Liferaft Ordeal
- Thread starter Cheeky Girl
- Start date
MarkV
New member
Dare I raise the issue of ch16 and who is listening again.
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ridgy
Well-known member
<A target="_blank" HREF=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/cornwall/3658528.stm>http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/cornwall/3658528.stm</A>
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cameronke
Active member
"Five people have been rescued off the north Cornwall coast after drifting for eight days in a life raft.
Coastguards believe the group abandoned its yacht when the vessel got into difficulties a day after leaving Ireland for France.
Survivors were only able to call for help when the life raft drifted into mobile phone range."
Sounds as i they were relying on a mobile phone for communications. Luck that the battery lasted!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Regards
Cameron
<hr width=100% size=1>Work to live, live to sail
Coastguards believe the group abandoned its yacht when the vessel got into difficulties a day after leaving Ireland for France.
Survivors were only able to call for help when the life raft drifted into mobile phone range."
Sounds as i they were relying on a mobile phone for communications. Luck that the battery lasted!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Regards
Cameron
<hr width=100% size=1>Work to live, live to sail
BrendanS
Well-known member
There's been a search on for them for 5 days. Why do you think that monitoring Ch16 would not be covered? It's a bit difficult to receive VHF transmissions, if as seems likely, they didn't have a radio or epirb in the raft.
<hr width=100% size=1>Me transmitte sursum, caledoni
<hr width=100% size=1>Me transmitte sursum, caledoni
kdf
New member
No handheld VHF? No flares? no Epirb?
I did this very trip 4 weeks back and there's lots of shipping along this route.
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I did this very trip 4 weeks back and there's lots of shipping along this route.
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jhr
Well-known member
Hmm, a 60 footer with no flares, EPIRB etc. So much for Solas V Regs. I wonder if there will be a prosecution?
Or perhaps they hadn't got a grab bag sorted out. A salutary lesson, whatever.
<hr width=100% size=1>Je suis Marxiste - tendance Groucho
Or perhaps they hadn't got a grab bag sorted out. A salutary lesson, whatever.
<hr width=100% size=1>Je suis Marxiste - tendance Groucho
MarkV
New member
My comment was a general one, not specific to this case, the details of which I do not know. Let me explain:
Your'e 20 miles out and there is a loud bang, and as the water rushes in you grab the grab bag and swim for the liferaft which has floated free. No time for a DSC alert and the epirb didn't work for some reason (if you had one). So there you are floating in the raft and in your grab bag you have packed a standard handheld VHF. You can make calls on CH16 but are too far out for CG to pick it up, of course you might be herd by another yacht or a merchantman but no one is listening because everyone has got DSC. In the bright new DSC world the only monitoring that is required is for DSC on CH70 so your voice calls on CH16 are not herd. If you are lucky you might get someone in another channel, maybe CH13, but you have got to get the right channel at the right time before your battery goes dead. Your only hope then is to bob towards shore until you are within range of someones mobile which has been kept dry in one of thoes plastic pouch things.
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Your'e 20 miles out and there is a loud bang, and as the water rushes in you grab the grab bag and swim for the liferaft which has floated free. No time for a DSC alert and the epirb didn't work for some reason (if you had one). So there you are floating in the raft and in your grab bag you have packed a standard handheld VHF. You can make calls on CH16 but are too far out for CG to pick it up, of course you might be herd by another yacht or a merchantman but no one is listening because everyone has got DSC. In the bright new DSC world the only monitoring that is required is for DSC on CH70 so your voice calls on CH16 are not herd. If you are lucky you might get someone in another channel, maybe CH13, but you have got to get the right channel at the right time before your battery goes dead. Your only hope then is to bob towards shore until you are within range of someones mobile which has been kept dry in one of thoes plastic pouch things.
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Lee_Shaw
New member
Re: Procedure is...
oops<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1>Edited by Lee_Shaw on 15/09/2004 14:10 (server time).</FONT></P>
oops<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1>Edited by Lee_Shaw on 15/09/2004 14:10 (server time).</FONT></P>
ChrisE
Active member
If you read the latest update you'll see that the boat started to take on water at 0300 and they abandonned ship at 1700 after Pan pans, Maydays and flares had been ignored (at one point they could see a trawler nearby). They even lit tyres on the deck to attract attention without luck.
As one who has always argued that an EPIRB is overkill for short passages this makes me think that I might have to review my thoughts.
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As one who has always argued that an EPIRB is overkill for short passages this makes me think that I might have to review my thoughts.
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MarkV
New member
It dosn't say if the initial Pan Pan and Mayday calls were just Ch16 or DSC as well, I'm coming to the conclusion that you have to do the whole GMDSS thing (DSC + EPIRB +...) or you may as well not bother.
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AlexL
Member
don't be too hard on the guys before the full story is out - perhaps the EPIRB didn't work (fairly common occurance according to some tests) the hand held ran out of batteries - again VERY common occurance and perhaps they did have flares but nobody was in sight.
Its very easy to judge whilst sitting at a computer screen, however half the time eveybody on this forum is bitching about excessive regulation and how dare they force me to do all this stuff and then almost in the same breath everybody lays into somebody who may not have carried all the excessive stuff!
