"Mayday, Mayday, this is the Nique", then silence. A moment later, "Mayday, Mayday, this is the Nique". The Coast Guard responded, "Vessel Nique, this is Coast Guard Station Lake Worth, please state your position and the nature of your emergency."
The request was met with silence. Could the boat have gone down that quickly?
I was in a high speed Sea Tow towboat on the west side of Peanut Island, less than a half a mile from the inlet. As soon as I heard the initial call, I headed out, violating (don't tell anyone) the slow speed zone.
The Coast Guard again, "Vessel Nique, Coast Guard Station Lake Worth. Please state your position and the nature of your emergency." Finally, a response, "Coast Guard, I'm out by the sea buoy. My engine won't start. I've got my sails up but am going to need some help getting through the inlet."
At that moment, a collective look of disgust clouded the face of every knowledgeable boater who had been standing by to respond, if needed, to the emergency. One can only imagine the comments that erupted from the Coast Guard Response team, the Florida Marine Patrol, the sheriff's Boats and the local police boats. I arrived on scene within two minutes of the initial call, expecting to find a group of six-packed sailors. I found, instead, three men in their fifties and sixties on a thirty five foot sloop, whose only fault was a lack of knowledge of proper VHF radio procedures. The skipper's intentions were right on target - his decision a wise one. With an outgoing tide, variable winds and heavy boat traffic, attempting to sail through the inlet without auxiliary power could have placed his vessel and passengers in jeopardy. But his use of a MAYDAY call was an
example of ignorance and inexperience (and could have subjected him to a $10.000.00 fine.)
A VHF radio is one of the most important tools on board a boat. Like any other tool, however, there are right ways and wrong ways to use it. The quickest way to determine the competence of a boater is not by his docking abilities but by his use of the radio. A professional will never abuse the VHF frequencies. He knows only too well that someone's life may depend on his ability to communicate.
MAYDAY Calls - Mayday calls are reserved for situations in which "there is immediate risk of loss of property or life". In other words, if your vessel is sinking or on fire or if someone on board is seriously injured or ill, issue a MAYDAY call. MAYDAY calls are distress calls of the highest urgency. The procedure is simple. Say MAYDAY, MAYDAY, MAYDAY; this is the vessel ___________, I repeat this is the _________, again the ________ (state the name of your vessel three times). State your call sign. Then begin your message. Say "Mayday, the vessel ___________, state your position (preferably latitude and longitude or by geographical reference), the nature of your emergency, a description of your vessel and the number of people on board your boat. Say again the name of your vessel and your call sign. Stay calm and speak slowly.
Then UNKEY the microphone (release the button) and wait for a response. If you get no response after a minute or so, repeat the entire broadcast. If you still get no response, consider the possibility that your radio is not working and be prepared to use flares and other distress signals to solicit help. Use that minute wisely. Get life jackets on everyone, gather emergency supplies, get your flares and any other signaling devices ready and STAY CALM - you, as Captain, need to set the example for your passengers. If you hear a MAYDAY call, stay off the radio, let the Coast Guard or other enforcement agency handle it. However, take a minute and write down the information given in the broadcast. The Coast Guard does an excellent job of monitoring the VHF airwaves but they can't help if other boaters are "stepping" on their transmission. Once a mayday call is issued, the code of "Silence" goes into effect. You may, in fact, hear the Coast Guard (or the distressed vessel) broadcast, "SEELONCE MAYDAY". This means that everyone other than the distressed vessel and the agency handling the call is
required to stay off the radio. A third party may issue the call "SEELONCE DISTRESS". The only exception to this rule is if the Coast Guard specifically asks for help from vessels in the area or if you are required to relay the Mayday broadcast.
Suppose, for example, you are ten miles offshore and you hear a Mayday call. After a two minute waiting period you have heard no response from the Coast Guard and the Mayday transmission is repeated without response. You are then required to perform a Mayday Relay. The assumption is that the vessel sending the call has a weak signal or is too far offshore for the Coast Guard to receive the signal. The procedure for the Relay is the same as for the original transmission except that you use the term "Mayday Relay" and the name and call sign of your vessel. Don't hesitate to perform the relay - somebody could be dying. You may also relay a MAYDAY call if you actually see a vessel in trouble (on fire or sinking) or have been asked by the distressed vessel's owner or captain to perform a relay. In part two (next week) we'll review PAN & SECURITY Calls as well as the use of the various channels of the VHF frequencies. A word or two about radio checks first. Radio checks should, whenever possible and especially on busy weekends, be requested professional will seldom, if ever, request a radio check - and never on channel 16. Radios today are very reliable. If you are receiving, chances are that you can transmit. If you recently installed a radio or have done some work on it, use channel 9 or channel 68. Or you can call Sea Tow on channel 7 or channel 9 for a radio check. We will be glad to respond.
A Quick Review:
MAYDAY calls are only used in situations of "grave and immediate danger" when immediate assistance is required. If, for example, you run out of beer or cigarettes ten miles offshore, regardless of how real that emergency may be to you, the Coast Guard does not consider that to be a reason for a MAYDAY call.
Stay off the radio! All sorts of things happen at a Coast GuardStation when a MAYDAY call is received. Rescue vessels get started, helicopter pilots get called, emergency procedures get initiated and response teams gather. The Coast Guard needs to be able to communicate with the distressed vessel (whose Captain could very well be up to his knees is water and has scenes from the movie "Jaws" running through his head). The Coast Guard, and others like Sea Tow, can determine the vessel's position with RDF (Radio Directional Finder) gear and triangulation - but only if no one else is transmitting on the frequency. Now is not the time to be exchanging recipes for Grouper Picatta.
