VHF - hailing an unknown ship (in the middle of the night)

[Zen Zero]

Back in August, with a couple of friends, I was crossing over to Sardinia from Tuscany, a distance of a little over 100NM. It was a beautiful night with no moon, just millions and millions of stars and the Milky Way to show us the way and of course shooting stars (so many we had to stop saying "wow!" and just watch them in silence).

We saw just 3 ships that night, all of them going North, appearing as a glow on the horizon and then nearly running us down an hour later. This happened twice. The third ship passed a mile ahead of us and her wake flung me out of bed. The first ship paid us no attention at all while we hove to to let it pass, but there was still enough twilight for us to see each other.

This is about the second ship - the Norwegian Epic (I think) we discovered was her name afterwards, but at the time we didn't know. We'd been watching her for about an hour and determined we were on a collision course. We were the stand-on vessel (under sail, approaching from the ship's starboard bow) but would have been happy to take avoiding action. We didn't know whether they had seen our puny navigation lights. So the first thing we did was turn on the foredeck light to illuminate the genoa. This got a response from their searchlight.

What to do now?

We didn't want to interrupt the cruise ship's passage and were happy to heave to for a few minutes to let her pass, so I grabbed the hand held and said something like "um, large, er... cruise ship, um, this is the sailing yacht [name] [name] [name]". No answer. Twice.

So we tacked, altered course 90° to port and sailed down a track parallel to hers in the opposite direction about half a mile off and tacked back onto our course again when we were clear of her stern. We noticed that she had stopped, which was a pity because we'd have been quite happy to keep out of her way and let her carry on without wasting all that fuel stopping and starting again.

While all this was going on, an Italian friend whose knowledge of English consisted of hello, goodbye and "large cruise sheep ..." was babbling into the radio trying to get a response. The response we got was "Sailing yacht what is your position?" but by then the ship was halfway over the Northern horizon and there didn't seem much point in drawing any more attention to ourselves.

We arrived off the Sardinian coast in broad daylight had a refreshing swim, a shower, a plate of spaghetti with mashed crabs for lunch in a bar whose name I can't remember and then caught the bus to Olbia and the ferry back to the mainland while the owners set off on their summer cruise.

Why I'm posting this here, is to see what you think about keeping out of the way of commercial traffic in the middle of the sea in the middle of the night and how a VHF can help?

In hindsight, it would have been better to radio the ship much earlier, using the big radio by the chart table.

 

[jerrytug]

Step away from the radio!

1) Blind calling (unknown name) ships is unlikely to be successful, is not advised by the MCA, and will distract you from

2) All the answers are in the Colregs (combined with your hand-bearing compass)

cheers Jerry

 

[RichardS]

An AIS transceiver would change your life as, in many cases, I find it gives me the confidence to follow ColRegs without wondering whether I've reacted too early / left it too late.

And, if you do want to make that VHF call, which I've never needed to, you will usually know who you need to speak to.

Richard

 

[prv]

We didn't want to interrupt the cruise ship's passage and were happy to heave to for a few minutes to let her pass, so I grabbed the hand held and said something like "um, large, er... cruise ship, um, this is the sailing yacht [name] [name] [name]". No answer. Twice.

So we tacked, altered course 90° to port and sailed down a track parallel to hers in the opposite direction about half a mile off and tacked back onto our course again when we were clear of her stern. We noticed that she had stopped, which was a pity because we'd have been quite happy to keep out of her way and let her carry on without wasting all that fuel stopping and starting again.

And no doubt the OOW was cursing yet another WAFI contravening the Colregs

Being the stand-on vessel isn't a right that you can choose whether or not to exercise, it's an obligation that you are required to perform.

There are two stages at which you're allowed to alter your course and speed - either so early that the risk of collision hasn't developed yet and the Colregs don't apply, or late enough that the other vessel should have manoeuvred and it has become apparent that she isn't. In between, you are obliged to continue so that the other vessel knows what to expect.

As Jerry says, the MCA strongly advise against negotiating encounters by VHF - although some of their objections are no longer applicable with AIS, and in both the Channel lanes and the port of Southampton I regularly hear commercial vessels making good use of VHF to aid safe and efficient navigation. So if in your situation I wanted to let the cruise ship continue without altering, I would call him to arrange that.

