- Joined
- Dec 4, 2018
- Messages
- 18
- Reactions
- 36
If ever there was an event that made me pleased I bought my Mavic 2 Pro it was this.
I was flying on Sunday next to an estuary in Essex (UK) and a couple of guys came up to me to ask if I had seen a windsurfer in trouble on the water. They were from a local sailing club and they had lost sight of one of their number and were trying to locate him. They thought he might have drifted a couple of miles away but couldn’t see him, or his craft on the water. I immediately said I would put my drone up and follow the coast, across the water to see if he was visible.
Within a few minutes I had located him, near a seawall, dragging his craft along around half a mile away in the water. There was no way they could have spotted him from their vantage point because the coast cuts in, making direct line of sight impossible. The two guys were amazed and quickly hurried off to help him take his sailboard/sail out of the water. About 40 minutes later they all returned and the windsurfer thanked me for locating him. They then asked what the drone cost because the sailing club often has club members going awol on the river and they have to launch their inshore rescue vessel to locate them. Having a drone would significantly reduce the search time – especially on race days. I think I convinced them that the investment would be really worthwhile. Every sailing club should have one.
Definitely a feelgood experience for everyone… luckily the weather was good, the water wasn’t rough and the windsurfer had managed to get to the shore at least, so not life or death, but definitely not an event to take lightly in any circumstances.
…..the funniest thing was that when I located and hovered over the windsurfer he flipped me the bird!!
I was flying on Sunday next to an estuary in Essex (UK) and a couple of guys came up to me to ask if I had seen a windsurfer in trouble on the water. They were from a local sailing club and they had lost sight of one of their number and were trying to locate him. They thought he might have drifted a couple of miles away but couldn’t see him, or his craft on the water. I immediately said I would put my drone up and follow the coast, across the water to see if he was visible.
Within a few minutes I had located him, near a seawall, dragging his craft along around half a mile away in the water. There was no way they could have spotted him from their vantage point because the coast cuts in, making direct line of sight impossible. The two guys were amazed and quickly hurried off to help him take his sailboard/sail out of the water. About 40 minutes later they all returned and the windsurfer thanked me for locating him. They then asked what the drone cost because the sailing club often has club members going awol on the river and they have to launch their inshore rescue vessel to locate them. Having a drone would significantly reduce the search time – especially on race days. I think I convinced them that the investment would be really worthwhile. Every sailing club should have one.
Definitely a feelgood experience for everyone… luckily the weather was good, the water wasn’t rough and the windsurfer had managed to get to the shore at least, so not life or death, but definitely not an event to take lightly in any circumstances.
…..the funniest thing was that when I located and hovered over the windsurfer he flipped me the bird!!