Kannad Safelink R10
We recently received shipments of the Kannad Safelink R10 device - a personal AIS device that activates automatically when your lifejacket inflates to turn you into a small AIS station.
The R10 is is built to be packed into your inflatable lifejacket by clipping onto the inflation tube. This ensures the unit is automatically activated when the jacket is inflated – making the device the only MOB recovery device that is of use if your MOB is unconscious or incapacitated.
Once the R10 is activated, the AIS onboard your boat sounds an alarm … on newer plotters this is a MOB alarm, on older plotters you get a ‘dangerous vessel’ alarm as there is now a AIS station very close to you.
Once detected and displayed on your plotter, it is simply a matter of steering to the symbol on the plotter to retrieve your very wet crewmember … as for getting them back on boad, that’s a subject for next time.
We ran some tests in the bay a month or two ago, testing the activation method, and then testing the range, alarms, and skill needed to track back to the patient. Our conclusion was that the R10 device is a great aid for letting the crew know someone is overboard, and then improving your chances of location by your boat, or any other AIS equipped vessel in the area … but the R10 range is VHF based, and so the range is limited by ‘line of sight’.

If you’d like to know more about the R10, check out the product videos on youtube at http://youtu.be/DJxSkQPRSws
And don’t forget, as an ORCV member, you save 5% on the already discounted prices on AdventureSafety.com.au … so for ORCV members, you get the R10 at $350 including shipping … just enter the code, ‘ORCV’ on check out.