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Its very easy to judge whilst sitting at a computer screen, however half the time eveybody on this forum is bitching about excessive regulation and how dare they force me to do all this stuff and then almost in the same breath everybody lays into somebody who may not have carried all the excessive stuff!
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AlexL
Member
yes Mark I think so, however if you use DSC chances are only a CG station will hear it and not any other ships.
On a related but different tack I walked around SIBS to find a radio which I could turn off the DSC all ships alerts ,but not the distress ( having spent two weeks sailing with the DSC alarm going off for bulls**t all ships messages - some of which i was out of range of and only got the DSC alert -but not the message) Only to be told that you cannot do that and it is now illegal to sell anything but a DSC or DSC compatible radio - great - I actually turned my radio off, as it is sooooo annoying as the alarm is very loud and keeps going till someone runs below and presses a button. What a fantastic improvement in safety, obviously dreamed up by an idiot who's never been sailing - especially short handed.
On the one time that I actaully recieved a DSC mayday I missed the message as the radio doesn't tune back to CH16 till i've pressed the button and I thought oh no another bloody dutch weather forecast or cromer CG telling me a buoy was 3 microns out of position, so I finshed the sail trim I was in the middle of, went below, pressed the button and got the tail end of a Mayday. Had I been using a normal non dsc set I would have recieved the whole thing.
Anyway I did find a compromise which is the Raymarine 240 radio which has a mobile phone style handset which goes in the cockpit, so you can instantly cancel DSC alerts from behind the wheel. A Dual station option is possible and the speakers can be individually turned off, so If crew are sleeping below they will not get woken up by DSC alerts.
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On a related but different tack I walked around SIBS to find a radio which I could turn off the DSC all ships alerts ,but not the distress ( having spent two weeks sailing with the DSC alarm going off for bulls**t all ships messages - some of which i was out of range of and only got the DSC alert -but not the message) Only to be told that you cannot do that and it is now illegal to sell anything but a DSC or DSC compatible radio - great - I actually turned my radio off, as it is sooooo annoying as the alarm is very loud and keeps going till someone runs below and presses a button. What a fantastic improvement in safety, obviously dreamed up by an idiot who's never been sailing - especially short handed.
On the one time that I actaully recieved a DSC mayday I missed the message as the radio doesn't tune back to CH16 till i've pressed the button and I thought oh no another bloody dutch weather forecast or cromer CG telling me a buoy was 3 microns out of position, so I finshed the sail trim I was in the middle of, went below, pressed the button and got the tail end of a Mayday. Had I been using a normal non dsc set I would have recieved the whole thing.
Anyway I did find a compromise which is the Raymarine 240 radio which has a mobile phone style handset which goes in the cockpit, so you can instantly cancel DSC alerts from behind the wheel. A Dual station option is possible and the speakers can be individually turned off, so If crew are sleeping below they will not get woken up by DSC alerts.
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Becky
New member
We have a friend who has a Raymarine DSC radio, with the hand part mountedat the wheel. Thought it was a good idea then. More so now; he doesn't have to rush below to turn off the DSC alert. Maybe we will do the same thing. Incidentally, he also has a loudspeaker at the crosstrees linked to the radio, says it is great acting as a foghorn. Not sure how he does that, but again a good idea. He is off on the ARC soon,lucky chap.
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WayneS
Active member
Just watched the news conf.
Wow, rather them than me.
Eventually set the boat alight to try to attract attention.
Trawler 400m away ignorded their flares and turned away from them.
Worth a watch
W
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Wow, rather them than me.
Eventually set the boat alight to try to attract attention.
Trawler 400m away ignorded their flares and turned away from them.
Worth a watch
W
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MarkV
New member
You would think that they would go straight to CH16 and the alarm would stop as soon at it started receiving somthing, it could alarm again after once reception had stoped!
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jhr
Well-known member
Oops, yes, I jumped the gun a bit on this one.
Better divert my ire onto the (apparently deaf and blind) crew of the fishing boat instead. What's all that about?
<hr width=100% size=1>Je suis Marxiste - tendance Groucho
Better divert my ire onto the (apparently deaf and blind) crew of the fishing boat instead. What's all that about?
<hr width=100% size=1>Je suis Marxiste - tendance Groucho
Clive_Rigden
New member
Pobably Spanish or French & don't want to know - time is fish, fish is money.
NIMSA syndrome . . .
<hr width=100% size=1>Khyber
NIMSA syndrome . . .
<hr width=100% size=1>Khyber
BustinAround
New member
Hear hear!
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Its_Only_Money
New member
Are tyres a SOLAS requirement then??? ;-)
Not sure what their insurer will make of setting fire to the vessel to attract attention....
Lucky end result though.
<hr width=100% size=1>Rgds
Simon
Its Only Money
Fairline Sprint
Solent-based
Not sure what their insurer will make of setting fire to the vessel to attract attention....
Lucky end result though.
<hr width=100% size=1>Rgds
Simon
Its Only Money
Fairline Sprint
Solent-based
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