Category: Blog

This Hiker was more hungry than hurt

Cody Michael, 23, and his German Shepherd, Bauer, were spotted about 10 a.m. on May 19th in Tahoe National Forest by a Black Hawk helicopter pilot and its crew.

"Words don't describe it, emotions do," Michael's father, Howard, told KCRA. "(I) spent a good amount of time with him. It was an incredible father-son moment."

In an unbelievable coincidence, Cody was found 72 hours to the minute after sending his last text to his family

I bet Cody wished he had brought his satellite phone.

Read Full Story Here......

Earthquake didn't stop Bart Williams from pursuing his dream

The first time Bart Williams made his attempt at the summit of the world's highest peak, he and his group were forced to turn back after an earthquake rocked Nepal.

A year later, he returned to the base of Mt. Everest with his sights set on the top.

"There was that feeling in the air, let's get it done, let's make this year be a successful year," Williams said.

On his return trip to Nepal, he could not forget the images of the aftermath of the earthquake in 2015.

"It was always in the back of my mind, and anytime somebody would rattle the tent just to get snow off of it or whatever it made me jump a bit," Williams said.

The second attempt was a success. After a grueling and at times dangerous hike, his group reached the summit just before dawn on May 22.

The shadow of Everest loomed onto a surrounding peak as Williams and his group gazed around at the view they had come short of last year.

"The summit was everything I dreamed it would be," Williams said. "I had a satellite phone and I called the family, said "I'm on the top of the world, I love you!"

It was a drastically different phone call than the one he made last year when he informed his family that there had been an earthquake and they were being evacuated off the mountain in helicopters.

Check out the rest of the story here......

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee used a satellite phone to help kick off the Cascadia Rising megaquake and tsunami drill on Tuesday

CAMP MURRAY — Even as soldiers and emergency responders teamed up for a massive megaquake and tsunami response drill, Gov. Jay Inslee stressed that Washingtonians must also prepare.

When the megaquake hits, “hundreds of thousands of people will have to wait days, weeks and months for their electricity to be restored,” Inslee said in a news conference to kick off Cascadia Rising.

“They will have to wait a considerable period of time to have water service to their homes,” he added. “So having a basic emergency kit in homes, in cars, in offices, is absolutely essential for everybody who lives in our great state.”

Check out the full story here....

"Because we were able to get that information (via GSP-1700 Sat Phone), we moved our boat and ended up catching our limit of four giant Bluefin tuna valued at about $20,000.”

When it comes to fishing, Captain Dave Carraro of FV Tuna.com knows a thing or two, having run a successful charter business for the past 37 years, and is now a leading competitor and previous winner of the television show Wicked Tuna

Carraro keeps a busy schedule off land, even flying as a pilot for JetBlue when he isn’t fishing.

“Sometimes we are out on the water for four to five days in a row, fishing around the clock, which can be very strenuous, both physically and mentally. Not to mention the weather can be unpredictable and we can be fighting fish in very, very rough seas,” Carraro said.

While there may be unknowns relative to weather and fish cooperating, one thing Carraro doesn’t worry about is reliable communication: “As a commercial tuna fisherman, I’m constantly in competition with the other fishing captains in trying to find the best spot to catch large Bluefin Tuna,” he said. “Recently, I was 180 miles off the coast of Gloucester at a place called George’s Bank and was out of the reach of cell phone coverage. I was able to use my Globalstar GSP-1700 satellite phone to communicate with other fishermen inshore that were catching. Because we were able to get that information, we moved our boat and ended up catching our limit of four giant Bluefin tuna valued at about $20,000.”

While Carraro used to rely on a single side band radio, he lets his colleagues know that not only is it outdated, but also difficult to use in comparison to Globalstar products and services.

“Communication offshore used to be distorted and difficult to understand. Now we can rely on Globalstar for reliability and crystal-clear call quality at an extremely affordable price point. In addition, the small mobile handset can be taken in a life raft if the need arises – very comforting to say the least.”

Carraro, who has been a fisherman his whole life, describes himself not only as competitive when it comes to reeling in the biggest tuna, but also safety-conscious.

“I now require my whole crew to keep a SPOT Gen3 satellite messenger and tracking device on their primary survival suits. I also keep three SPOT Trace satellite tracking units on our secondary inflatables so we can be easily located in case of emergency.”

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