Redkite mayday relay Solent Sat 9th Aug

[ShinyShoe]

The distressed boat must have had a VHF as RedKite was relaying info. In fact RedKite began by asking Solent CG if they had picked up the Mayday. At one point Solent cg asked RedKite to check if the distress boat had a mobile phone and asked them to dial 999 and ask for the Coastguard! We could only hear RedKite and Solent cg.

I assumed that was the case but wondered if there was some other process happening like they were alongside and shouting? Coz I cant see why they wouldn't be able to transmit to Solent from Ryde. But last night I couldn't hear solent transmit an MSI notice on 16 at Ryde but could hear Portland.

Ok, at the risk of appearing a bit dim, how does a relay get started?
I've never heard one in operation so am in the dark.
Assuming the boat in distress puts out a call on C16 but gets no reply, what happens next.

I can't remember this bring covered on my SR VHF course.

It should be a routine part of the SRC, certainly has been since DSC because there is a risk of relaying wrong and creating a second apparent incident.

So the normal practice is to wait 3 to 5 minutes for a response. If it was a DSC alert the DSC set will repeat the alert at that point (unless the boat sank). You need to use some common sense - so if you are in the middle of the North Sea and a boat to the West of you transmits a MayDay it is more likely they hit a shore station than you will. If you hear them on a one sided conversation you know they hit something with their signal. That said if they get no response you might be the only boat in range.

Once you have decided that you need to Relay someone's MayDay you transmit as follows:

CH70 - DSC Urgency (not distress) call.
Retune CH16 and voice transmit:
"MAYDAY RELAY, MAYDAY RELAY, MAYDAY RELAY
THIS IS [YOUR MMSI], [YOUR VESSEL NAME] [YOUR VESSEL NAME] [YOUR VESSEL NAME], [YOUR CALLSIGN]

**Would be normal to take a short breather here - count to 3 in your head - keep the PTT depressed**

RECEIVED THE FOLLOWING MAYDAY FROM (MMSI of the vessel in distress), (Name of the vessel in distress), (Call sign of the vessel in distress)

MESSAGE BEGINS

(message received from vessel in distress or details of the distress)

MESSAGE ENDS

OVER

Await a response.
Your callsign will then be amended to something like "RELAY [Vessel Name]" So you are likely to get a response of

"RELAY [Your Vessel Name] this is Solent Coast Guard, we have received your mayday relay for [vessel name in distress]."

There are three things that you can basically get wrong:

1. Relaying a message which has already been received. While in its self not a problem it blocks 16 for further info which may be needed.

2. Hitting the DSC Distress Button to Relay - resulting in your vessel also appearing to be in distress. Search resources sent to wrong place etc

3. Messing with the message content. i.e. rewording what they said. That said in the Solent you'd rarely expect to do a Mayday Relay so you may not have written down their message and then 5 minutes later need to repeat it.

Solent's aerials are Newhaven, Selsey, Lee, Boniface Down, Needles.

Portland's (well, till 15 Sept anyway then they close) are Hengistbury, Nine Barrow Down (looks back into Poole Harbour, a new one), St Albans Hd, Portland (Grove), Beer Head.

Yeh I fully expected the Lee mast to be receivable in Ryde - it normally is.
Portland's masts will all still function as before - just someone in a different office is talking to them. You can receive Portland in Ryde!

Surprising that AIS is higher than Ch16.

Where is Ch70?

Pete

I thought 70 was at the top followed by 16 followed by the others (not sure where AIS is). Although they can swap them over. Most dont have 67 open all the time but I *thought* that because solent did they actually had an extra aerial for it rather than limiting their access to others...

 

[chanelyacht]

Yeh I fully expected the Lee mast to be receivable in Ryde - it normally is.
Portland's masts will all still function as before - just someone in a different office is talking to them . You can receive Portland in Ryde!

If the newbie on the end knows where anywhere is. Only about 3 from Portland are going to the NMOC - and that might change as the working patterns are so awful.

I thought 70 was at the top followed by 16 followed by the others (not sure where AIS is). Although they can swap them over. Most dont have 67 open all the time but I *thought* that because solent did they actually had an extra aerial for it rather than limiting their access to others...

Sorry, I missed DSC. Yes, that's either top mounted or parallel with 16.

Yes, Lee do have an extra Y aerial, but not every mast is used for the MSI bx in a district.

 

[ShinyShoe]

If the newbie on the end knows where anywhere is. Only about 3 from Portland are going to the NMOC - and that might change as the working patterns are so awful.

Never said they would know what they were talking about. Just that you'd still be able to talk to someone. No good making people think that in Sept the mast wont be there when it will.. better to make the risk of loss of local knowledge be known... Although I'm sure the same was said for Cullercoats closing, and I dont think anyone has ever said there has been an incident that Humber didn't manage correctly because of a lack of local knowledge...

 

[chanelyacht]

Although I'm sure the same was said for Cullercoats closing, and I dont think anyone has ever said there has been an incident that Humber didn't manage correctly because of a lack of local knowledge...

Oh if only you knew...

By Cullercoats, I assume you mean MRCC Tyne Tees - Cullercoats was a coast radio station.

Yes, there have been incidents (especially when Humber were given Yarmouth's area) when lack of local knowledge cost delays. There were also cases after Clyde's closure.

The problem is, it isn't just years of local knowledge going, there's years of experience going from the remaining stations too. The change process, probably the worst managed one I've seen anywhere, has led to people bailing out early, and the new terms and conditions will see more going. Plus, the process for keeping your job has been based on civil service, not technical, competencies, so people with 20 years SAR experience, good at training others, and knowing their patch and the sea like the back of their hand, have gone because they couldn't get the right phrases in an essay on "customer service" or "visioning the future".

Those remaining, and the newbies, will do their best - but you can't lose 80 years experience on a watch of 4 and replace it with 4 new people without consequences.

 

[Tidewaiter2]

Oh if only you knew...

By Cullercoats, I assume you mean MRCC Tyne Tees - Cullercoats was a coast radio station.

Yes, there have been incidents (especially when Humber were given Yarmouth's area) when lack of local knowledge cost delays. There were also cases after Clyde's closure.

The problem is, it isn't just years of local knowledge going, there's years of experience going from the remaining stations too. The change process, probably the worst managed one I've seen anywhere, has led to people bailing out early, and the new terms and conditions will see more going. Plus, the process for keeping your job has been based on civil service, not technical, competencies, so people with 20 years SAR experience, good at training others, and knowing their patch and the sea like the back of their hand, have gone because they couldn't get the right phrases in an essay on "customer service" or "visioning the future".

Those remaining, and the newbies, will do their best - but you can't lose 80 years experience on a watch of 4 and replace it with 4 new people without consequences.

This sounds like a exact rerun of our "re-organisation", which led to the PAC giving the Bullsh***er in Chief( who replaced a better man in 'interesting circumstances') a good roasting over a long day(for him) .

More time was wasted on applying/reapplying for jobs using those "key phrases" than doing any real work. The selection of people nationwide went more on the Selection panels fear of anyone knowing more about the actual Job than they did, than the good of the Country and Operational Needs. We called it a 'Skivers Charter'.

All our experienced people got fed up and looked for a way out, either by early retirement/redundancy, or their morale plummeted because they couldn't get out yet for financial/Family/location reasons.I was lucky, had only 18 months to go, a friend stuck in HR, and being in metrosexual Top Shop at the time, my face definitely didn't fit*.

The co**ups grew, and more surface every day, alas for My Country:disgust:

*( former comrades used to say; "We remember when you had a real job!").