What do you do when you receive a DSC distress call

[DAKA]

poll to follow

a) press every button in sight until it shuts up

 

[Elessar]

poll to follow

press every button on the radio to shut the noise up becuase I don't know how it works. I've tried to learn but it is unintuitive, so even when I do, I forget.
Then listen on 16 for the real message.

 

[DAKA]

press every button on the radio to shut the noise up becuase I don't know how it works. I've tried to learn but it is unintuitive, so even when I do, I forget.
Then listen on 16 for the real message.

I thought I knew how to stop mine but I find by the time I have stopped the second one, the first set sets off again. Now I know whats going on, you are probably setting your distress or relay off in panic

 

[Talulah]

Depends upon the volume of the beeping.
Distress is very loud and I will swing in to action.
Safety is quiet but slowly builds up in volume. If I'm adjacent I'll just clear it to then listen to the message. Otherwise I may stay put until the noise is too annoying but I'm too late for the message.
You are missing the option "Turn up the stereo until it drowns out the sound."

 

[Scubadoo]

press every button on the radio to shut the noise up becuase I don't know how it works. I've tried to learn but it is unintuitive, so even when I do, I forget.
Then listen on 16 for the real message.

Almost the same, because it doesn't happen very often, I also forget how to stop it and waste time through the menus, but then kind of scared that I will select the wrong option and send my own distress lol.

 

[prv]

Stop the alarm and give the radio the Ok to switch to 16 for the voice call. Roughly eyeball where the lat & long on the VHF screen relate to on the chart, to see if it's near enough that I might be able to help. This would be easier if a little icon appeared on the plotter, but I don't think my C70 understands DSC messages. Where I sail, the Coastguard will already be on the case; if I was nearby I'd head towards the casualty and then get on the radio and offer my assistance, but so far this has never happened ("nearby" is not a very large area when your top speed is five or six knots).

Pete

 

[elton]

Never had a distress alert, but had a few Securité messages, usually regarding unidentified flare sightings.

It's beyond me why anyone regards DSC as a nuisance.

 

[RAI]

I bet the button under that little red flap will cancel an alarm

 

[DAKA]

It's beyond me why anyone regards DSC as a nuisance.

A traditional VHF distress is interesting, you can listen to it while underway , and listen for a position usually given by a human in a recognisable form " Alum Bay " or "off old harry" , takes 5 seconds to decide if you can help but you can still follow the situation as you cruise.


DSC
clang clang clang

press what feels like a dozen or so buttons to read a minuscule read out of position, transfer to plotter to see if you are anywhere near and after all that hassle most likely its someone who has lost a fender over board.

Do you still plot the position ELton or did you stop bothering after the first two ?
Perhaps on a sailing boat it helps relieve the time on longer passages ?
Interesting, please start the same question on scuttlebutts, I suspect the response may be very different.

 

[RAI]

My DSC radio puts MayDay call coordinates into NMEA messages that display on my chart plotter. It makes relative location a lot easier.

 

[rbcoomer]

You forgot "Run aground whilst fiddling with the radio trying to silence and read the message"...

 

[dpb]

and " spend five minutes wondering what the beeping sound is, and by the time you realise...with some relief...that its the VHF.....its all over",
which is what happened the only time that mine went off.

 

[capnsensible]

I can get my wife to sort it out because she is a VHF assessor.

 

[AdeOlly]

This exact thing happened to me a few weeks ago. Cancelled the ear splitting siren and listened on 16. Nothing, so was about to call it in when I was beaten to it - CG had not to have received the distress so requested anybody who had to relay the lat/long off the VHF.. this seemed to be a challenge with on-air mutterings of I've not done this before not sure how to get that etc etc. By this time there were three/four boats chiming in. Then another distress call that the CG did get, but transpired to be a different MMSI..... it was chaos for about 15 minutes with duplication, repetition and confusion until a somewhat stressed CG put out a fairly clear statement of what he did/didn't know. By this time three different positions had been provided..... One boater owned up to an accidental DSC distress call, but two others to be investigated. Don't think any of them transpired to be genuine Mayday situations.

 

[SgtColon]

You also forgot a) Panic thinking you've knocked the button by accident
b) Curse believing the boat systems have gone haywire
c) Lay down in recovery position for 5 mins whilst heartbeat returns to normal after being frightened half to death by the noise

On the one occasion I have heard it I could not identify any coordinates from the VHF set

 

[oceanfroggie]

It's very loud and really scares the life out of unwitting passengers.

"What's wrong? Where's the life raft? Are we sinking? Are we on fire? Did something break? Will she explode?"

 

[Elessar]

I bet the button under that little red flap will cancel an alarm

only if you press and hold it - try that it will be OK

 

[Elessar]

Stop the alarm and give the radio the Ok to switch to 16 for the voice call. Roughly eyeball where the lat & long on the VHF screen relate to on the chart, to see if it's near enough that I might be able to help. This would be easier if a little icon appeared on the plotter, but I don't think my C70 understands DSC messages. Where I sail, the Coastguard will already be on the case; if I was nearby I'd head towards the casualty and then get on the radio and offer my assistance, but so far this has never happened ("nearby" is not a very large area when your top speed is five or six knots).

Pete

twice I've been nearby to effect a rescue. Never has DSC helped.

Once was mid channel and a 6+ hour tow back to where we started. Yacht that had lost a rudder. Pre DSC.

Once was in southampton water, a small boat that had lost all power that was flapping telling the fast jet to turn. DSC not used. Towed him to safety whilst keeping VTS informed as a tanker was just making a turn to head that way.

On another occasion I heard a distress for something miles away but realised I had just passed said boat, so was able to tell the CG where he really was, CG said assistance not required but was grateful for my fix by proxy. Clearly he hadn't used his DSC.

 

[Fantasie 19]

b) Curse believing the boat systems have gone haywire
c) Lay down in recovery position for 5 mins whilst heartbeat returns to normal after being frightened half to death by the noise

In my case all of the above as I don't have a DSC VHF..

 

[Solitaire]

press every button on the radio to shut the noise up becuase I don't know how it works. I've tried to learn but it is unintuitive, so even when I do, I forget.
Then listen on 16 for the real message.

Lower helm press Enter, upper helm any button. Easy! Had cause to do I yesterday.