Emergencies and your VHF Radio
Your life and the life of your crew will depend on your preparedness.
We hope this will help you in handling your VHF radio in an emergency. But knowledge of the use of your VHF radio is only a portion of what you need to know and know well.
Many other aspects need to be learned and practiced - your man overboard routine, for instance. In addition, you need to know and understand all of the mechanicals on your boat, location and purpose of each and every through-hull valve, for instance.
There are courses you and your crew should take before going out on the water. At a bare minimum, a Safe Boating Course such as offered by the U.S. Power Squadron or the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary should be taken by you and every member of your crew. There should be one available in your area. If not, there are some courses on-line which offer boater certification and licensing for those of whom a license is required.
Boating should be fun. Getting injured or killed should never be part of it. Be prudent. Be prepared.
We hope this will help you in handling your VHF radio in an emergency. But knowledge of the use of your VHF radio is only a portion of what you need to know and know well.
Many other aspects need to be learned and practiced - your man overboard routine, for instance. In addition, you need to know and understand all of the mechanicals on your boat, location and purpose of each and every through-hull valve, for instance.
There are courses you and your crew should take before going out on the water. At a bare minimum, a Safe Boating Course such as offered by the U.S. Power Squadron or the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary should be taken by you and every member of your crew. There should be one available in your area. If not, there are some courses on-line which offer boater certification and licensing for those of whom a license is required.
Boating should be fun. Getting injured or killed should never be part of it. Be prudent. Be prepared.
Calling in a Mayday
When do I call in a Mayday?
When you, a passenger or a member of your crew or your boat are in 'grave and Imminent Danger' it is time to call in a Mayday.
This does not mean when you've run out of fuel and need a tow. Then you call a towboat. But if you are out of fuel and your boat is in danger being swept onto the rocks, then it is time to call in a Mayday.
In many cases it will be a judgment call. If someone has fallen overboard and you can see that they are conscious, they can swim, you have thrown them a life line and a life preserver and you foresee no problem circling around and pulling them back on board, a Mayday would normally not be necessary. However, if the seas are rough and you are having difficulty maneuvering the boat to safely retrieve your overboard crew, then a Mayday is probably called for.
If your boat is taking on water and it is a simple procedure to correct it, do not call in a Mayday. However, if the boat is in danger of sinking and you are not sure if you can remedy the situation, call in a Mayday. Often, a situation which started as something which did not seem serious can quickly deteriorate into something which will put you or your boat in "grave and imminent danger.'
If someone has become ill or is injured beyond the capability of the Captain, crew or passengers to render sufficient First Aid a Mayday should be called.
These things are all judgment calls and are made by the Captain. This is why the Captain must remain level-headed and particularly must not panic.
Once the Captain has determined that a Mayday must be called then one or both of the following procedures must be done:
1. Distress Alerting by DSC.
Undesignated Distress Call.
All DSC Radios can send an Undesignated Distress Call. Use this when there is no time to compose a Designated Distress Call or if your VHF Radio does not have the Designated Distress call feature.
All DSC Radios can send an Undesignated Distress Call. Use this when there is no time to compose a Designated Distress Call or if your VHF Radio does not have the Designated Distress call feature.
| a. | Make sure the radio is turned on. |
| b. | Lift the red cover labeled 'DISTRESS' on your VHF Radio. |
| c. | Hold Down the Distress Button for 5 seconds. |
| d. | After 5 seconds the alert is sent on Channel 70. |
Your radio may have a different sequence than this. It is important to read your manual. It is also important to post a laminated cheat sheet next to the radio. In an emergency you may have to designate a passenger or a crew member to do this. Or because an emergency is rare (we hope) you may be a little hazy on the instructions yourself.
Designated Distress Call.
A more advanced radio will have a Designated Distress Alert feature. If your emergency allows the time to compose you should follow this procedure:
A more advanced radio will have a Designated Distress Alert feature. If your emergency allows the time to compose you should follow this procedure:
| a. | Make sure the radio is turned on. |
| b. | The screen shows "Distress Undesignated.' Using the up down arrow buttons, scroll down to 'Designated Distress' list. Press the select button. |
| c. | Scroll through the list - Abandoning Ship; Collision; Man Overboard; Disabled; Fire; Flooding; Grounding; Listing; Piracy; Sinking; Undesignated |
| d. | Select the appropriate Category and follow instruction from your radio's instruction manual - which may be one of several things; Key the mike; press the Distress button again, or press and hold the Distress button for five seconds. |
| e. | After 5 seconds the alert is sent on Channel 70. |
Again, your radio may have a different sequence than this. Read the manual and make a laminated cheat sheet to post next to your radio.
