.
You
have decided to go offshore for a day of fishing in your 25
foot boat. The winds and seas are calm. It is an absolutely
gorgeous day with temperatures reaching the high 70’s. The
day just keeps getting better. The fishing is great. You’re
pulling them in one right after another. The sun is beginning
to get low in the western sky. You decide to call it a day.
You go to start your engine before retrieving the anchor. As
you turn the ignition key - nothing, not even a click !!! Your
electrical connections are clean, but your battery is dead.
There’s not even enough juice to send out a call for help on
your VHF marine radio. The sun is quickly setting, and the
temperature is beginning to nose dive to those body-shivering
readings. The wind is beginning to pick up, your boat begins
to bounce on the growing seas as darkness surrounds you.
Wisely you don your life jacket.
Meanwhile back
on shore, your family has just pulled in the driveway from a
long day of shopping at the local mall. They were expecting to
see you in the driveway washing down your trailered boat. Some
concern begins to develop. Within an hour a call is made to
the Coast Guard. The Coast Guard duty watch officer begins
asking a series of questions which will help us find the
overdue person. The watch officer asks,
—
"Where did the boat leave from?"
— "I don’t know."
— "Where does he/she usually fish?"
— "I don’t know,"
— "What is the description of the vessel?"
— "What kind of rescue equipment is on
board?"
— "What time did he/she depart and when are they
expected to return?"
— "Does the overdue person have any medical
conditions?"…
The reporting
source's anxiety begins to rise with each passing minute and
is compounded by the inability to answer all of the Coast
Guard’s important questions.
With a minimum
amount of information, the Coast Guard begins its search. The
Coast Guard begins contacting all local mariners, and visually
checking boat ramps. After an hour's worth of detective work
the Coast Guard locates a vehicle and trailer sitting at a
boat ramp parking lot that matches the description provided by
the reporting source. The Coast Guard begins broadcasting a
marine information broadcast which notifies all mariners that
you are overdue. It also advises to report all sightings to
the nearest Coast Guard unit. The Coast Guard dispatches a
boat and crew to begin searching an area of ocean encompassing
50 by 30 miles of coastal waters. A search aircraft is
dispatched from the local Coast Guard Air Station. The search
continues throughout the night.
Mean while out
on the overdue vessel the sun has set several hours earlier.
The seas are now four to five feet and rising. Occasional cold
salt spray splashes over the bow, soaking you to the bone. You
are scared, cold, and hungry. Then you have a brain storm.
"Maybe if I fire off a flare someone will see it and come
to my assistance." You break out your flare kit but
discover that all of your flares have long ago expired. None
of them work. Your spirits begin to rise when you see the
lights of an aircraft far to the south going back and forth as
if conducting a search pattern.
The Coast Guard
boat crew has been underway in the 5 foot seas over four hours
with negative sightings. The continuous pounding of the boat
through the seas is increasingly fatiguing to the crew as
their eyes strain through the blackness of night for any signs
of the overdue vessel. The Coast Guard boat coxswain also
searches the surrounding waters with the radar, looking for
any speck that might indicate the overdue vessel. The very
experienced Coast Guard crew realizes that the probability of
detection at night in the five foot seas is very low.
Back at the
Coast Guard Station, the duty officer is plotting all search
efforts on a large nautical chart. The duty officer is also
fielding calls from the now very distraught family members.
The duty officer is also responding to calls from the
inquiring media as well as keeping the Coast Guard chain of
command informed of the search progress.
The first
search area has been completed with negative sightings. Plans
are to double the search area. No one knows whether the
overdue vessel is adrift on the wind and current or at anchor.
For refueling purposes a second Coast Guard boat and aircraft
is dispatched to relieve those who have been searching
throughout the night.
You’ve
survived a long and lonely sleepless night on a 25 foot boat,
on the ocean, in five foot seas . The warmth of the sun begins
to raise your spirits. You know that if any one is searching
for you they will have a better chance of finding you in
daylight hours. Not 20 minutes later your eyes behold one of
the most beautiful sights you have ever witnessed. Out of the
west, with the morning sun shining on her bow, the white hull
with the orange and blue stripes comes crashing through the
foam crested waves and heaves to within hailing distance from
your vessel. The Coast Guard confirms identification and
radios back the information to the station. The station duty
watch officer notifies other search and rescue units who then
begin securing. The family is called with the good news,
resulting in many tears of joy. The Coast Guard safely
returns the overdue person and boat to shore where an
emotionally-filled family reunion occurs.
This was a
typical scenario describing a situation which the Coast Guard
responds to on an almost every day basis. Please note that not
all searches end as pleasantly as this one.
The number one
thing this person could have done to help the Coast Guard was
to file a float plan with a friend or relative. A sample
Float
Plan is
available for
your use. Please print it out, reproduce it, fill in the
appropriate information and before
beginning any boating trip, leave it with a friend or relative
who can call the Coast Guard if you fail to return. The
information contained will significantly enhance the Coast
Guard’s ability to locate you in the least amount of time.
The Coast Guard
encourages small craft operators to prepare a Float
Plan before
starting a trip, and leave it ashore with a yacht club,
marina, friend, or relative. Be specific. Check-in
regularly by radio or telephone at each point specified in the
float plan. The "fresher" your last known position,
the better our chances of success in locating a missing vessel
in the event search and rescue operations become necessary.
There are many
additional things that the boater can do to prevent the
described scenario from occurring. To learn more please call
the USCG Auxiliary Boating Course information line at
1-800-336-5647 to obtain info on the course offered nearest to
your location. If you have other boating safety questions call
the Coast Guard’s Boating safety Hotline at 1-800-268-5647.
May all your
boating be SAFE. |
