FORT LAUDERDALE, FL – SEPTEMBER 15, 2008 –This December, Paul Ridley
will row solo 2,950 miles across the Atlantic Ocean in an effort to
raise more than $500,000 for cancer research in memory of his mother who
died from skin cancer eight years ago. ACR Electronics, Inc., the world
leader in safety and survival technologies, has announced that it will
join Ridley’s Row for Hope expedition as a sponsor and safety equipment
supplier.
Ridley, 25, hopes to be the third and youngest American to row across an
ocean armed only with his own skills. There will be no sail or motor,
nor support from another vessel. But in the event of a life and death
situation, Ridley will have an ACR GlobalFix™ 406 EPIRB (Emergency
Position Indicating Radio Beacon) that transmits signals on
internationally recognized distress frequencies.
EPIRBs and Personal Locator Beacons (PLBs) reduce risk by providing a
reliable, satellite-based emergency signal detectable anywhere in the
world. The 406 MHz signal is monitored by NOAA (National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration) and the Search and Rescue Satellite-Aided
Tracking System (SARSAT) detects and locates distress signals. GPS
coordinates greatly assist search and rescue crews and in the event GPS
isn’t acquired, position can be calculated through Doppler Shift as a
reliable backup.
Ridley plans to set off from the Canary Islands off Morocco in early
December and row west 10 to 12 hours each day, taking from 60 to 80 days
before landing in Antigua in the Caribbean. If ocean currents cooperate,
he may even break the American record.
A rower since college, Ridley has been training and preparing for this
trip for the past three years. In addition to a rigorous rowing schedule
in the Norwalk River near Stamford, CT where he is employed as a
financial consultant, Ridley has also done extensive survival training
on long overnight trips.
His custom-built, 19-foot rowboat is equipped with miniature versions of
navigation and communication equipment found on a larger yacht. The
systems will be run with solar and battery power. He will have a
satellite phone to call his land-based support team and technology to
update the website (www.rowforhope.com) throughout his expedition.
However, Ridley acknowledged that solar-powered communication devices
might not work after several cloudy days in a row. “Solar power is sort
of a luxury. In a real emergency, if I’m injured, it will be the EPIRB
that I will rely on for rescue. It’s one of the few pieces of equipment
that I hope I’ll never have to use. But if I have to use it, I’m
confident I will survive,” he said.
About Cobham Life Support, ACR Products
Cobham Life Support, ACR Products www.acrelectronics.com, designs and
manufactures a complete line of safety and survival products including
EPIRBs, PLBs, AIS, SARTs, Strobe Lights, Life Jacket Lights, Search
Lights and safety accessories. The quality systems of this facility have
been registered by UL to the ISO 9001:2000 Series Standards. Recognized
as the world leader in safety and survival technologies, ACR has
provided safety equipment to the aviation and marine industries as well
as to the military since 1956. The company is headquartered in Fort
Lauderdale, Florida and employs 200 at its headquarters.
About Cobham plc
Cobham plc is an international company engaged in the development,
delivery and support of advanced aerospace and defense systems for land,
sea, air and space. The company has four divisions that collectively
specialize in the provision of components, subsystems and services that
keep people safe, improve communications and enhance the capability of
aerospace and defense platforms.
ACR Contact page
Leslie Sheffield 954-970-3394