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Oh man, lots to unpack here.
First, I hope the cellular coverage in the marsh always sucks. Part of the fun is the danger.
We live in a world where we went from not knowing if a Comanche war party was on the other side of the hill to having nerfed everything, padded all the corners and made everything so safe in the name of safety that life is dull and boring.
We are genetic material outside the time for which we were biologically primed, and inshore fishing on Louisiana’s coast is a modest simulacrum of what we are predisposed for.
I love that the marsh terrifies people. I hope it stays that way.
Anyway.
The first thing to do to prepare is to be self-sufficient. You must be able to handle your problems on your own. You must also prevent the emergency from happening in the first place.
If you launch the boat knowing there’s shoddy electrical work, or that your motor might break down, then 1.) I hope Murphy’s Law gets you and 2.) I don’t run across you. 3.) Enjoy the deer flies. 4.) Sucks to suck!!!!
But sometimes, every once in a great while, there’s a legit emergency.
So, for that, I have a Garmin 67i with inReach messaging. It can type on its own. The battery on it will last forever and it can take a beating.
After that, I may have my Starlink Mini.
Then a handheld VHF.
Then an iPhone 16. Never tried the satellite messaging feature. I’d rather just use something with a legit satellite antenna on it. iPhones die quick and it’s satellite antenna is sitting next to all those other antennas and the RTO in me just doesn’t like that.
Prior Proper Planning Prevents Piss Poor Performance
Great post! Glad to see the good discussion in here.
