>>A friend went fishing in the tall reeds on vacation. >The boat rental firm had an elaborate safety/survival scheme. >Boat owner: "If the motor won't start, raise this flag on a mast and we'll >find you." >My friend: "Don't worry, I'll just call you." > >>Regards, Bob S.
This reminds me of a cautionary tale that some will find useful. Probably not many people on the list go on the water very much. Some, like sailors and fishers will already take precautions. If you do go on the water, even if it's a small pleasure boat or a bit of rafting or whatever, carry in your kit a small plastic sealable container - made for the purpose and available from most watersports stores - large enough to take your car keys. Even if you're not photographing from the water, use it for your keys. You're nodding now and saying hmmm yes, that's pretty smart. There's a couple of reasons. Firstly, modern car keys that include a remote locking device will usually fail if they get wet. Secondly, the larger the container, the better they are at floating... I sailed a Laser for a couple of years, and I used to wrap my car keys in 2 plastic bags and stuff the bundle in the small mesh pocket of the flotation vest. One dunking proved fatal for the remote device and on returning to the car later, I could not disengage the vehicle immobilisation system. The RAC (similar to AAA in the states) rescued me and I needed a new remote unit (used car with only one remote - always have a second unit - d'uh). After that I bought an inexpensive sealable plastic container - a rigid one. I thought about the heavy-duty plastic sealable bags but I didn't trust it not to get ripped or holed somehow. The container I have is only big enough for a bunch of keys. It has a cord attached that I then used to put around the mast of the sailboat. Worked great. However, I never sailed with the cell phone. This has made me think about it again and I'll pick up one big enough for keys and phone soon. The container is in the car and when I film or photograph from the water, the car keys go in it, always. Cheers, Cotty ___/\__ || (O) | People, Places, Pastiche ||=====| www.macads.co.uk/snaps _____________________________ Free UK Mac Ads www.macads.co.uk
