david_e
Active member
Was on a test sail in the Solent earlier today when I heard on the radio the coastguard end of the transmission some dialogue to a "Mayday Blue Max......" Does anyone know the outcome of this incident?
Solent Mayday call
- Thread starter david_e
- Start date
tcm
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Re: outcome : you bought the boat, yes? nm
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david_e
Active member
The Jury is still out!
It could be but fraid not, great, great sail but on reflection accommodation is not quite up to it.
It could be but fraid not, great, great sail but on reflection accommodation is not quite up to it.
max
New member
Blue Max towed back into Gosport - all safe. (and, no, its not my boat -name is a coincidence - really!)
JeremyF
New member
I think it was a Benny 211, which lost its rudder off Ryde. I'm surprised that Gosport rescue as despatched, as I thought the 211 under power was steered by the outboard handle, and they got the outboard going quickly.
David, you had a 211 didn't you?
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David, you had a 211 didn't you?
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david_e
Active member
Yup, it has two rudders actually, so he must have lost something in the linkage. Should be able to steer under outboard as it one of the features of having outboard bolted on the back. Could be the wind direction and distance involved is why he called for help.
Thought that the lady with a hoi poloy voice calling for radio check in the middle of all this was a little insensitive, is this normal dine tha?
Thought that the lady with a hoi poloy voice calling for radio check in the middle of all this was a little insensitive, is this normal dine tha?
JeremyF
New member
Perfectly normal! I think some folk have the radio down low. Oops, they think, I better do a radio check. Turn the vol up and transmit immediately. No pausing to listen to the channel.
Thats why CG switches them to 67 ASAP.
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Thats why CG switches them to 67 ASAP.
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david_e
Active member
I note that he ignored them completely! Busy little part of the world, makes Pwllheli look positively quiet by comparison, think I prefer the solitude!
charles_reed
Active member
Why a Mayday call
Surely losing a rudder when yo can steer with the outboard only rates a "Pan Pan".
"When craft and/or crew are in immediate danger of non-survival..."
Or are they teaching something different on RYA courses now?
If you do it over here in France (make a spurious "Mayday" call) they'll charge you the callout costs.
Surely losing a rudder when yo can steer with the outboard only rates a "Pan Pan".
"When craft and/or crew are in immediate danger of non-survival..."
Or are they teaching something different on RYA courses now?
If you do it over here in France (make a spurious "Mayday" call) they'll charge you the callout costs.
oldharry
Well-known member
Re: Why a Mayday call
A lost rudder certainly does not merit a Mayday, or even a Pan Pan, unless there is some other immediate danger, such as a rocky lee shore, or in the Solent, 'Pride of Cherbourg' coming up at 15kts.
Some years back I lost a rudder pintle while tacking out of Helford river against an E 5. The boat proved uncontrollable in the conditions by sail or engine, and there was a rocky lee shore about 3/4 mile downwind. However the ebb was reducing the drift rate down to the rocks and i reckoned i had about an hour before I was in real trouble.
Certainly not an 'emergency 'situation in my view, but an 'urgent traffic' call to Falmouth CG on Ch16 rapidly produced a large trawler who towed us in (at a scary 15kts!) to Falmouth, deposited us at Mylor where we could get everything sorted - all for the price of a couple of rounds of drinks for the crew. CG remained on Ch16 until the tow was safely under way.
And without having to call on the services of the rescue organisations who remained available to attend to life saving operations.
Now, was Old harry right or wrong not to declare an emergency situation, and expect a lifeboat to come to the rescue?
A lost rudder certainly does not merit a Mayday, or even a Pan Pan, unless there is some other immediate danger, such as a rocky lee shore, or in the Solent, 'Pride of Cherbourg' coming up at 15kts.
Some years back I lost a rudder pintle while tacking out of Helford river against an E 5. The boat proved uncontrollable in the conditions by sail or engine, and there was a rocky lee shore about 3/4 mile downwind. However the ebb was reducing the drift rate down to the rocks and i reckoned i had about an hour before I was in real trouble.
Certainly not an 'emergency 'situation in my view, but an 'urgent traffic' call to Falmouth CG on Ch16 rapidly produced a large trawler who towed us in (at a scary 15kts!) to Falmouth, deposited us at Mylor where we could get everything sorted - all for the price of a couple of rounds of drinks for the crew. CG remained on Ch16 until the tow was safely under way.
And without having to call on the services of the rescue organisations who remained available to attend to life saving operations.
Now, was Old harry right or wrong not to declare an emergency situation, and expect a lifeboat to come to the rescue?
Miker
New member
A Ben 211 has the same rudder system as my Spirit 260. The pintle on the rudder stock sheared off mine once coming out of the Barrow channel. I didn't think of a call out but lashed it together with a long piece of cord. But I was in plenty of water with no one around.
It seems to me like a design fault. There must be a lot of leverage on the pintle which is only welded to the stock at its top. I have now added two nuts to strengthen which are also welded in.
It seems to me like a design fault. There must be a lot of leverage on the pintle which is only welded to the stock at its top. I have now added two nuts to strengthen which are also welded in.
Cornishman
New member
Re: Why a Mayday call
I've taught these last 18 years the definition of distress to be 'When a vessel, aircraft or person is in grave and imminent danger and requires immediate assistance'. Actually, the 'person' bit was introduced at a later date when it was decided that somebody overboard might be said to be in grave and imminent danger. I believe it was at the behest of the RYA!
