What would you do

[higgs]

This really happened:You are returning, under power, from a cruise/race with 15 miles to go to the next port. You knew you had limited fuel, yet plenty to get to the next port. A mayday comes across the VHF from a crew in a life raft 10 miles offshore. Conditions are calm with no rough weather in sight. The Coast Guard, recognizing you could get to the scene before them, requests that you divert course to pick the life raft crew up, but you do not have enough fuel to divert to get the life raft and make it to port. What do you do?

 

[Rob Hessenius]

Divert

I would head over to get the folks and get them out of the water and make sure the Coast Guard is on their way too. I would ask them to lower or hand over enough fuel to complete my journey.

 

[sailaway78]

If someone is in trouble

If someone is in trouble, and needs help, I am on the way. Fuel, no fuel, heavy weather, no weather, doesn't matter. I would never, ever pass up someone needing help, if I can possibly be of any help, I am on the way. My only exemption to this is if it would endanger my own life or the lives of anyone on my boat. And I would even then take some risk. I am a firm believer in what goes around comes around, and you may be the one needing help some day. There are already too many selfish people on the water, who wouldn't want to be troubled with someone elses problems. I am not going to let myself get in that catagory.

 

[Ross]

I would change course to make the rescue and report my fuel situation

I presume that the Coasties would want to get these people out of the water as quickly as posible and wouldn't want to leave me stranded. They are able to replenish while under way and no doubt would provide 10 gallons of fuel for me.

 

[sailaway78]

I don't think

I don't think there is anyone on this board, at least among the regulars, who would not give assistance. Most here are real sailors, not wanna bees, and I have never met a true sailor who would pass up someone in trouble. Hell, we have sails, we are not totally dependant on a few gallons of diesel fuel.

 

[Bad Obsession]

I don't let my tank go below 10 gallons

10 gallons at .5 gallons an hour.....20 hours. I know that no one here would not divert to give them help. No way! We all could be in those shoes at some point in time.

 

[Ross]

If I am going someplace I top out my tank and fill a six gallon

jerry can. At 15 miles per gallon and with sails I can't imagine that I would have a problem.

 

[higgs]

Being prepared

When you look at this post, forget about how you always have plenty of fuel. It could happen that you got caught short for a number of reasons. What would you do given the parameters of the situation.

 

[Ross]

Higgs, I first reply stands, My concern would be to get the people out of

the water. I would stay in contact with the Coast Guard, report the condition of the people and head for the closest port. Motor sailing is the fastest and most fuel efficient way to go.

 

[sailaway78]

As I said

HIggs,As I said, little or no fuel, I'm going to give whatever assistance I can. This is a sailboat after all. If I can get someone out of the water, and then have to sail back, or wait for fuel so be it. Makes no difference to me. I would consider this a moral obligation on my part.

 

[LANCE ON CLOUD NINE]

Yep, motorsail to raft asap

plenty of time to work out fuel details with CG on radio while enroute. These situations only happen a few times in a lifetime. Might as well throw everything at the situation as soon as you can.

 

[LANCE ON CLOUD NINE]

If this question was asked to most senior sailors

that I have had the pleasure of meeting, they would assume you were joking.

 

[Don S/V ILLusion]

There is only one legitimate question here

that being what could possibly be a reasonable reason for not rendering immediate assisitance - lack of fuel doesn't even do it for a helicopter rescue...

 

[paulj]

Turn off your radio higgs......

that way you don't have to think.Remember the US Coast Guard has no experiance in these matters.I wonder if you ever made it back to port....I guess not.God bless you for answering the phone anyway.

 

[Patrick S/V Shangra-La]

Is there a question?

You follow the law of the sea. Divert get the crew out of the watter. If you don't have enough fuel to make it to the dock, there is always some one who will lend a hand especially after a save, and if not here is Tow Boat US.Hope some one would do the same for me.

 

[garyk]

See, honey

I told you most people are good.

 

[higgs]

Not to me

This happened to someone I know, not to me. They did not go pick up the people in a life raft. I certainly would have gone out to pick them up. Better stranded in calm weather on a 34 footer than sitting in a life raft. Even if the CG didn't bring fuel, the wind will eventually get you home.

 

[sailortonyb Allied Mis]

It would not occur to me.......

It would not occur to me to NOT go. As long as I could make it to the people in the raft, I would. Then I would deal with the 'out of fuel' problem.

 

[Clyde]

Assistance at Sea

It sounds like the weather was calm, but the sea temperature must have been below the survival time in the seawater based on the USCG 47-foot lifeboat's ETA. It appears that the survivors must not have had any immersion suits or dry suits on and had only a life raft in the cold sea temperatures. The US Coast Guard would broadcast a request to provide assistance if possible to any vessels in the area of the distress if there is the possibility of a life threatening danger to the distress caller. In this case the USCG must have felt that if the survivors' life raft had leaked and they had to go in the water, the survivors might have gotten hypothermia before the USCG had arrived on scene to pull them out of the cold water.I would have acknowledged the USCG's request to divert my course and participate in the rescue and notified them of my fuel state and the number of souls on board my vessel. I would have pulled the survivors out of the water and waited for the USCG's 47-footer or the USCG's helicopter to arrive on scene. When the USCG'S 47-footer arrived I would have requested a tow from them to the nearest port because of my depleted fuel supply.The US Coast Guard's broadcast to provide assistance if possible to any vessel in the area of the distress does not mean you would risk the lives of your crew or your vessel. The added expense or being delayed in your arrival is not a reason to refuse to provide assistance at sea. The USCG usually does not want recreational boaters to become active rescue members because of the added risk of having amateurs involve in rescues at sea unless the distress caller's life is in danger and the USCG might not reach them time. Fair Winds,Clyde

 

[ITMaster]

Like many others here have said

this is really not much of a brainer. If the USCG has requested assistance from me, then I would let them know my status and situation and request advice from them. Their knowing my depleted fuel state, would obviously alert them to the need for them to be prepared to offer our vessel assistance after we have done the same for the others. The CG could then worry about getting us all to port, but the primary need would be to aid those in more dire need than us.There really is little to question in this situation. My understanding of the rule of law is that by accepting the registration certificate or in my case being a documented vessel, the documentation certificate from the USCG, requires that I obey them and offer assistance when requested. Failure to comply will result in a requirement to surrender my certification of documentation.