shark community has forgotten this lesson.

BTW, click on Current Location in the right hand column to see the latest position of my SPOT beacon.