The ship's name (from AIS) on ch16 is the first thing to try - followed by the same on ch13. Listening watch on ch16 is no longer mandatory under GMDSS (replaced by DSC) but they are supposed to monitor 13 in areas with other traffic. I've had ships ignore me on 16 but respond on 13 before. I suspect they are monitoring 16 but are reluctant to talk to clueless WAFIs...

In theory you could call them via DSC (MMSI from AIS, in a well-integrated system you can just select them from a list instead of transferring numbers) but I suspect if they're not monitoring voice (or more likely, choosing not to reply) then they're not going to react favourably to a DSC alert either.

If unable to make contact and arrange something else, stick to the Colregs. In this case it sounds like he had already taken steps to avoid you, so you'd have passed clear with everything working just like it should.

EDIT to add, if I didn't have AIS and so didn't have a name to call, I don't think I would bother trying to make contact in order to arrange a departure from Colregs for the sake of convenience only. The ship is less likely to realise they're being called, there is the risk that you end up talking to a different ship just over the horizon, and the OOW understands this risk so is less likely to respond even if he hears you.

Pete

 

[Twister_Ken]

I'd worry about your handheld. I called up Norwegian Epic, somewhere between Mallorca and the Porquerolles, in June, to ask if they had an up-to-date forecast. Got an immediate and helpful response.

 

[jerrytug]

I'd worry about your handheld. I called up Norwegian Epic, somewhere between Mallorca and the Porquerolles, in June, to ask if they had an up-to-date forecast. Got an immediate and helpful response.

Did you call them by name?

 

[DJE]

Get an AIS receiver. You will notice large vessels making small alterations to avoid you which are invisible to the naked eye. - Not all of them though!

 

[Woodlouse]

I'm in complete agreement with jerrytug. The colregs cover everything without the need to pick up the VHF. If you are not sure about a passing situation then give way, just make sure that your alteration of course is big enough for the other vessel to notice so they know they can then carry on.

 

[Zen Zero]

And no doubt the OOW was cursing yet another WAFI contravening the Colregs

I had to look up WAFI http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=WAFI - perfectly apt in respect of our attempts to communicate with the ship!

I'll have a look at AISses, this was not my boat, but I think you can get AIS attachments for a smart phones now --- I'll have a look.

One thing though, it was very difficult to determine the exact track of the ship in the dark and we weren't sure if they had seen us until we were in their searchlight beam.

My experience of sailing in the Clyde, the Tuscan Archipelago and lately Greece (and the Solent too for that matter) tells me to keep out of the way of ferries, tankers, trawlers and submarines; their masters expect it of us WAFIs !

 

[Zen Zero]

If you are not sure about a passing situation then give way, just make sure that your alteration of course is big enough for the other vessel to notice so they know they can then carry on.

Is 90° big enough?

 

[graham]

Making a vhf call like that you have no way of knowing the ship you are speaking to is the same one you are looking at.Even if it is confusion can occur.

This can result in whats known as a vhf assisted collision.

 

[pmagowan]

I had to look up WAFI http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=WAFI - perfectly apt in respect of our attempts to communicate with the ship!

I'll have a look at AISses, this was not my boat, but I think you can get AIS attachments for a smart phones now --- I'll have a look.

One thing though, it was very difficult to determine the exact track of the ship in the dark and we weren't sure if they had seen us until we were in their searchlight beam.

My experience of sailing in the Clyde, the Tuscan Archipelago and lately Greece (and the Solent too for that matter) tells me to keep out of the way of ferries, tankers, trawlers and submarines; their masters expect it of us WAFIs !

I think the problem is your experience is wrong, hence the name WAFI. They expect us to obey our obligations the same as anyone else. They know that if the sh1t hits the fan they will have to make a declaration based on how they followed colregs hence why they exist. The idea is that everyone knows the rules and so you never get into a situation similar to stepping left in a corridor while the other person steps right! There are occasions when other rules may apply and these are generally marked on up to date charts or in pilot books but they mostly follow colregs as closly as practicable. The great thing about colregs is that it allows you to take action irrespective of whether the other boat complies just as long as you take that action at the appropriate time, i.e. you have given them an opportunity to comply while remaining safe.

