Connected objects make our lives easier. And sea, they can also participate in security. This is the case of the new system launched by Mercury: the 1st Mate. In the Navy, the "First Mate" is the first mate, the one right under the captain. 1st Mate therefore takes command when the captain is no longer on board.
Man Overboard Surveillance
Indeed, Mercury's 1st Mate is a man overboard warning system. Everyone on board wears a bracelet: red for the captain and black for the passengers. An application loaded on the onboard smartphones alerts when a crew member has fallen overboard. The application immediately indicates the course and distance to return to the shipwrecked person.
We already know this principle with connected bracelets like Sea Tags. But the Mercury system goes further, as if the captain falls overboard, the engine shuts down immediately (within 0.8 seconds). The application then tells the crew members the procedure for restarting and recovering the master.
Distress message.
And if the captain was alone on board, the application sends a text message ashore to warn of the accident and organise rescue. The captain will have previously filled in a list of contacts to be alerted in case of emergency. This function is also active if the passengers are unable to return to pick up the captain.
Anti-theft device
The 1st Mate can also be used as an anti-theft function. Indeed, from a distance, the owner can follow the movements of his boat and even in the event of theft remotely shut down the engine.
Available in spring 2020
To operate, 1st Mate relies on a Hub (a black box) connected to the engine and which emits in Bluetooth to connect smartphones. It's also this Hub that's going to be monitoring the bracelets on board. All Mercury engines from 40 hp can be equipped with the 1st Mate. The older ones (those not equipped with SmartCraft technology) will have to be equipped with an additional box to be connected to the NMEA 2000 Hub. Count 599 euros TTC for the basic kit with the Captain's bracelet (the red one) and 79 euros TTC for the additional bracelets (maximum 7 bracelets).
