MCA Notice to Mariners.....

photodog

photodog

Lord High Commander of Upper Broughton and Gunthor
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pinned to the notice board at our marina in Plymouth which advised yachtsmen in lite of the Ouzo accident to fit a approved Radar Reflector........in strongish terms...

Shortly after reading the intial reports into the accident
we fit a echomaster, plus upgraded our liferaft onto the rooftop.....

Anyone else make any changes to their septup bcause of the ouzo accident, and if not, will now because of the Notice to Mariners?

Or has the problem been overstated?
 
Already got a big reflector. However I must state my annoyance that the MCA hint that some are next to useless but refuse to publish the results of their tests. A bit like phoning your local trading standards to ask about the reputation of a local builder and you get a next to useless response. ( And that has happened!)
 
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Anyone else make any changes to their septup bcause of the ouzo accident

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The change that I have made is that I have now bought a WATERPROOF handheld VHF and whoever is on watch at night has it clipped to them.

From what I've read this is the one thing that could have saved the crew of Ouzo.
 
If you read the MAIB report it seems very likely that they would have thought it was passing to their south, not realising that it was making a very slow turn towards them. By the time they realised that it was coming their way (if they did) their options would have been almost non existent.
 
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Has anyone ever conducted tests to see whether a h/h VHF works when used wet and at water level, and if it does what range it has?

[/ QUOTE ] I don't know if there have been any tests but IIRC a short while ago there was a case of a Yachtsman falling overboard and being trailed along by his safety harness. I think he managed to transmit a bit of a call for help and kept the transmit button pressed for long enough for his position to be determined. I think he had perished though by the time the rescuers reached him.
 
Ken
If that's the case then I'm sorry but they should have been keeping a better eye on it, at least until they were sure it was passing them to the south.

Is it me or has anyone else realised that most of the MAIB report seems to be about how small boats (yachts) can be made more visible to large commercial vessels.

Lights upgrades, radar reflectors etc. It seems to me that the MCA have worked out that there is very little they can do to improve the lights & radar capability of large vessels but they seem to have a problem with how small vessels can be seen if the watch keeper and his/her mark-one eyeball isn't working properly?

On the one hand you have (say) 8000grt of commercial vessel lit up like Blackpool Pier with professional seamen and state of the art radar systems doing their best not to kill anyone. They have someone clocking the radar and another out on a bridge wing trying to spot a single ~ but up to three ~ 12v 25 watt lamps.

It seems to me that after dark it is more than evident that collision avoidance is very much down to the yottie solely because he's disadvantaged and reliant on dodgy radar reflectors and dim lamps.

IMHO the MCA know that when commercial shipping and yots are on the same bit of sea after dark, it's the yot that needs to pay attention at all times.

Peter.
 
Yes, my Icoms will be recieved by another h/h (both at yacht cockpit height) up to 2M of open water. If I tx to same yachts main radio the distance is increased (don't yet know the figure)

Seems to me that a good defensive strategy would be:
1. keep a good lookout.
2. know your own position
3. get on the radio to him early, giving own position
4. use a powerful lamp to 'flash' across his bridge, then up onto own mainsail.
5. ask if he's seen you, and what is he gonna do about it?
 
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Look over your shoulder a bit more often, god knows how the lads on the Ouzo didn't see the ferry coming.

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Good advice but its very easy not to see a ferry (or any vessel)coming especially if it alters course .

I have been known to fall out with people about their watch keeping on yachts.In coastal areas I thin k a 360° look around every 2 or 3 minutes is needed. Reading a book under a sprayhood with a quick scan around now and then probably with large blind sectors wont do.

Sure its wise to fit a good reflector but look after yourself and dont rely on other vessels watch keeping to keep you safe.
 
since the Ouzo report...

Already had a good radar reflector permanently (mast) mounted.
Already had incandescent nav lights
Already had white flares and torch to hand
Always motor at night with the main sail hoisted - primarily to keep things steady - but can more often than not be seen at night.

Since ouzo:
have bought a secondhand liferaft (serviced it this year)
fitted radar bought secondhand (with MARPA)
was thinking about changing nav light for LED, but will now stay with the higher wattage incandescent ones. Will use my pulpit/pushpit nav lights are working when crossing shipping lanes - I believe that these can be seen earlier than tri-colour - particularly when coasting where they can be lost in the back ground scatter of shore lights.
Thnking about upgrading my fixed VHF with a DSC set this winter
Oh, and if I do that then I will buy a fixed GPS also.

