NOAA 98-059

CONTACT:  Patricia Viets, NOAA               FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
                                             9/9/98

NOAA PLAYS MAJOR ROLE IN RESCUE OF ATLANTIC-CROSSING ROW BOATER

An emergency signal from a rowing vessel in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean saved the life of boat operator Tori Murden, who was attempting to become the first American, and first woman to row across the Atlantic Ocean alone and unsupported. Murden's boat American Pearl had capsized, and Murden had banged her head several times.

The distress signal from Murden's 406 MHz emergency beacon was first detected by the international Cospas-Sarsat System, the Commerce Department's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced today. The system uses a constellation of satellites in polar and geostationary orbits to detect and locate emergency beacons on vessels and aircraft in distress. NOAA represents the United States in this international program, provides satellite platforms and ground equipment, and operates the U.S. Mission Control Center in Suitland, Md.

The signal from Murden's Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon (EPIRB) was first detected by the Cospas-Sarsat system on Sept. 7 at 0432 Greenwich Mean Time. The signal was processed by a ground station in Canada and relayed to the U.S. Mission Control Center. The mission control center alerted U.S. Rescue Coordination Centers, who then contacted the Rescue Coordination Center in Falmouth, England, for assistance. RCC Falmouth dispatched a patrol aircraft to investigate and broadcast a MAYDAY call on behalf of American Pearl. A nearby vessel, Independent Spirit, a container ship bound for Philadelphia, responded to the call and assisted Murden, who is currently on board Independent Spirit. The row boat was abandoned after wind and seas prevented Independent Spirit from recovering it.

Murden, from Louisville, Ky., had set out on June 14 from Oregon Inlet, N.C., heading for the west of France and was last heard from on September 5.

Since the inception of the Cospas-Sarsat system 16 years ago, 8851 lives have been saved. In the United States, the Cospas-Sarsat system was developed by NASA at its Goddard Spaceflight Center in Greenbelt, Md. Once the system was functional, it was turned over to NOAA, where it remains today. More information about the program is on line at: http://psbsgi1.nesdis.noaa.gov:8080/SARSAT/homepage.html