Coastguard CG66 saftey identification scheme

[Ben998]

Hi All,
I came across this whilst looking on the MCGA site for something else. Has anyone done it - looks like a good idea.

https://mcanet.mcga.gov.uk/public/cg66/

YOUR SAFETY FIRST
When you are at sea, if you get into difficulty and for what ever reason you are unable to raise assistance, is there anyone ashore who knows what to do if you fail to return at your estimated time.

Would a friend or relative know who to contact? Would they know sufficient detail about your vessel and your likely whereabouts to be able to assist the Coastguard to locate you?

In a man overboard, fire or abandoning situation where the skipper needs to attend to the situation in hand but also needs to advise the Coastguard, as long as you are able to pass the name of your vessels, your position, nature of the problem, assistance required and number of persons on board, then the Coastguard can obtain the remainder of the information needed from the CG66 - Voluntary Safety Identification Scheme.

Would it not be a comfort when you set out, to know that the Coastguard have as much detail of your vessel and its likely whereabouts on a database that is accessible to all Coastguard Co-ordination Centres throughout the UK should you get into difficulty at sea?


SO WHAT CAN I DO?
Quite simply, join the HM Coastguard's CG66 Voluntary Safety Identification Scheme. You can join online, or download the form and send it to your nearest Coastguard Co-ordination Centre. Forms can also be obtained from any Coastguard Co-ordination Centre or Sector Base; MCA Marine Office; RNLI boathouse, or look out for them in your Local Marina or Sailing Club.

The scheme is free and is for the benefit of the owners of all types of leisure vessels and small craft. Complete the questionnaire that will provide as much detail of your vessel including: name; type of vessel; size and colour; radio and navigation equipment carried; lifesaving equipment carried; your usual area of operation and mooring; and details of a shore contact. In short, as much detail as possible to assist the Coastguard should Search and Rescue action ever become necessary.


WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO THE INFORMATION I SUPPLY YOU WITH?
The information you provide will be entered into a database.

Information provided on the CG66 will only be used for Search and Rescue and Safety purposes.


WHAT HAPPENS WHEN I COMPLETE THE REGISTRATION FOR MY VESSEL?
When you complete the form and save the information, this will be loaded into the CG66 database. You will be sent confirmation that the record has been saved and a link will take you to a web page containing further useful information. Significantly, you will find a page containing details for you to leave with a responsible person. You should download this page and fill in the details of the Coastguard Co-ordination Centre that you Emailed your CG66 to. Leave this with a responsible person who would contact the Coastguard if they had any concerns for your safety. Details of how to contact the Coastguard are provided on this page.

Your record will be kept for a period of 2 years after which time the information must be updated. If the details are not updated then they will be removed from the active system. You will be contacted before the 2 year deadline and be asked to verify your details. Updating your details can be done online at any time or via hard copy form. If you dispose of your vessel, please advise your local Coastguard station.

It is stressed that it is most important to update your CG66 if the details of your vessel or your contact details change. The 2 year cycle will then begin from the date you register that change.

Rest assured that if you are unfortunate enough to need emergency assistance at sea, someone you know shoreside will know what to do and who to contact. HM Coastguard will have at its disposal a full description of your vessel to assist with any action that may be necessary to locate you.

 

[LeytonC]

Yes, i have, i think its a good idea. If i do have to call a mayday for my vessel they know what it is - even if i cannot complete the mayday, or if i only send a DSC alert.

 

[cjepearson]

Yes, I agree,it's a good idea. I have registered. I do most of my sailing on my own, so this gives reassurance to my wife that somebody, somewhere, will know what to do and what to look for if I don't turn up. I know there is a touch of Big Brother about it, but, on balance, it still seems worth while.

 

[Mudhook]

I thought everyone did it. It used to be a bit of paper but now you can update it on the web. Some people may beg to differ but I can't think of a single good reason not to. It was heavily promoted on all the RYA shorebased courses I've done, even on my VHF-DSC day.

Regards, Mudhook

 

[wooslehunter]

Totally agree. Allows coastie to cross refer just about all of the info & get a description of the vessel & what safety equipment it's carrying.

There's no reason to not sign up, especially since it's now on-line. There's even less excuse not to keep it up to date either.

The fact that Ben998 didn't know just highlights that not everyone does know about it so well done for posting. No-one should feel embarassed about posting this kind of thing and admitting they didn't know cos I bet there are loads of people out there who don't.

 

[Phoenix of Hamble]

I knew about it, but I am ashamed to say, hadn't got around to registering.... didn't know you could now do it online, so have just done so.... thanks Ben998...

 

[Gordonmc]

I did the old paper one and updated on-line at the start of this season. The only glitch was posing a pic of the boat, despite following the instructions it just didn't work. After contacting the CG I emailed a picture which they kindly processed and lodged.
The staff were helpful and I even got an invite to visit the HQ.
As a singlehander (usually) it is comforting to know details of the boat and kit are held available should they be needed.

