VHF Safety Traffic

[robertager]

Can anyone help with a bit of advice? A silly question that I should know already but I am heading to France on Friday and would like to pass on my safety traffic to Solent Coastguard when I leave Portsmouth. No problem in the UK as when I arrive I just tell the local coastguard that I have arrived. What do I do when I arrive in France as (I am ashamed to say) I speak no French.

 

[TwinRudders]

I see no point in doing this. Coastguards are not going to check whether you call in or not. i think you're better off telling someone you know your route and eta then if there's no contact from you within an agreed time they can alert the authorities.

As far as speaking French - no problem - just take a deep breath and shout very slowly as if the person you are talking to is stupid....

Over!

J

 

[Evadne]

I would agree that you don't need to tell anyone your movements, unless you really want to. And the French will notice your arrival withut being told.
If I do have to speak over the radio, such as when I wanted to know if it was safe to enter the harbour when it was foggy, I call "Rardio Cherbourg" and greet them with "bonjour missewer" in my best French accent, then speak in English. It seems the politest thing to do without causing misunderstandings or getting an answer I can't comprehend.

 

[snowleopard]

I always report my passages if over about 60 miles. When I tell the local CG about a foreign trip they always say 'report to the local port authorities on arrival'.

If we were missing the coastguard would know our route and timing which could help in a search. For example a garbled mayday message would be better understood if they knew we were out there and roughly where. It has limited practical benefit but IMHO worth doing.

 

[Robin]

Your boat will not go up in a puff of smoke nor will they mobilise the navy and airforce search teams if you don't call in. You can either call the French CG on the VHF or just fill in the harbourmasters form when convenient on arrival. French CG at Cherbourg is 'CROSSMA JOBOURG', sounds like Cherbourg but is not, Jobourg is on the NW side of Cherboutg peninsular. Don't worry about not speaking French, they speak better English than many on the forums and they are more polite too. Otherwise if you feel guilty you can always call UK CG by mobilephone.

We don't always call in for a X-Channel trip but it is one way of getting a radio check without joining the queue of prats asking for one directly! We can usually reach Solent and Portland from about 5mls north of Cherbourg on the VHF anyway, and that is a much better radio check than talking to them on the UK side when their aerials are only a few miles away.

Have a good trip.

 

[LORDNELSON]

I believe under SOLAS V you are supposed to leave a brief passage plan with your UK shoreside representative (the person you name on your CG66); procedure as I understand it is that you provide CG with your safety message giving ETA in (say) France and on arrival report to the French authorities (calling for clearance to enter the port might do) or to be really proper deposit a Schenggan document or report to yacht club or marina. Then if your shore side rep does not hear from you, he/she can telephone CG who will institute enquiries

 

[EdEssery]

That's basically correct. You don't need to report in to the French. You DO need to report into your CG66 designated shore contact. It is your shore contact's responsibility to report you as overdue to the UK Coastguard (if you don't call them to notify your arrival). The Coastguard then uses the information you gave them in your Safety Traffic message on departure to determine a search plan/pattern.

The French and English authorities do not routinely talk to each other to compare notes on departures and arrivals.

In short there is no point in filing a passage plan via a Safety Traffic message unless you use your Shore Contact correctly.

Ed

 

[Piers]

The practice I follow is to call the UK CG station, to which I passed the traffic report, on my mobile when I tie up in France. The CG always seems pleased I have done this.

 

[BrendanS]

They are usually more than pleased. That's why they set up the CG66 scheme - to help in case there is an incident, to help them organise searches in the correct area based on your passage information, and to have info to hand that identifies your boat and it's safety equipment - all of which will help in a SAR operation

What they don't do, is follow your every movement and follow up, so you do need to either call in, or have a shore based person contact them if you are overdue.

 

[boomerangben]

I don't know what the exact protocol is, but it makes sense to inform the CG before your departure and of your safe arrival, preferably by telephone to ensure valuable VHF channels are kept free. I have been involved in searches for overdue yachts (almost always after dark) which have been a complete waste of time because the skipper has not informed whoever, their change of intentions. And I know our local CG would raise the alarm if you left them a passage plan and did not report in in time. But then again they are not as busy as Solent or Portland.