Standby to assist. If you hear the Coast Guard call for a vessel in the area to assist or if you are in the area and the logical vessel to render assistance, head for the distressed vessel and, when there's a break in the transmissions, call the Coast Guard with your offer to provide assistance.
"Securité, Securité, Securité, this is the Sea Tow Vessel Blackhawk, the Sea Tow Vessel Blackhawk, again the Sea Tow Vessel Blackhawk, WHH5544, entering the Lake Worth inlet with a disabled vessel on a short stern tow. Requesting a wide berth and minimum wake. All concerned traffic contact the Sea Tow Blackhawk on channel 16. Out." I'm sure you've heard the above message, or something similar, many times while out on your boat. You may have also heard "Securité" used to report manatees that are swimming in the middle of the intracoastal. Securité messages are used to report navigational safety
concerns to the general boating population. For example, if you saw a piling floating in the water that could possibly endanger boats in the area, you would say; "Securité, Securité, Securité, this is the Good Sam, again the Good Sam, the Good Sam, WAB1234, there is a piling about 20' long floating in the channel just south of marker #8, east of Peanut Island. Again, there
is a 20' long piling floating on the surface in the channel just south of marker #8, east of Peanut Island. All concerned traffic proceed through the area with caution. This is the Good Sam, WABC 1234, Standing by on Channel 16. Out. While you may not want to broadcast a "Securité" message for every coconut you see floating in the water, reporting a major navigational hazard may save someone a costly repair and, if they are not a Sea Tow Member, an expensive tow bill. We discussed "Mayday" calls in part one. For those of you who missed the discussion, let's have a very quick review. Mayday calls are used only when there is immediate danger of loss of property or life. In other words, if you are sinking, or see another vessel sinking, or someone on board is seriously injured, you issue a "Mayday" call. The last of the three international safety and distress signals for the VHF is "Pan-Pan" (pronounced PAHN-PAHN). "Pan-Pan" is used when you or your vessel is in trouble but not in immediate danger. Let's say, for example, you run over the above mentioned piling because you didn't hear the Securité broadcast (your stereo is louder than the VHF) and you shear both props off. You are not taking on water (therefore not in danger of sinking) and no one is injured. The tide is going out and taking you with it - towards six to eight foot
seas in the mouth of the inlet. You have about half an hour until you are broadside to the waves. Six weeks ago your brother-in-law borrowed your anchor and never returned it. Now's the time to say (on channel 16), "Pan-Pan, Pan-Pan,
Pan-Pan, this is the vessel UHOH, the UHOH, again the UHOH, WXYZ 987, we are just east of marker #8, at the west end of Lake Worth inlet. I repeat we are just east of marker #8, at the west end of Lake Worth inlet. Again, we are just east of marker #8, at the west end of Lake Worth inlet. We are disabled and being carried out of the inlet and have no anchor on board. We are disabled and being carried out of the inlet. We have 4 people on board, we are a 25' center console Grady White. Color white with black trim, request assistance, request assistance. The vessel UHOH, WXYZ 987, over."
The "request assistance" is redundant. "Pan" is, by definition, a request for assistance. But, in case there is someone nearby who doesn't know what a "Pan" call is, adding those few extra words may help. If you hear a "Pan" call, treat it just as you would a "Mayday" call. Stay off the radio. Let the Coast Guard or other enforcement agency handle the communications. If, however, you are nearby, head towards the vessel that is in trouble and be prepared to throw a line on her. Monitor channel 16. If you are the first vessel on scene and there is no other assistance in sight, get a line on the disabled boat, bring her into safe waters, toss out your anchor and wait for professional assistance in the form of a Sea Tow or other towing company vessel, a Coast Guard or other enforcement agency boat or a Coast Guard auxiliary boat. As soon as you have the vessel
safely under tow, call the Coast Guard and tell them. They will provide guidance and instruction, as necessary.
VHF Channels
Channel 16 is for emergency, distress, safety and initial vessel contact messages ONLY. Channel 9 is designated by the FCC as the Recreational Calling Channel for use by non-commercial boaters. The intent here is to have the recreational boater make contact on channel 9 and then move to one of the other recreational channels thus clearing channel 16 of some of its traffic. Boaters who elect to monitor channel 9 are relieved from the requirement to monitor channel 16. However, all the really good stuff still happens on channel 16. You may want to consider, since they are pretty inexpensive, having two radios on board. With two radios, you've got a back-up should one die. The other channels designated for use by the recreational boater are channels 68, 69, 71, 72 and 78A. For non-emergency calls, once contact has been made on channel 9 or 16, switch to one of these "working channels. Also use these channels for your radio checks. The knowledgeable boater will never use channel 16 for a radio check. A radio check is like going out to start your car just to see if it still runs. Unless you've worked on your radio or haven't used it in a while, radio checks are unnecessary. But if you must, use a working channel - not channel 16. Sea Tow will be happy to respond to a radio check on channel 9 or channel 7. Just give us a call.
Channel 13 is designated for commercial ship to ship (bridge to bridge) navigation and for use by bridges and locks. Here in South Florida all bridges monitor channel 13 and usually don't monitor channel 16 (or won't respond on 16) - regardless of what is painted on them.
Channel 14 is designated for use by Harbor Control. You'll find the pilots on channel 14.
Channel 22A is the Coast Guard Liaison Channel. It is, if effect, their "working channel" for communications with boaters. If you call the Coast Guard on channel 16, expect to be moved to 22A. Incidentally, the "A" indicates a United States frequency that is different from the international frequency on channel 22. All new radios today have a "USA" button or means of selecting "USA" or other international frequencies. While in U.S. waters, keep your radio on the "USA" frequencies.
Channels 24 through 28 and channels 84 through 88 are used for "public correspondence" (the marine operator.)