 

[tillergirl]

This is an excellent idea and saves time when you are doing a passage report to the Coastguard cos they don't have to ask for a brief description of the vessel. My problem is finding somebody on shore who gives a damn if I don't turn up. Mum (who's 95) is not in this category but over worries so I don't tell her about this. She recently rang on hearing of gales in North Utsire to see if we were all right at the North Foreland, bless her. The kids (adults) do care (they say) but have a rediculous confidence in our ability to survive anything and anyway are so wrapped up in their comings and goings it would be three weeks before they realised we hadn't rung them. Mind you the eldest grandchild has just asked me if he can have my work momentoes when I go. 'Go where?' I foolishly asked. He just pointed to the clouds!

So if there's anybody out there.......

You can tell its raining and I'm not on the boat - bored to tears! It's 11.30am, I whipped the ends of two ropes, cut some wedges for the tiller repair and now have nothing to do.......

 

[graham]

Perhaps I am being a bit pedantic but I think the highly important part about colour is confusing on the form.

In one place it asks for colour of topsides(which is the part of the hull between the waterline and gunwhale) .Then it asksfor colour of upper and lower hull.

Presumably the"topsides"they refer to are in fact the superstructure/decks.

The first thing you need to know when looking for a boat is its colour the details should be crystal clear .

 

[tillergirl]

Good point, I seem to remember they rang me to check that my answers meant what they thought I meant. But you can send in a photo.

 

[bobgosling]

This aspect ( topside colour ) has been discussed here before and if I remember correctly the consensus was that topsides did in fact mean the decks and this is important because it is the colour that the helicopter crew will look for.

 

[hugh_nightingale]

Yes, done this. Its been going some time now.
Send a picture as well if you can.
You are supposed to receive back some kind of information pack - one never arrived for me.

 

[TheBoatman]

I've been registered since the scheme started - it's a good idea and free so why not join! every little helps if you find yourself in the s**t.

I noticed on a recent trip that (certainly) Dover CG are asking if your registered with the CG 66 scheme when you contact them with safety/TR info.

Peter.

 

[MarkJohnson12345]

On our trip to the south coast last month, I used DSC to contact the coastguard.

My CG66 was out of date ie not recording that I now had DSC.

The coastguard surprisingly did not know my boat name. Despite the CG66 being out of date, I would thought they would have got the data from the radio people who have registered my DSC radio.

have now updated the CG66 online but have yet to call the CG to see if they know the boat name.

Mj

 

[duncan]

interesting point Mark.

whilst MARS does show your MMSI number, and links this to your vessel name, I don't believe that the GC are automatically linking either call signs or MMSI numbers into this when responding to a call but accessing there own CG66 records instead. OFCOM would not update these so if you don't then the CG won't make the link (and that's assuming that they can and will search on that record anyway!)

I made my one and only call to Portland a few weeks ago in the same way and the only thing they wanted was the vessel name - it's obviously what they seach their CG66 records on initially.

it would be usefull to get a professional comment on the relationships between CG66 and MARS if anyone knows?

updated mine online and it was interesting that the validation on the range under power is limited to 200 miles! surely many other boats have a greater range than that?

 

[BlueSkyNick]

I'm with you on this duncan. But I don't understand why the CG can't have access to the Ofcom data - then there would be no need for a CG66 system at all. We are basically registering the same information twice, on two different databases - always a recipe for chaos.

And the only person who would give a professional response - MM - isnt doing the job anymore, so I wouldn't wait with baited breath!

 

[Cantata]

I'm not exactly sure what you're asking, but....
the other day Dover CG xmitted a Mayday Relay, reporting a DSC Mayday with its MMSI number but no position.
Less than 5 minutes later they retransmitted it, but had acquired a boat name from somewhere, and the fact that it berthed at Eastbourne.
Listening to this I assumed they had done an enquiry into the CG66 database with the MMSI number.
And just after that they cancelled the Mayday, having by then confirmed that the boat was safe in its berth.

 

[shmoo]

I would expect they have access to MARS
See [url="http://www.itu.int/cgi-bin/h.../www.itu.int/cgi-bin/htsh/mars/ship_search.sh [/url] Can look up by boat name, call sign. I guess SAR orgs get more access than we do...

 

[Malcb]

As far as I know, the Radio Licencing people are meant to inform MARS of boat details as MARS is to do with telegraphy. However they havn't updated my details yet and I've had my boat 5 months. Also the boat that was bought by the guy who owned mine hasn't been updated after 5 months either. So I would question it's validity.
And yes we've both got current radio licences.

 

[fireball]

We're not listed either - and had a valid licence for 5 months, I can only assume that the online version we can see is not the same as the CG get access too ... would seam sensible - shuv the proper up to date DB on a seperate server with limited access, less chance of overloading or DOS attacks ...