Why does the coastguard do this?

[Daydream believer]

. Don't believe everything you read on here.

OK. I do not believe that

 

[Aja]

OK. I do not believe that

You have the hang of it at least!

 

[AntarcticPilot]

However, for example, if you were calling Belfast CG I, as a vessel, would tend to ignore your call if I was in the Stornoway (eg north of Crinan) area.

But I'm calling the CG, not you. I'd only expect a response from you if the CG requested ships in my vicinity to render assistance, and that would probably be a result of an all ships Mayday or Pan pan call, not a call to the CG.

I'd expect the CG to direct me to a working channel, in any case.

But I'd only call the CG to submit a passage plan or to report a danger to navigation. I've done both precisely once since 2007!

 

[RunAgroundHard]

I think this problem is well on its way to being irrelevant with modern technology. There will always be cases where modern tech is not the best solution, but the OP was one person, and others would have received the message and likely were better prepared to record the information. We should not expect all possible ways of transmitting and receiving data to be catered for.

While there will always be difficult situations e.g. canoeists with hand held VHF, there are solutions for them as well, DSC hand held VHF, PLBs.

I also don't buy into the West Coast of Scotland bearing and distance from an object is a bad idea. Any skipper with a basic degree of situational awareness could manage that. Same for the CG insisting on Lat and Long, if a bearing and distance were given with a description that avoided ambiguity, then I would tell them to convert the to the Lat and Long themselves. Of course if they can't do that, then there is a problem for both parties. Buy tech that gives Lat and Long, GPS sets are sold for £20-30 quid these days, no excuse not to have tech.

As for chinagraph pencils, jut write on the GRP with an ordinary pencil, it works for me when taking bearings. If you can't write it down, likely you can't help, or if you think you can, call the coastguard back and ask for the positions to be repeated.

I don't think there is a problem.

 

[johnalison]

I think this problem is well on its way to being irrelevant with modern technology. There will always be cases where modern tech is not the best solution, but the OP was one person, and others would have received the message and likely were better prepared to record the information. We should not expect all possible ways of transmitting and receiving data to be catered for.

While there will always be difficult situations e.g. canoeists with hand held VHF, there are solutions for them as well, DSC hand held VHF, PLBs.

I also don't buy into the West Coast of Scotland bearing and distance from an object is a bad idea. Any skipper with a basic degree of situational awareness could manage that. Same for the CG insisting on Lat and Long, if a bearing and distance were given with a description that avoided ambiguity, then I would tell them to convert the to the Lat and Long themselves. Of course if they can't do that, then there is a problem for both parties. Buy tech that gives Lat and Long, GPS sets are sold for £20-30 quid these days, no excuse not to have tech.

As for chinagraph pencils, jut write on the GRP with an ordinary pencil, it works for me when taking bearings. If you can't write it down, likely you can't help, or if you think you can, call the coastguard back and ask for the positions to be repeated.

I don't think there is a problem.

Not so easy when short-handed on a foul night. Maybe other sailors have been taught to carry a chinagraph pencil in the cockpit in their RYA course, but I haven’t. I have been in the position of sailing along the Dutch/Belgian coast when warning of an imminent explosion was broadcast, leaving me with little alternative to prayer because I couldn’t remember the numbers.

 

[Daydream believer]

Not so easy when short-handed on a foul night. Maybe other sailors have been taught to carry a chinagraph pencil in the cockpit in their RYA course, but I haven’t. I have been in the position of sailing along the Dutch/Belgian coast when warning of an imminent explosion was broadcast, leaving me with little alternative to prayer because I couldn’t remember the numbers.

The bang really shakes the boat. I can vouch for that.

 

[MADRIGAL]

Yeah that's probably exactly what everyone needs.

Or should I say, "Oscar Victor - break - Alpha zero eight zero, Romeo one zero"? That could send everyone scrambling for the ICS code book, but what do you know? There's an app for that...

 

[capnsensible]

Or should I say, "Oscar Victor - break - Alpha zero eight zero, Romeo one zero"? That could send everyone scrambling for the ICS code book, but what do you know? There's an app for that...

Yeah, everyone has one of those.....

 

[MADRIGAL]

 

[OCuea]

Just launched the boat & sitting (chartless) at the chart table when the VHF DSC went off. It was an urgency message from Dover.
Handy as I could try out the buttons on my new VHF.
What had me concerned was that they announced that vessel "£$%^ had engine issues & required a tow. Could a vessel in the vicinity give assistance?
No problem with that. It came over loud & clear on the Bradwll aerial so one guessed that it might be in the Thames estuary.
That being said, it could also be in the Channel if they were transmitting on all aerials
They then gave the vessel's position - twice- as lattitude & longitude My Ikea pencil was missing & my Barclays biro was dry. I poked a hole in the back of my damp barclay card receipt, so I did not manage to get it.
But even if I had, It was meaningless as I did not have a chart to hand. I did not later check if the vessel's position came up on the radio, but I assume not, as the Pan Pan came from Dover. ( i could be wrong on that) But I usually have my chart folded & it is a hassle to find a lat long position sitting in the cockpit when never need it.
If they had followed up with something like - 1 mile south of Beachy head, or 1 mile N of N Foreland, it would have meant a lot more to me & I expect to a lot of others.
On top of that they did not describe the vessel. If I had known where & was in a position to tow, I could tow a yacht of , say 28ft in reasonable conditions a short distance. But I could not tow a 40 ft MOBO
So why could they not just say what it was?
Would it not be easy to give position, plus a location, plus vessel description, in one simple transmission
Or do they not have a square for those details in their tick box when they get the distress call coming in?

Good points

 

[oldmanofthehills]

Recent ones from Falmouth CG mention approx distance from x headland at the end, or at last mention which bay. The dim school boy is learning

However it would most useful at the beginning so I can stop focussing on the long message and its unmemorable lat long, if the item is clearly 20 miles from me.

As there is a text alert also telling me to listen on ch 16, perhaps that message could include the lat long?

 

[ylop]

However it would most useful at the beginning so I can stop focussing on the long message and its unmemorable lat long, if the item is clearly 20 miles from me.

Agreed - that would tell me if I need to go below to listen carefully and take proper note or can stay in the cockpit.

As there is a text alert also telling me to listen on ch 16, perhaps that message could include the lat long?

I presume you mean DSC alert? I’m fairly sure that for a DSC Urgency broadcast by the c/g it would actually need an international change to the protocols to add the location of the casualty.

 

[oldmanofthehills]

Agreed - that would tell me if I need to go below to listen carefully and take proper note or can stay in the cockpit.

I presume you mean DSC alert? I’m fairly sure that for a DSC Urgency broadcast by the c/g it would actually need an international change to the protocols to add the location of the casualty.

Thanks for the later clarification. I thought the DSC messages had greater capability