AIS is very useful but I have never used it to make a call in such a circumstance as colregs have always seemed adequate. However, should you want to, on my system the boat appears on the plotter along with their mmsi and name. If you touch them you get further information such as rudder possition, speed etc. Often this is sufficient to let you know they have taken action. If you wish to call them you simply hit a button that appears on screen and a DSC call goes through. Certainly it helps the confidence in knowing that they are responding as per colregs but it is the rabit caught in the headlights that colregs is there to prevent.

 

[fireball]

Is 90° big enough?

Depends how fast you're going and how early you made the turn ...

If you can't see their alteration - and they're a ruddy great ship - how can you expect them to see yours?

A few years ago we did similar to your deck light trick - turned it on and lit up the genoa - worked a treat and the ferry made it clear that they were going to hold back until we were across their path.
Even with a vessel name from an AIS receiver, how does the OOW know he's talking to the vessel he can see? There may be a few yachts out there - out of your sight, but in his ...

Stand on Vessel doesn't require you to stand-on regardless - it requires you to stand on until it's clear that the other vessel isn't taking suitable avoiding action - but at what point do you say the colregs apply? At first sighting of the vessel? At 10Nm, at 5Nm ? There is no set point (that I can see) - so if you're still miles apart then IMHO in these sorts of cases (rather than ship vs ship) you're at liberty to alter your course at will ...

 

[prv]

at what point do you say the colregs apply? At first sighting of the vessel? At 10Nm, at 5Nm ? There is no set point (that I can see)

There is some case law, but as far as I know it all applies to ship vs ship encounters, not yachts.

However, I think it's safe to say that if you're being lit up by a liner's searchlight, you are definitely within that range

Pete

 

[Scotty_Tradewind]

I'd agree to that said in respect of Colreg' and use of vhf .

It really is our responsibility to our vessel/crew and to all others as skippers, to maintain a good lookout however perceived by electronics and eyeball and to keep out of their way imho.
Try to never make a blind call!.... could be a very irresponsible act in leading to major problems.
However, I can see that as a last resort if being ploughed down by another vessel it could easily be forgiven.

By spending a fair amount of cash the owner/skipper could invest in electronics to assist decisions ....

AIS transducer, Active radar reflector, Radar, second station microphone for cockpit from ships radio, as I have done.

Nothing like a double or triple method of checking and allowing others to make similar responsible decisions by 'seeing' you.

S.

 

[fireball]

There is some case law, but as far as I know it all applies to ship vs ship encounters, not yachts.

PART A- GENERAL
Rule 1
Application
(a) These Rules shall apply to all vessels upon the high seas and in all waters connected therewith navigable by seagoing vessels.

- so that's everyone covered - although I think jetskis were exempted because they don't navigate?

However, I think it's safe to say that if you're being lit up by a liner's searchlight, you are definitely within that range

yup - I think you can assume he's seen you at that point!

 

[Woodlouse]

Is 90° big enough?

That depends. At night it is generally good practice to make the change of course big enough so that the other ship can see different lights so that he can be sure the situation is now different. Since nav lights have an arc of greater than 90 degrees then that might not be enough to achieve a change of aspect.

 

[pmagowan]

PART A- GENERAL
Rule 1
Application
(a) These Rules shall apply to all vessels upon the high seas and in all waters connected therewith navigable by seagoing vessels.

- so that's everyone covered - although I think jetskis were exempted because they don't navigate?


yup - I think you can assume he's seen you at that point!

I think PRV means that the case law was with respect to ships not yachts. There are various legal precidents set into distances and meaning of 'in good time' etc which may be different in the case of a small yacht.

 

[Twister_Ken]

Did you call them by name?

Yes - bless AIS.

 

[Twister_Ken]

One thing though, it was very difficult to determine the exact track of the ship in the dark

Especially true of liners which are usually lit-up like Time Square, making it very difficult to pick out the nav lights. Again, AIS is a great help with this.