RNLI Figures

[Chris_Stannard]

Agreed on passage planning, but my point really was that a lot of people do not plan their passages and then may get into trouble. But from all the opinions on this forum I guess that the people who do not plan passages do not read this either.

Chris Stannard

 

[Gunfleet]

Thanks for the reply. My boat draws I.5M, so I'm addicted to entering the Deben just at the right moment. Unfortunately it's more difficult to do leaving, esp if you've been in Woodbridge. Over the years I've been sailing in and out of your home river (8 ) the Deben seems to have become more and more difficult! I never let on to Mrs M, who gets seasick in the bath. If my enquiry was 'let's take a nice trip up to the Deben and see if we can't drown ourselves' we'd never leave the Blackwater. Only kidding. The main thing is to lurk around the Deben offing bouy until someone who looks like they know where the channel is enters, then follow. Your post about locals grounding has shattered my faith in Suffolk sailors.
John

 

[Twister_Ken]

Passage planning

Maybe not so much a failure of passage planning, but a failure to stick to the plan.

 

[peterb]

Deben Bar

Many years ago I did what you are suggesting on my first entry into the Deben. I waited for someone to turn up who seemed to make a confident entrance, then followed him, all the way up to the Tide Mill. When we were both secured, I said "I assume you're local, I hope you didn't mind me following you." He replied "Yes, I'm local, but this is a new boat and it's the first time I've ever crossed the bar to come in." Then he added "And I was very glad that I bought a boat with a lifting keel!"

 

[HMCG]

There have been many occasions where sailing vessels and in fact any other type of vessel has run aground and claimed to be ok. The problem is that there are sometimes other problems which can arise when a vessel is grounded.

The Coastguard are bound to respond to calls from help from seafarers of all types of vessel. In our view if someone has called us to say that they are in difficulty then they must have reasonable concern for their safety. This is in the same way that someone calling to enquire as to the whereabouts of a craft are "not concerned". If the person was not concerned then why did they call us in the first place.

In many cases where a vessel reports that they are ok and will wait for the tide any rescue unit which is in the area will no doubt keep an eye on that vessel to ensure its safety. If we did not make efforts to ensure the safety of our "customers" and something did go wrong I know who would be the first to stand up in court and accuse us of not doing our job.......and this does happen and is happening more in this day and age of litigation.

Unfortunately in the Coastguard we are trained to look at the worst possible scenario. Although the worst possible scenario is rarely what happens we have to be prepared for it. One thing which you cannot account for in statistics is lives that were saved through preventative action. I am sure that this would be a substantial figure if it could be calculated. In future remember that someone offering assistance is generally doing so with the best of intentions. We are only doing our job at the end of the day and have no intention to ruin your lovely day resting on sandbanks or drifting into the paths of other vessels or sinking.....don't worry the bilge pump will deal with it.




Remember a VHF can save your life.

 

[Gunfleet]

Re: Deben Bar

I wasn't suggesting it very seriously, Peter. Everybody should take responsibility for piloting their own boat. Actually going into the Deben isn't too bad, as long as you do it on the right state of tide. If you go aground you're going to come off (presuming you ground to seaward). It's coming out, where you will probably be pushing the weakening rising tide at the end of its rise that I find hair-raising. I can't believe someone hasn't stepped in and posted that old saw about the gravel barge running aground off the Crouch at this point.

 

[dickh]

