Cruising Sailors Forum Archive

Well, maybe not....

Tom I was listening to the VHF while tied up in my slip last summer on a very, very foggy day. This guy calls on 16 for the CG, declaring a "mayday". They of course jumped all over that and asked the guy the usual question "...what is the nature of your distress...". So the guy responds that his large powerboat has lost all electrical power and he doesn't know where he is, or how to get anywhere safe. Now he knows he is somewhere on RI Sound, which is a very busy area with lots of big stuff moving around. After questioning him further, it turns out that he has no means of establishing position and has no paper charts. Furthermore, he has no compass. He was totally invested in his electronics. And this is a busy area with lots of targets so the CG and Sea Tow had no way to find him since everyone's radar presentation was full of targets!!! Eventually a very clever Sea Tow skipper RDF'd him and led him into the Point Judith Harbor of Refuge so it ended OK. Hang onto those charts for a bit yet.

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