I've taught these last 18 years the definition of distress to be 'When a vessel, aircraft or person is in grave and imminent danger and requires immediate assistance'. Actually, the 'person' bit was introduced at a later date when it was decided that somebody overboard might be said to be in grave and imminent danger. I believe it was at the behest of the RYA!
Cornishman
New member
Re: Why a Mayday call
Absolutely the right thing to do - and one part of the 'urgency' definition which is usually overlooked is that 'it might become a distress later', which clearly your situation could have done.
It costs the RNLI about £2500 to just launch a lifeboat, so if this can be avoided so much the better. However, the lads often appreciate a 'live' casualty for training purposes but it is up to the Hon Sec to discuss this with the CG before launch is authorised and not the casualty!
Absolutely the right thing to do - and one part of the 'urgency' definition which is usually overlooked is that 'it might become a distress later', which clearly your situation could have done.
It costs the RNLI about £2500 to just launch a lifeboat, so if this can be avoided so much the better. However, the lads often appreciate a 'live' casualty for training purposes but it is up to the Hon Sec to discuss this with the CG before launch is authorised and not the casualty!
Twister_Ken
Well-known member
Radiocheckitis
It's an endemic disease in the Solent, so serious that many will not pass Hamble Point buoy without seeing how many people they can annoy by requesting a check.
Maybe there should be a separate radio check channel, run by some voluntary organisation (VHF anonymous?) to which suffers could subscribe, while the CG resolutely decline to answer any check calls.
Although we'd still suffer Tosspot of Tewkesbury trying to talk to his buddy on Porkchopper of Portsmouth every five minutes, when Porkchopper is at home and deep into the News of the World.
Roll on universal DSC.
It's an endemic disease in the Solent, so serious that many will not pass Hamble Point buoy without seeing how many people they can annoy by requesting a check.
Maybe there should be a separate radio check channel, run by some voluntary organisation (VHF anonymous?) to which suffers could subscribe, while the CG resolutely decline to answer any check calls.
Although we'd still suffer Tosspot of Tewkesbury trying to talk to his buddy on Porkchopper of Portsmouth every five minutes, when Porkchopper is at home and deep into the News of the World.
Roll on universal DSC.
Col
New member
Re: Radiocheckitis
Amen to all of that.
<A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.arweb.co.uk/argallery/colspics> Cols Picture Album</A>
Amen to all of that.
<A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.arweb.co.uk/argallery/colspics> Cols Picture Album</A>
JeremyF
New member
Re: Radiocheckitis
Agreed re DSC.
I though marina's were already the voluntary radio check service anyway! I always forget to tell them when I'm away for the night, and usually remember when I am a useful distance away on lo power.
Why don't more do this?
Anyway, surely when CG simply listens on Ch16 from a speker in the office, all the Ch16 Radio Check stuff disappears?
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Agreed re DSC.
I though marina's were already the voluntary radio check service anyway! I always forget to tell them when I'm away for the night, and usually remember when I am a useful distance away on lo power.
Why don't more do this?
Anyway, surely when CG simply listens on Ch16 from a speker in the office, all the Ch16 Radio Check stuff disappears?
<font color=blue>Jeremy Flynn/forums/images/icons/crazy.gif
Dawn Chorus</font color=blue>
oldharry
Well-known member
Re: Lifeboat on exercise\'
Quite right Cornishman - the RNLI crews do sometimes appreciate being able to attend a 'live' casualty in a non emergency situation:
15 or 20 years ago sailing with my children off Barmouth in N Wales, my youngest had an asthma attack, and it became clear his medication was not strong enough to control it. Not seriously ill, but with the potential of becoming so in a couple of hours without medical help.
Being only half an hour out of Barmouth, the obvious recourse was to head in. A call ahead on VHF to ask if a taxi could be standing by to take the boy up to the local GP produced an enthusiastic response that they would send the lifeboat to pick him up. As by that time we were already crossing the bar, I knew we would be nearly alongside before they reached us.
Not only was my son absolutely furious with me for not getting him a ride on the Lifeboat, but the crew were quite disappointed as they had not had a 'shout' for several weeks!
Sometimes you just cant win!
However down here in the Solent, the RNLI dont seem to have that problem. Our local Hayling IRB was last year called 5 times to the SAME windsurfer on Chi bar in one afternoon.
Although not mentioned in the official report, rumour has it the chaps rig got 'disabled' during the final pick-up so that he had to go home.....
Quite right Cornishman - the RNLI crews do sometimes appreciate being able to attend a 'live' casualty in a non emergency situation:
15 or 20 years ago sailing with my children off Barmouth in N Wales, my youngest had an asthma attack, and it became clear his medication was not strong enough to control it. Not seriously ill, but with the potential of becoming so in a couple of hours without medical help.
Being only half an hour out of Barmouth, the obvious recourse was to head in. A call ahead on VHF to ask if a taxi could be standing by to take the boy up to the local GP produced an enthusiastic response that they would send the lifeboat to pick him up. As by that time we were already crossing the bar, I knew we would be nearly alongside before they reached us.
Not only was my son absolutely furious with me for not getting him a ride on the Lifeboat, but the crew were quite disappointed as they had not had a 'shout' for several weeks!
Sometimes you just cant win!
However down here in the Solent, the RNLI dont seem to have that problem. Our local Hayling IRB was last year called 5 times to the SAME windsurfer on Chi bar in one afternoon.
Although not mentioned in the official report, rumour has it the chaps rig got 'disabled' during the final pick-up so that he had to go home.....
