Here's a fun story with a moral. Actually, several morals: you can learn a lot (about what not to do) by listening to your VHF when sailing, and you can be entertained by these stories (at least the ones not ending in tragedy), giving you a basis for true stories at the yacht club bar or in your blog.
A few days ago, very hot and hazy in New England, I went out for an afternoon sail to cool off: I ended up having time enough to sail 17 miles straight out into the Atlantic before having to turn back. On much of the return trip I was entertained by Coast Guard VHF communications with a "lost" boat somewhere north of Provincetown, Cape Cod. The boat was too far away to hear their side of the conversation, but the Coast Guard side alone made the story quote clear.
The boat had radioed the Coasties for help because they were lost away from land. The CG did the usual interview, and all aboard were ok, and the boat running fine - just lost. Lots of back and forth as the CG tried to convince them to put on their PFDs. Lots of discussion about not having a GPS or compass aboard (in a boat large enough for seven people?). Then the amusing (to hear) efforts of the CG to help them establish their position. They did have a working cellphone but were too far out from towers and CG stations for their position to be triangulated with much accuracy. Over and over, the CG dispatcher asked if they had any kind of device on board that could provide a location. Over and over.
Finally, the dispatcher simply asked if they had an iPhone onboard - which they did! Patiently he guide them through menus to find their position ("That row of numbers under the compass.... Yes, that row of numbers.... Yes, could you read those to me..... Yes, I'd like to know those numbers.... Yes, those numbers have something to do with your position....).
We're now about an hour into the communications - and now the CG has to explain why they're sending a commercial towboat to guide them back to harbor, rather than the CG coming itself. (The CG cannot waste resources on boats that get themselves in trouble by their own actions but are not in an emergency, when commercial resources are available.) Finally, the CG asked the boaters to conserve power on the cellphone by turning it off for now but to stay on the radio for 30-minute communication updates. When the first update time came, I listed to the CG patiently calling over and over and over... for the next hour... the boaters had apparently also turned off their VHF. Sigh.
So I finally learned rest of the story from the newspapers today. A private boat from Provincetown had taken six passengers, including this famous singer, out for a ride following a commercial whalewatch boat. In the haze, or perhaps simply due to inattention, they lost sight of the boat and were suddenly all alone on a very big ocean with no idea where they were or what direction to steer homeward. (One might even be amazed that they knew how to use the radio?) Thanks to a very patient CG dispatcher, the rescuing boat found them more than 5 hours later, some 33 miles out to sea.
Today's quiz: how many things can you name that would have prevented or solved this situation? (Any answer less than a dozen should be reconsidered....) Bonus point for describing what could have happened if the boat had drifted outside radio range.
Oh, and the name of that famous singer on the boat? What, you think I wanted to be sued or something?
