Do real men Call Mayday?

[Uricanejack]

M.O.B. procedure. Motor on, off, sail, tack, gybe, heave to, let fly or quick stop. Has always been reliable as good start for an argument or healthy debate among sailors.
I would always happily respond and stand down when not needed to a Mayday call for M.O.B. which I was always taught was a Pan Pan but does it really matter if help is needed.

When I read the start of another tread. I thought it was more about the calling Mayday instead of self reliance rather than about M.O.B. which was just used as an example.

I don’t think things have changed. I am always happy to offer assistance. I don‘t like to ask for it. I always feel embarrassed by needing assistance.

Offering a jump start, push when stuck a ride to gas(petrol) station or just helping old ladies across the road. Extended to the sea we always offer assistance.
But real men don’t need or accept assistance do they?

Two nights ago just after sunset not quite dark. I spotted a MOBO paddling about a mile or so from shore.
I turned round and went over to ask if they were ok and offer a tow.
I was waved of and advised they were fine.

They made it in about 45 minutes later under there own steam.
I would probably have accepted the tow late on a cold night when getting dark but I would have preferred to make it home under my own steam.

Touch wood I always have. Hopefully I never leave it to late if I ever have to call PanPan or Mayday.

 

[C08]

I think a bit of independance like that is good and to be commended. There is a point though that when accepting a tow you are relying on the competence of someone you do not know and that could spell trouble. A couple of examples:- at Conwy when I had not been boating very long I gave a couple in a tender a towfrom their boat midstream back to the shore as their engine had failed on the tender. The tide was running at about 5 knots and stupidly ( as I did not not know any better) I towed their tender with my 12ft hard dinghy. I was careful within the limits of my very limited sailing experience but the trip was very fraught as we kept getting brought down on moored boats and sometimes had to use lots of power and I recall seeing the horrified look on the lady's face as she had to duck under a bowsprit at one boat. They wobbled ashore after a traumatic trip and I never got the opportunity to offer my apologies to them. Why I did not get them into my tender-I just did not realise towing was potertially a dangerous thing to do and would have been quite safe with them in my tender.
Another experience: My car broke down 50 miles from home on the M6 and my brother came to tow me home. This went very well until he forgot he was towing and got up to about 85, despite my flashing and horn he was oblivious until I managed to brake us both and he realised what he was doing.
It like well meaning people at a harbour wall who want to take your line and then just stand there and do nothing with it.

 

[Pye_End]

'Do real men Call Mayday?'

Mayday - when person or ship are in grave and imminent danger, so yes, even real men would call mayday and not to do so would probably be irresponsible.

Man overboard I was taught as being a Mayday, although this really depends on the circumstances. As MOB is often harder and longer than realised to recover, and the risk of death is real then this sounds sensible. The Mayday can always be cancelled upon recovery, but calling for help half an hour into a situation could be critical.

However, somebody needing a tow is another matter, and at best might be a Pan Pan, so perhaps your question is whether real men call Pan Pan?

 

[capnsensible]

Always interesting discussion with Man Overboard. I used to know one of the pilots on the Air Sea rescue helicopter at Lee On Solent.

This, then from the bloke what does it.

Always do a Mayday call straight away for Man Overboard. Lots can go wrong in a real event on board, we would much sooner be called and then not needed than be called 20 minutes too late and have to recover a body.

I have never forgotten this advice.

 

[maxi77]

Agreed, the mayday goes out first, if you end up needing help you will need it very fast. Round the UK it is quite likely that some one who has been in the water for more than a few minutes will already be suffering from the first stages of hypothermia, and will probably need medical attention even if rescued before the cavalry arrives. If all goes well you can cancel the mayday and no one will be upset.

 

[Deleted member 36384]

Agreed, the mayday goes out first......

I would not quite agree with that. The first action is to mark the MOB position: launching the dan buoy, throwing over a horse shoe, cushions, whatever. The first priority should be not to lose sight of the MOB if it is possible to do this i.e. a crew member looking and pointing.

With the technology available today, those who have access to plotters and DSC VHFs should make sure that the MOB/DSC Alert buttons can be pressed from the cockpit. This is particularly important when short handed.

 

[Jonas]

It would be more seemly to drown like a gentleman.

 

[Rivers & creeks]

Yachting Monthly worked out that skippers have a genuine crew MOB on average once every 53 years, with other emergencies doubling that risk I reckon a genuine mayday once in 25 years. I'm happy to call mayday straight away based on those odds! I've only been in one genuine real life emergency it was 20 years ago and I was moments away from sending up a flare before we attracted a nearby yacht with our fog horn; engine gone, rig just broken, water too deep to anchor and in the grip of an ebb tide - scary. With a VHF on board now I would have called mayday sooner.

 

[LadyInBed]

'Do real men Call Mayday?' - Maybee !

 

[johnalison]

I think the rules about Mayday and MOB changed some years ago. Previously, distress was defined solely as danger to the ship and not its occupants.

The emergency services get a kick out of saving lives, not from fishing bodies out of the sea. I have never heard of anyone being criticised for seeking help in a genuine situation, even if it later turned out not to be needed.

