Do real men Call Mayday?

[chrisclin]

A few years ago we were witnesses to what started as a grounding in good weather that soon turned nasty as the wind picked up. The original call to the coastguard was for information only - not even a pan-pan. Within half an hour the call changed as the vessel had become holed and they asked for a tow - to be told that the lifeboat was already on its way. We then heard the cox'n talking to the casualty and agreeing they would put someone aboard with a pump.Within five minutes they agreed it was hopeless and the cox'n told his crewman he was coming in to get everyone off. Suddenly the tone changed as it seemed his crewman had fallen in. Instantly, the cox'n of a Severn class lifeboat with a full crew of trained rescuers yelled "coastguard, get a helo airborne NOW. Man overboard"
In the end, he recovered his crewman and stood the chopper down, but it was a valuable lesson to me that while real men may not call MAYDAY, they certainly don't hang about in calling an emergency.

 

[Houleaux]

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.

Not sure what your point is here.With no means of propulsion and (maybe) the possibility of a broken rig penetrating the hull, do you think a call for help was inappropriate? Without a VHF it appears to me that, without the assistance of the other nearby vessel, a flare would have been the only option.

 

[BobPrell]

Not sure what your point is here.With no means of propulsion and (maybe) the possibility of a broken rig penetrating the hull, do you think a call for help was inappropriate? Without a VHF it appears to me that, without the assistance of the other nearby vessel, a flare would have been the only option.

The point, which I tried to make in post 19, was that the vessel and crew were not in IMMINENT danger.

I also said that Lazy Kipper's actions were appropriate. His horn was equivalent to "Hey I have a problem here can you lend a hand?"

That is not a MAYDAY.

 

[elton]

I called mayday once. If I hadn't, or if I'd waited five more minutes I'd be dead, no question. I'd have been dismembered and pulverised to a pulp on the rocks by the raging sea, or with luck I'd have drowned or died of hypothermia first.