 

[ParaHandy]

the UK CG have stated they will not do anything if you do not report your arrival. the Clyde CG willingly accept traffic reports and can be heard, occasionally, asking the whereabouts of so-and-so which might mean they are checking up.

 

[Robin]

Re: VHF Safety Traffic a practical illustration

I will recount what our experiences were with the use of our safety traffic data a few years ago when my wife's father in the USA was taken suddenly to hospital and family members were trying to contact us. In those days we did not have mobilephones on board useable in France.

We were on a 4/5 week cruise around S Brittany, we left from Poole and informed Portland CG of our overall passage and the first leg to Dartmouth, we called in on safe arrival at Dartmouth to Brixham CG. We left Dartmouth next day for Camaret (near Brest) and again informed Brixham CG of our overall plan (including expected date of return to the UK) as well as the immediate 24hr leg to Camaret, on arrival in Camaret we reported to the harbourmaster as advised by the UK CG.

Three weeks into our cruise my American wife's father was taken dangerously ill and taken to hospital. Family in the USA knew we were off sailing in Brittany but not exactly where we were. They tried via the US Embassy in London to contact us and the Embassy approached HMCG. HMCG were putting out regular calls from Portland CG on VHF trying to locate us, eventually other boating friends told them we were not in UK waters but in Biscay but they still kept calling. Eventually another set of boating friends, somewhat angrily contacted the CG by telephone and again told them we were in French waters. Finally AFTER SEVERAL DAYS they contacted the French CG who were magnificent, they faxed EVERY harbourmaster in Brittany and we were contacted by each and every one of these as they saw us as we moved homewards. In the meantime fortunately the US Embassy in London put out an urgent message on BBC Radio after the evening Shipping Forecast, we actually received this in Concarneau (and were also notified by virtually every other Brit boat in the harbour as they all heard it). We were asked to contact the US Embassy in Paris, which started a long series of transatlantic calls which initially were via VHF link calls (another tale), the French radio operators were very helpful and we were never ever charged for these calls despite giving them our charge code details. All the while this was going on they CG were still putting out calls on the South Coast by VHF. SWMBO's father died within 36 hours of the first call, she never made it home but probably as it happened would not have been able to anyway.

The point being that both Portland CG and Brixham CG had been advised not only of our precise immediate destinations but of our overall passage, this information I believed was held on their computer records. Apparently at no time did they check this, or if they did their records were incomplete since they chose not to pass on the call to the French. What on earth therefore was the point of telling them?

I raised the topic at the CG stand both at SBS and LBS but they 'couldn't discuss individual cases' but confirmed it should all have been recorded on computer. Maybe they were too busy giving radio checks and our passage plan was only partially recorded, but even then commonsense would have told them we had left UK waters and perhaps they should contact the French CG. There should not have been confusion about our boat name, we were and still are registered and up to date on the CG66 scheme and I specifically told both Portland and Brixham that our CG66 was with Portland.

Nowadays we still call in but usually only for longer trips, partly as a quick radio check but also because we live in hope that the information might just be available if they chose to look for us if the unthinkable happened, but in reality we rely on our own means of salvation as we always have and all of us should.

 

[ShipsWoofy]

Re: VHF Safety Traffic a practical illustration

Maybe the MCA should organise an email or text service to pass passage plans.

Or an online form, this could then organise enties by arrival times and people should close the plan on safe arrival by a call to the local CG or a call to a special number that allows to close your plan with your pin number.

Fines could be levied for those who forget to close, therefore it would become a more reliable service, hopefully!

We should encompass new technology!

 

[Sea Devil]

Re: VHF Safety Traffic a practical illustration

A long time ago I was filming in a CC station and asked the question what were safety traffic reports really for - answer -

if friends or relations call up worried the cc has sufficient information - departure time and port of destination to say there is no problem - if really overdue to speak to their counterparts in the port of destination ( but only at the request of the inquirers if very overdue). That's all really it does. Of course if you tell them you have arrived then that is noted.
Of course the CC whatever it is, gives them a good description of the vessel if it really should go missing.

 

[Tekkie]

Re: VHF Safety Traffic a practical illustration

This http://www.westernmorningnews.co.uk/disp...wsNodeId=142722

Gives an idea what happens! Always good to let people know what you're doing IMHO

Brian