The Safelink R10 although only having been released for sale recently has already generated a lot of interest and positive reviews from sailing magazines and people in the maritime industry. We have really been excited by comments professionals and journalists have been making. Perhaps this is to be expected as it really is an innovative safety product. Designed to be fitted to a life jacket, once activated the Safelink R10 will transmit an alert on an AIS-enabled chart plotter. If a crew member falls overboard usually the best vessel to pick them up is the boat they have come from. If a man overboard situation occurs at night or in bad weather it will be extremely difficult to locate the survivor in the water. An activated Safelink R10 can display an alert for a distance of at least four miles and will track the person in the water if they drift away from the initial activation point due to tides or currents.

Of course the R10 doesn’t take the place of a PLB or EPIRB;  these beacons perform a different role and are equally as important. For example if you are a solo sailor then a PLB (personal locator beacon) like the Safelink SOLO is your best bet, as after any kind of mishap you have no other crew members to rely on so will need to activate a distress message to the emergency services. However if sailing with a crew, the Safelink R10 could be a vital piece of safety equipment.

During the Summer we invited a number of journalist and key people involved with safety at sea to a demonstration day (see a previous blog for more information on this) held in the Solent. To a man they were extremely impressed by the R10. Here is some feedback we have received :

Yachting Monthly: "If you are sailing solo use a PLB, but for larger crews the AIS beacon seems to trump it"

Yachting World: "This AIS beacon really shines"

Boat Fishing Monthly: "A Survivor Recovery System which uses AIS to automatically contact the crew member’s vessel gives the greatest chance of survivor location and recovery"

Shipping and Marine: "Kannad Marine's R10 SRS is the must-have personal device"

If you want to read more on these reviews try to track down October or November editions of these magazines.

Video links

Motorboat & Yachting:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GQOOnNABgiI

You can find more information about the safelink R10 elsewhere on this website.

Since writing this blog PBO (Practical Boat Owner) has also given the Safelink R10 a thorough 2-page review. They think it is "a step forward for safety on board".