Nice to hear a reply from HMCG. I quite accept that the CG are bound to react to calls from sailors, in particular the Deben entrance can be quite offputting to people on their first entrance, and I can quite understand that someone aground(in this case a 40' yacht) would be concerned and would let the CG know the situation. The point I was trying to make was that a local boat was on its way to help,also the ILB, and the CG stood down the local boat in preference to the ILB. As I was listening on vhf and not watching the scenario I don't know wether the ILB was in the immediate area or had to come from Harwich. The local boat regularly tows boats off the Deben bar and is very competent.
The CG and Auxiliary CG are very good in our area and the ACG is regularly at the Deben entrance. We also have another rescue vessel in the area called 'Volunteer' which is excellent at responding to calls and is regularly used by the CG.
Later the same day a sailing vessent went aground on a sandbank 3 miles offshore and one of the Harwich Pilot vessel towed him off. Another motor vessel had engine failure, had anchored and a customs vessel had offered assistance, with an engineer boarding to see if they could assist.
I notice you are based in Scotland; there are so many sandbanks with shallow water all over the Thames Estuary that running aground is one of the hazards, in fact we have a friend who sails in Scotland and when he's sailed in our area, he is jittery all the time as we are regularly in only 4 or 5 metres of water!
The CG does an excellent job as does the RNLI and it's reassuring you are at the end of the VHF; and it's nice to hear you accept radio checks - as does Thames CG.

dickh
I'd rather be sailing...

 

[graham]

I dont think anyone is out to criticise the Coastguard service for launching lifeboats to stranded vessels.it must be difficult to make an accurate assesment of the situation so it has to be better to err on the side of safety.

On the subject of wandering about on sandbanks ,playing football etc unless you have local knowledge I would advise against it.In the Bristol Channel what is hard sand on the ebb tide can turn into very soft dangerous stuff as the flood tide starts soaking in from below .

I heard one case of a yacht hard aground on the English and Welsh Grounds in quiet weather.The boat lay over about 45° so the crew went for a walk abouton the hard sand.About an hour before the water got back to the boat she suddenly gave a shudder and stood bolt upright in what was now very soft quick sand.

Fortunately the crew were back on board by then but were very shocked.

 

[terence]

Re: Passage planning?

yes i found sunk sand miles out but of couse the sounding are done every six years and the new chart comes out spring 2003.
and of course you now have to use fisher mans gatt.
happy sailing terence

 

[Mirelle]

Exuse me whilst I shudder!

That is a properly scary story. I doubt not that this phenomenon occurs on other sandbanks too; it helps to explain how old wrecks "come and go", being alternately covered by sand and thrown up again.

 

[Rob_Webb]

Reminds me of a real-life example from aviation:

Tower to light aircraft in distress: "Is this the same aircraft that declared an emergency earlier?"

Aircraft to Tower: "Negative. It's just the same pilot."

 

[tynesman]

As an Offshore member with my boat based on the Tyne I have unfortunatly observed first hand lifeboat call outs to sea.
Listening to the radio and checking after, it still amazes me how many people are using Radio's without a licence.
My whole point is if they don't have a radio licence then they do not understand the protocol of it's use,"Mayday" is all they know and call out the lifeboat,on three occations the call should of been a "pan pan".
Does the RNLI check after a call out if the operator of the call out radio has a licence?,if not they should be charged for miss-use and the time/call out costs of the lifeboat, Im am sure the revenue of the RNLI will increase!
Also when did you ever see anyone in a marina checking for radio licences?
Keep up the good work

Tynesman

 

[sailbadthesinner]

The RA check on the south coast
and we have been checked in N Wales.

Beer! Now there's a temporary solution.

 

[gunnarsilins]

As far as I....

....understand the Swedish SSRS, which is similar RNLI, would charge for assistance if a yacht in settled wather and in no immediate danger would call for help with a failured engine. They would regard such a situation as a commercial tow and charge acording to that.

A grounding in Sweden means something else compared with UK - with no tide you either struck lightly and will come off by your own means - or you struck hard, and need assistance. That sort of assistance is not charged for.

 

[graham]

I think the reason the RNLI doesnt make charges is so as not to deter people making genuine calls early instead of putting it off and ending up in further trouble.

Particularily in a man over board it is better to send a May day ASAP nobody will mind if you cancel it 5 minutes later .

Re the sloppy misuse of VHF we can all quote terrible examples from amateurs and professionals alike.
Maybe its time for the yachting press to send out a freebie idiots guide to basic distress calls.Its no good expecting everyone to be trained and remember it all in a crisis.