 

[AMCD300]

There is no ego attached to this issue - if someone goes over the side, send a mayday. Better to cancel it if you recover them quickly and feel the emergency is over.

It has been proven that secondary drowning occurs when only a small amount of water has been ingested, so time is critical if someone at first appears fine but then rapidly deteriorates.

Also, who is to say that skipper can recover the person right away, or even at all. What happens if skipper goes overboard? A well 'trained' or briefed crew will raise a mayday as part of the MOB drills. No question, no decision, no fear of being called a 'wuss' by big egos.

Make the call, no question about 'real men' etc...macho bullsh*t, that is all......

 

[BobPrell]

Also, who is to say that skipper can recover the person right away, or even at all. What happens if skipper goes overboard? A well 'trained' or briefed crew will raise a mayday as part of the MOB drills. No question, no decision, no fear of being called a 'wuss' by big egos.

Make the call, no question about 'real men' etc...macho bullsh*t, that is all......

One person's macho bull**** is another person's good prioritizing.

If I am in the water, I want the crew's total attention on getting me out of it ASP, not making radio calls. Exception:the only remaining crew is a complete tyro, but I have shown him/her how to use the emergency button on the DSC radio.

The crew should certainly Mayday soon, if they find their rescue efforts are not succeeding.

f you end up needing help you will need it very fast. Round the UK it is quite likely that some one who has been in the water for more than a few minutes will already be suffering from the first stages of hypothermia, and will probably need medical attention even if rescued before the cavalry arrives. If all goes well you can cancel the mayday and no one will be upset.

I take this as more support for getting me out of the water as first priority.

 

[BobPrell]

I've only been in one genuine real life emergency it was 20 years ago and I was moments away from sending up a flare before we attracted a nearby yacht with our fog horn; engine gone, rig just broken, water too deep to anchor and in the grip of an ebb tide - scary. With a VHF on board now I would have called mayday sooner.

I agree that could be scary.

However, unless the ebb tide was carrying you toward some close danger, the vessel, and no-one on board, was in imminent peril.

Your actions were appropriate, not because of danger, but because you headed off a situation from developing into a worse one.

I understand "With a VHF on board now" to mean that at that time you had no radio of any sort.

I am expecting to attract some flak for my replies but I deplore the thought of making distress calls as a reflex action.

We pretty much have that in Oz, where authorities keep telling us that activating an EPIRB is the action of first resort to any perceived emergency.

 

[maxi77]

One person's macho bull**** is another person's good prioritizing.

If I am in the water, I want the crew's total attention on getting me out of it ASP, not making radio calls. Exception:the only remaining crew is a complete tyro, but I have shown him/her how to use the emergency button on the DSC radio.

The crew should certainly Mayday soon, if they find their rescue efforts are not succeeding.



I take this as more support for getting me out of the water as first priority.

Getting the casualty out of the water is always the first priority, sending a Mayday should not delay this, but marshalling all the resources you may need to achieve that objective is essential.

 

[TrailerSailer]

Sea temperature today off the South Coast was 8 deg C. Air temp 13 deg C. Put windchill on that despite warm layer clothing and the body cools rapidly. Compound that in the sea and of course I'd call a Mayday to get the helo en route for an almost certain hypothermia case that will lead to rapid death unless treated. As perviously said easier to cancel than tell the family how they died.

 

[[70521]]

If Raphael Dinelli can, anybody can.

 

[Barnacle Bill]

Yes, real men (of either gender, of course, don't want to be caught being non-PC) do call Mayday: if in their own judgement they need to do so. Doing it purely on the advice of "the Authorities" or some eejit on the forum (I include myself in that category), is the sign of a wimp!

MOB can be some kid leaping off the side of the boat to swim to a nearby dinghy on a sunny day - or it can be a really dangerous emergency where you're going to need help. So, to quote, "rules..." (+ advice from Authority) "... are for the guidance of wise men, and the obedience of fools". You, and no-one else unless they are standing beside you, should be the best judge of the situation and of your own capabilities.

Real = wise!

 

[Modulation]

Do real men call mayday????
Certainly not if
A. They are very stupid or
B. They are hopelessly gung-ho or
C. They are soooooooo well equipped that they can deal with ANY problem Any time of day.
We can all decide where we fit in this list. Personally I'm not on it!!

'Do real men Call Mayday?' - Maybee !

 

[Athene V30]

I was moments away from sending up a flare before we attracted a nearby yacht with our fog horn; engine gone, rig just broken, water too deep to anchor and in the grip of an ebb tide - scary. With a VHF on board now I would have called mayday sooner.

How fast was the ebbing tide if too deep to anchor or was the tide pushing you towards a very steep shelving shore? Am I missing something?

Mate lost his mizzen going over Chichester Bar - acted as a sea anchor very effectively while he retrieved it.

 

[Norman_E]

I was taught that M.O.B. required an immediate Mayday call. The problems that you may lose sight of the person in the water, particularly if short handed, and of getting the casualty back on board, both mean that there is serious danger to life, and that assistance should be called for.