radio hailing procedure

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williamabernathy

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Hi, All,
Requesting your comments on my radio hailing procedures.

Recently a sailboat under power was 500 or so meters off my starboard. His direction sited over compass did not change, so I became concerned we might be on a collision course. Though neither of us were doing more than 7-8 knots, I still wanted to establish contact. So I hailed him on 16, “sailboat under power vicinity lat/long heading southeast, this is motor vessel Lady Doretha off your port quarter." (pause) No response. Second call (same call), this time adding, “I acknowledge you will be stand-on vessel. I will give-way." Again, no response. I sent the same full call (always with lat/long) a third time. Still no response. He finally did pass about 300 meters across my bow. Oddly, about an hour later the same boat came up on 16 to notify USCG about a hazard to navigation (railroad tie in the water).

So did I do anything wrong to cause him not to respond? I sure can't see anything wrong with my radio procedures (it's done me fine for years in the Army). I know for a fact my radio transmits fine, so I can only figure he wasn't listening.

Thanks for your comments. I'm puzzled.

V/R
 
Yes you used lat/long. If he had is radio on and if he had it turned up and not squealched to death he probably had no idea of his lat/long. It also might have been better if you had some identifying info like blue hull 35 ft sailboat with blue furled sails. For position I use channel markers, towns or bridges or something he might relate to. I also would have used a horn signal to get his attention and to get him to turn his radio on/ up.
 
Mike, good points. Thanks. I do believe I identified his hull color but not the color of his furled sails or his length. We were in the middle of the Bay, not really near any markers, so identifying physical points would not have worked too well (at least I don't think so). Still, thanks for your tips.

V/R
 
I don't know why you tried to contact him in the first place, you had to take action not to collide not him. I agree with Mike on the radio procedure.
 
No. I think you did everything the situation called for, but the sailboat capt & crew were either not monitoring 16 (as required) with squelch moderated sufficiently & volume raised to comprehensible levels, or just remained oblivious to the hail.

That said, what Mike said can help a lot to get the hailed station to wake up out of their coma to the fact you are actually hailing there particular vessel ... in the fairly remote chance they are legal and monitoring correctly.

That said , best move for give way vessel when bearing is steady for indicated collision, is to go ahead and initiate an obvious turn to non-ccollision course. Which I'm sure you did.

You did good & well.
 
Sailboats often sail with radios off to conserve power. It is quite possible that he used his radio for the first time when you heard him notify the CG about the RR tie.
 
I'm still scratching my head here. You were 500 meters / 1600 feet away, and neither vessel was doing more than 7 or 8 knots. .... And you were worried about being on a collision course? How in the world at that distance and relatively slow speed would you collide unless it was intentional? You were the give-way vessel. Just change course, or adjust speed accordingly. Unless you were piloting something as large and unmaneuverable as the QE2 or an aircraft carrier, it seems like this was a non-issue.
 
Some sailboats are certainly not the only vessels out there who are not diligent in ch 16 monitoring. I'd WAG that 1/3 to 1/2 ...or more... of recreational vessels are negligent in conformong with the regulation requirements to monitor ch 16 at all times when not actively communicating on another channel.

http://www.navcen.uscg.gov/?pageName=mtWatch Dual- or tri-channel or active multi-channel scanning is easy to set up if you feel the need to monitor another popular local channel as well. But the fewwr channels monitored , the less like one is to turn down the volume to miss that USCG hail or mayday or helpful security call from someone like Biill A.
 
quote:
Originally posted by RumDiet

Sailboats often sail with radios off to conserve power. It is quite possible that he used his radio for the first time when you heard him notify the CG about the RR tie.

Click to expand...


And often their radios are installed below decks at their nav station, not necessarily hearable from the cockpit while underway anyway.

-Chris
 
Chances are he wasn't monitoring but if everyone was calling boats that are 500m away just to confirm they are stand on, ch16 would become totally useless!
 
quote:
Originally posted by PascalG

Chances are he wasn't monitoring but if everyone was calling boats that are 500m away just to confirm they are stand on, ch16 would become totally useless!

Click to expand...


+1
 
sailboat never seem to monitor the radio. horn signal seem oftem not understood. Around here the only to get the attention of a sailboat would be cannon fire.
 
quote:
Originally posted by PascalG

Chances are he wasn't monitoring but if everyone was calling boats that are 500m away just to confirm they are stand on, ch16 would become totally useless!
Click to expand...

And if everyone who tried to contact another boat via VHF and got no response posted it on the Internet, the Internet would be useless. ;)

If the radio doesn't work, use your horn. If that doesn't work, do what you have to do.
 
Flaregun, Flares, your whistle, horn at night spotlight sending SOS etc...
Bill
 
quote:
Originally posted by ranger42c

quote:
Originally posted by RumDiet

Sailboats often sail with radios off to conserve power. It is quite possible that he used his radio for the first time when you heard him notify the CG about the RR tie.

Click to expand...


And often their radios are installed below decks at their nav station, not necessarily hearable from the cockpit while underway anyway.

-Chris

Click to expand...

This is why they make remotes for most VHF radios even a remote speaker would be better then something you can't hear while the boat is underway.
Bill
 
I never assume another pleasure boat even has a radio or even more likely, if they do, never turn it on. . . .UNTIL. . . .THEY need to use it, then they turn it on. Defies boater logic.
 
quote:
Originally posted by bobalong

I never assume another pleasure boat even has a radio or even more likely, if they do, never turn it on. . . .UNTIL. . . .THEY need to use it, then they turn it on. Defies boater logic.

Click to expand...

Reminds me of an old joke.

Farmer Clem and Bob are sitting in the farmhouse where Bob just had a partyline phone installed. While they are chatting the phone rings two longs and a short. Bob doesn't flinch and continues talking. The phone rings again two longs and a short. Clem says "Bob, isn't two longs and a short your ring". He replies "sure is but I had that phone installed for my convenience not any body else's.
 
I use Ch. 13 in the ship channel and rivers. That's what all the tugs, ships, work boats, crew boats, commercial fishing boats and law enforcement use around here when on inland waterways.
When in the lakes where there is no commercial traffic, I change to Ch. 68, which is what most recreational boats around here use.
I only use Ch. 16 if I leave my home waters, but I still monitor Ch. 13 if inland. But I do use Ch. 16 when offshore.
Maybe he only had one radio and could only monitor one channel at a time and swapped to Ch. 16 in order to contact the USCG.
 
quote:
Originally posted by rduhon

I use Ch. 13 in the ship channel and rivers. That's what all the tugs, ships, work boats, crew boats, commercial fishing boats and law enforcement use around here when on inland waterways.
When in the lakes where there is no commercial traffic, I change to Ch. 68, which is what most recreational boats around here use.
I only use Ch. 16 if I leave my home waters, but I still monitor Ch. 13 if inland. But I do use Ch. 16 when offshore.
Maybe he only had one radio and could only monitor one channel at a time and swapped to Ch. 16 in order to contact the USCG.
Click to expand...


You are supposed to monitor channel 16 if you have a VHF on board and if it's turned on.

That seems pretty silly to me that it's OK not to have one and it's OK to leave it off, but if you turn it on, it has to be monitoring channel 16.

Of course, this is one of those rules that cannot be enforced and is universally ignored. On the few occasions where I have set out on a trip with my marina neighbors, they will designate a communications channel. Not "contact on 16 and then go to a working channel", but "leave your radios on channel XX."
 
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