Distress Call

[Bob S]

I was out on Rhode Island Sound Thursday afternoon and got a Coast Guard severe thunderstorm warning on 16. Saw it coming on my Windy app. We experienced about 30 minutes of heavy rain, lightening, and winds 45-50 kts. No potential hail or tornado's thank God. Not fun but it wasn't long enough to create a dangerous sea state. There was another AIS sailboat on a similar course that was visible the whole time. There was a power boat somewhat visible for a few moments passing by. About ten minutes later I got a distress call on the VHF radio. First time ever. I ran below and couldn't read the radio screen (coordinates) and didn't have glasses anywhere close by. Honestly, I didn't know how to answer it. I was also nervous and didn't want to leave the helm for too long. The distress alarm stopped in under a minute. I have no idea who originated it. Today I searched this site and the internet on how to answer a distress alert. I attached it here. I'm curious about any of your experiences and how you might have reacted?

 

[jssailem]

WOW, Bob, it sounds like you had a maritime experience. That is an interesting document. It has a great flow chart of how the DSC process is supposed to work.

In practice, here in the Puget Sound, I have received a DSC emergency call alarm. While monitoring channel 16, within the prescribed 5 minutes, I heard the CG respond with an all ship response to a boat on fire and the location of the boat emergency both by coordinates and descriptive location.

I turned my boat towards the location of the event. While waiting for an opening in the radio communications, I responded with my offer to help and my time to reach the scene (approximately 1.6nm from the site). While en route, another speed boat moving past the boat smoking responded and reached the vessel ahead of me. The information was reported on Channel 16 VHF. The fire was put out, and the crew was rescued. I notified the CG that I was returning to my original course. That was the end of my involvement.

Good seamanship practices include thinking through how you might respond, being aware of the radio procedures, and understanding the manual for your equipment.

 

[marcham]

Glad to hear you survived the squall! Sounds like you did the right thing by going to the radio and listening in.

When receiving a DSC Call, the first step is knowing how your radio works. How to stop the DSC alarm and how to retrieve the DSC alarm log is different on each radio model/brand. Normally, the DSC distress or urgency call is followed up by a voice call on Ch16.

Next tip is have a piece of paper and pen near the radio..... and write down what you hear. The digital DSC message is saved in your radio log automatically, so you should be able to retrieve the location and vessel name.

In coastal areas, the Coast Guard will respond via voice to the vessel in distress to obtain further information. They may then ask for vessels to assist. This is your chance to reply if you are close and can safely do so.

If the coast guard does not come up on Ch 16, then please follow up with the vessel in distress. It is possible you were the only one to hear them and you may be able to assist with a mayday relay or panpan relay, if nothing else.

If you want to learn more, the BoatUS vhf course should cover the basics on how to send and respond to distress, urgency and safety messages.

BoatUS Online Training

On the water training.

courses.boatus.org

 

[jviss]

I was out on Rhode Island Sound Thursday afternoon and got a Coast Guard severe thunderstorm warning on 16. Saw it coming on my Windy app. We experienced about 30 minutes of heavy rain, lightening, and winds 45-50 kts. No potential hail or tornado's thank God. Not fun but it wasn't long enough to create a dangerous sea state. There was another AIS sailboat on a similar course that was visible the whole time. There was a power boat somewhat visible for a few moments passing by. About ten minutes later I got a distress call on the VHF radio. First time ever. I ran below and couldn't read the radio screen (coordinates) and didn't have glasses anywhere close by. Honestly, I didn't know how to answer it. I was also nervous and didn't want to leave the helm for too long. The distress alarm stopped in under a minute. I have no idea who originated it. Today I searched this site and the internet on how to answer a distress alert. I attached it here. I'm curious about any of your experiences and how you might have reacted?

Hi there. What time was that? I was anchored in Block Island. We had wicked t-storms at night, but I didn't notice the daytime one.

 

[Bob S]

Hi there. What time was that? I was anchored in Block Island. We had wicked t-storms at night, but I didn't notice the daytime one.

We left New Bedford 4:15 and anchored in Third Beach Sakonnet River around 8:30. It hit us about 3 NM south of Westport (your home port).