When people inadvertently end up in the water or get caught in an area of breaking waves, they usually require someone's assistance to get out of trouble. All too often, the person or persons trying to provide assistance end up in the same or a worse situation. It is very common to read stories in the local newspapers where one person ends up in the water and one or more people die trying to rescue them. The reason this scenario is so common is because the waters off northern California are very cold. It takes only a few minutes for a strong, capable swimmer not wearing thermal protection to become incapacitated.

Good rescue techniques mandate the rescuer not endanger themselves while attempting a rescue. One very useful tool in a water rescue situation is the rope throw bag. Relatively inexpensive and available at many dive shops and boating stores, it is a nylon bag with one end of a rope hanging through a feed hole. The rest of the rope is stuffed inside. When the loose end of the rope is held in one hand while the bag is thrown with the other, the rope feeds out automatically and smoothly. With a little practice, the rope throw bag makes it easy to extend a rope accurately and for its entire length. This makes it very useful in situations where someone is just beyond breaking waves on the shore and nobody is equipped to get in the water to help them. Another situation where it can be useful is if someone gets trapped against a rocky shoreline and needs some assistance to get back out into calmer water.

Cell phone coverage on the coastline is spotty. Sometimes it works, sometimes not. For those that chose to try using this technology, the best reception occurs offshore and on points of land jutting out into the water. AT&T currently has the best coverage along the Sonoma coast.

The quickest and most reliable communication technology available for summoning assistance on the coast is by using a marine band radio to call for help. Available in either waterproof models or kept in a waterproof pouch, they can go where ever the diver chooses. Should an emergency arise, the Coast Guard can be quickly advised of the situation. This capability has proven invaluable in a few situations involving divers, invaluable enough that their relative expense was rendered insignificant. A handheld marine radio is something that every boat of any type should have aboard when venturing into the ocean. Even for the shorebound diver, having a marine band radio available may one day prove to be a valuable investment.

Use of a marine band radio falls under the jurisdiction of the FCC. As of April 1996, it is no longer necessary to have a license to operate the category of radio. It is technically unlawful to use a marine radio unless you're in a boat on the water.