In either case, if you are within range of a Coast Guard Station, you will get an immediate confirmation that your message has been received. If you have prepared properly - that is, registered your MMSI number and loaded it into your radio and connected your radio to your GPS and your GPS has been turned on and 'found' itself, (see, this comes under the previously mentioned preparedness) the Coast Guard will know who you are, where you are and what your problem is.
If the Coast Guard does not acknowledge, your radio will re-transmit the message roughly every three to five minutes - depending, of course, on the Make / Model of your individual radio.
Any Distress Alert, once it has been acknowledged, must be followed by a voice transmittal on Channel 16. Allow at least 15 seconds after acknowledgment before beginning your voice transmission.
In either case, if you are within range of a Coast Guard Station, you will get an immediate confirmation that your message has been received. If you have prepared properly - that is, registered your MMSI number and loaded it into your radio and connected your radio to your GPS and your GPS has been turned on and 'found' itself, (see, this comes under the previously mentioned preparedness) the Coast Guard will know who you are, where you are and what your problem is.
If the Coast Guard does not acknowledge, your radio will re-transmit the message roughly every three to five minutes - depending, of course, on the Make / Model of your individual radio.
Any Distress Alert, once it has been acknowledged, must be followed by a voice transmittal on Channel 16. Allow at least 15 seconds after acknowledgment before beginning your voice transmission.
2. Distress Message by Voice on Channel 16
Follow this order:
| a. | Make sure your radio is on and turned to channel 16. |
| b. | Say calmly, clearly and slowly: MAYDAY, MAYDAY, MAYDAY |
| c. | THIS IS (VESSEL NAME), (VESSEL NAME), (VESSEL NAME)(MMSI NUMBER, CALL SIGN OR BOAT REGISTRATION NUMBER) |
| d. | MAYDAY |
| e. | (VESSEL NAME) (MMSI NUMBER, CALL SIGN OR BOAT REGISTRATION NUMBER) |
| f. | MY POSITION IS: (read latitude and longitude off GPS, Radio, Chart - or bearing and distance from landmark) |
| g. | MY COURSE IS: (give compass direction, speed in knots, and destination) |
| h. | WE ARE (or HAVE): (state nature of distress - sinking, on fire, crew overboard, medical emergency, colllided, etc. etc) |
| i. | WE NEED (state assistance desired - pump, tow, rescue, medical, etc.) |
| j. | WE HAVE (number) people on board. (include yourself in the count. |
| k. | OUR VESSEL IS: (give description of vessel) |
| l. | (give any other information which may help rescuers - such as EPIRB frequency.) |
| m. | THIS IS (VESSEL NAME) (MMSI NUMBER, CALL SIGN OR BOAT REGISTRATION NUMBER) |
| n. | OVER |
Often, unfortunately, in an extreme emergency, one of the first things to fail is the radio, due to losing an antenna, or battery failure. A handheld unit may be called into action, but usually does not have the range of your built in radio so it is best to get your message out as quickly as you are able after the Captain has determined that you have a Mayday situation before things really start to deteriorate and radio communication is lost.
There are other signals which may be used to indicate your distress. The more effective signals are:
There are other signals which may be used to indicate your distress. The more effective signals are:
| a. | Red Flares |
| b. | Orange Smoke Signal |
| c. | Continuous Foghorn |
| d. | Search and Rescue Transponder |
| e. | Someone on deck slowly raising and lowering arms outstretched to the side repeatedly |
| f. | SOS by flashing light or sound - (three short, three long, three short, pause, repeat) |
Other distress signals which are less effective signals because few would recognize them as such are:
| a. | A ball over or under a square |
| b. | An orange flag with black square and ball* |
| c. | The signal code flags N and C |
| d. | National ensign flown upside down |
*the orange flag with black square and ball should be with your Coast Guard required distress signal kit. It can be fastened to the deck or cabin top to help a helicopter rescue pick out a distressed vessel among several vessels.
On a boat, an emergency can happen at any time.
When (not if, when!) it does, you will not have time to read up on it and find out what to do.Not knowing what to do leads to panic. Panic is the worst thing to do. You and the entire crew need to remain calm and level headed, assess the situation rationally and react intelligently.
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Notice: While we make every effort to ensure that the information provided on this website is accurate, we can not be held responsible for any mishaps which may occur as a result of your using information found in this website without verification through other, more authoritative sources such as the U.S. Coast Guard. |
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