H/H VHF for the grab bag is on my Christmas list

"Seame" and AIS B are on my wish list - in that order.
 
Sorry but you really need to be taken to task on your ill informed comment.

"If that's the case then I'm sorry but they should have been keeping a better eye on it, at least until they were sure it was passing them to the south."

The MIAB report suggests that the most likely senario was the Ouzo saw the P of B turning slowly to go astern of them as would be the correct action under the Col Regs. Unfortunately it appears the P of B did not see the Ouzo until too late and that coincidently the turn Ouzo would have seen was a normal change of course for a new heading. The MIAB report senerio suggests that Ouzo was the stand on vessel. At what point Ouzo realised that they needed to do something and that P of B had not seen them we can only speculate. The ability of a small yacht with only a small auxillary engine to manoeuvre is very limited and one can speculate that any earlier actions by the stand on vessel Ouzo to alter course could have contributed to a collision situation had the P of B spotted the Ouzo and was taking the correct action.

As 3 experienced sailors lost their lives in this event I think they deserve a bit more respect that your glib comment "they should have been keeping a better eye on it".

If sensibly read we can all learn from this unfortunate incident, I for one have altered some procedures and bought extra equipment.

At the very least we should all with due humility accept that there but for the grace of God go I!!
 
Seems to me that a good defensive strategy would be:
1. keep a good lookout.
2. know your own position
3. get on the radio to him early, giving own position
4. use a powerful lamp to 'flash' across his bridge, then up onto own mainsail.
5. ask if he's seen you, and what is he gonna do about it?
.....................................................................................

My thoughts exactly........and better still a DSC with attached GPS... That DSC alarm is sure to get attention when you put out an all ships unless of course you have the MMSI of the local ferries in your directory /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

It is certainly up to US to make sure the big boys see us at night as we now know that radar even with the best reflectors and eyeballs are not good enough in anything less than perfect weather.
 
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3. get on the radio to him early, giving own position
4. use a powerful lamp to 'flash' across his bridge, then up onto own mainsail.
5. ask if he's seen you, and what is he gonna do about it?
.....................................................................................

My thoughts exactly........and better still a DSC with attached GPS... That DSC alarm is sure to get attention when you put out an all ships unless of course you have the MMSI of the local ferries in your directory /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif



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I believe there is some serious debate about the wisdom of contacting someone on VHF as by the time everyone checks their co-ordinates to see if its them being referred to you would have an ifinately more dangerous situation.

Clever idea flashing the light at their bridge, it would get their attention while ensuring they lost their night vision for approx the next 15mins so won't be able to pick you out.

Using the DSC alarm, isn't this an automatic Mayday or am I missing something?

This incident has resulted in a number of sensible suggestions the main one being steer well clear of big boys but only those that have a few crossings of the channel to France will fully understand how giving a wide berth to one will put you in peril of another.

Certainly I have adjusted our procedures to now assume the other boat has not seen you even if they appear to be adjusting their course.
 
One aspect of the MAIB report which was a bit thin was AIS. All it said was;

"AIS is being carried by an increasing number of yachts, partly to assist in their being more “visible”. Had Ouzo carried AIS it would have made no difference to the outcome as AIS information was not displayed on the radar of Pride of Bilbao. This situation should improve as AIS is being integrated into more ships’ systems in the future."

Yes - an AIS transponder on OUZO would not have had any not effect on the outcome, but an AIS receiver on the OUZO might just have increased the crews awareness of the course and position of the POB.

As the MAIB report states, AIS is of no use if the watchkeeper cannot see it. Most of the discussion on AIS in these fora seem to be focussed on its use with a laptop. Frankly, with a crew of only 3, I would not want one of them down below on blind pilotage, I would have the extra eyes and ears on deck.

My addition to Restless' kit following the OUZO tragedy was a NASA AIS engine, feeding the chartplotter, which swings out into the companionway where it is visible to the helm. This would make it easier to assess the intentions of larger vessels. And if in doubt, I have the name of the vessel, and a cock-pit mounted microphone so the helm can call on C16, high power "POB this is Restless. You are bearing down on me, what are your intentions". Followed by the torch on the mainsail, and stand-by with the white flares.

I know hindsight is the only exact science, but at least I am in a position to do all the above.

John
 
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