USING SAFETY TURTLE ON BOATS ON INLAND RIVERS AND LAKES
Locate the Base Station connected to the Turtle Power Pack above the boat’s hull, normally in the cockpit.
Use the Safety Turtle weatherproof carrying bag or equivalent to protect Base Station from rain or spray.
Test coverage per User Guide by immersing Turtle at fore, aft, port and starboard locations. Stern coverage is most important for a boat in motion
Confirm audibility of Base Station alarm throughout boat – with its motor running.
A child on board a boat or intending to go on board a boat or playing near a jetty must be wearing a life-jacket at all times.
Rivers and dams are murky, thus making visibility in the rescue of a child that has already sunk below the water extremely difficult, hence the importance of the life-jacket.
The Turtle can be fastened to the upper part of the life-jacket, above the child’s buoyancy line, by means of a cable-tie or can be worn on the wrist.
Make sure that the child is not able to remove the Turtle from his/her person.
In the case of a pet, secure the Turtle to the pet’s life-jacket or the top of its collar. Do not attach to the lower part of the collar.
USING SAFETY TURTLE IN SEA WATER
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The Safety Turtle Immersion Alarm functions perfectly in natural fresh water, inland lakes and rivers, both chemical pools and salt-chlorinated pools. No matter how fast a Turtle descends in the water, it will always alarm on the way down.
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An increase in salt concentration increases water’s conductivity, making propagation of a radio wave more difficult. This has an effect of reducing “depth coverage” i.e the depth below which a Base Station cannot decipher the signal transmitted by an immersed Turtle.
Please note, therefore, that Safety Turtle is not recommended for use in sea water, tidal pools and salt-water lagoons, unless special note is taken of the following:
Shoreline – While not 100% reliable in all cases, Safety Turtle is effective with a graduated beach. If a child is knocked down by a breaking wave, alarming will occur when the breaker recedes. Attach Turtle to the wrist only.
For alarming to occur in sea or brackish water, the Turtle must first get wet, then reach the surface of the water. The Turtle will not alarm reliably on entry into the salt water. To work reliably, the Turtle must thereafter break or nearly break the surface of the water.
Boating – If worn on a life jacket a few inches above the water line, the system is 100% reliable. If worn on the wrist of a subject wearing a life jacket, the alarm is only activated when the hand partially comes out of the water.
Testing – Depth coverage is measured by slowly immersing a Turtle till beeping at the Base Station (in Test Mode) stops.
Special care must be taken - at Ocean Marinas & Yacht Clubs -and the popular holiday home developments on sea-water canals in South Africa. They present a very real danger to children!
