Pan pan pan

[mastreb]

This weekend while sailing my brother's Ranger 33 with my wife and his new girlfriend, we had a call come over Channel 16 from a panicked sailor.

"This is 40 foot sloop fair winds. we have touched the ground we are distressed!"

"40-foot sloop Fair winds this is Avalon Harbor Master please indicate your location." (we're over 90nm from avalon, but they responded first. Good VHF!)

"This is fair winds! we have touched ground! I am distressed requesting rescue!"

Anyway it went on like that for a while, with Coast Guard San Diego requesting he go off 16 but he kept yelling on 16 for about 30 minutes, until Sea Tow arrived.

What became apparent is this:

1. A sailboat had drifted outside the marked channel in South Bay and run aground at low tide in about 4' of water.

2. Nobody was in danger, the boat wasn't taking on water, it was simply stuck. At high tide it would have floated off easily.

3. The captain had no idea how to use VHF.

The correct call in cases where life is not in danger is not "mayday mayday" or "SOS".

It's "pan pan pan".

This is the international call for "I need assistance and cannot make way, but there is no life-threatening emergency."

Pan pan pan is usually the right call. Use it when you can't make way, but nobody is in danger.

[SKIPPER2C]

VHF RADIO EXAM

30. THE URGENCY SIGNAL

The radiotelephone URGENCY SIGNAL is the expression “PAN-PAN” repeated three times before the call to all stations, and may be sent only on the authority of the Master or person responsible for the vessel.

The signal is transmitted to indicate that a station has a very urgent message to communicate concerning the safety of a ship or aircraft, or the safety of a person aboard a vessel, BUT NOT IN IMMINENT DANGER.

The URGENCY SIGNAL has priority over all other communications except Distress and stations hearing the signal should avoid interfering with the transmission. The message which follows the signal may be transmitted to either ALL STATIONS or to a particular station, e.g. a Coast Station such as DURBANRADIO.

Typical reasons for transmitting Urgency messages are:- engine failure and drifting into danger (but not in IMMINENT danger), requiring a tow from another vessel, serious injury or illness aboard, man overboard, etc.

31. CANCELLATION OF AN URGENCY MESSAGE

If an Urgency message was transmitted to ALL STATIONS, it must be cancelled by an appropriate message (again to ALL STATIONS) when no further assistance is required, or when the Urgency situation is over. This message should also be preceded by the URGENCY SIGNAL “PAN-PAN”.

[March]

I'd forgotten about it. Thank you for the reminder.

[SKIPPER2C]

While we at it.
VHF RADIO EXAM

17. DISTRESS TERMINOLOGY AND DISTRESS PROCEDURE
The radiotelephone DISTRESS SIGNAL is the expression “MAYDAY”. This signal indicates that the station transmitting it is threatened by grave and imminent danger and requires immediate assistance. It is used in the DISTRESS CALL, which precedes the DISTRESS MESSAGE, and may only be transmitted on the authority of the Master or person responsible for the vessel. It must also be used before each call and before each message concerning Distress working.
18. THE DISTRESS CALL
This consists of the DISTRESS SIGNAL “MAYDAY” transmitted three times, followed by the words “THIS IS” transmitted once, followed by the “NAME OF THE STATION IN DISTRESS” transmitted three times.
E.g. “MAYDAY MAYDAY MAYDAY THIS IS ALPHA ALPHA ALPHA”
19. THE DISTRESS MESSAGE
This consists of the DISTRESS SIGNAL “MAYDAY” transmitted once, followed by the name and/or callsign of the vessel in distress, its position (either in latitude and longitude or by a bearing in degrees and distance in nautical miles from a KNOWN GEOGRAPHICAL POINT), the nature of the Distress, the type of assistance required and any further information which may assist rescue operations.
20. PRIORITY
DISTRESS traffic has ABSOLUTE PRIORITY over all other transmissions. Stations receiving a distress call and message MUST immediately cease all operations on the Distress channel and maintain a listening watch to assist in rescue operations if required.
21. EXAMPLE OF A DISTRESS CALL AND MESSAGE
MAYDAY MAYDAY MAYDAY THIS IS ALPHA ALPHA ALPHA
MAYDAY ALPHA/ZR2211, position 30 nautical miles due South of TUGELA MOUTH, have struck submerged object and am sinking, require immediate assistance, will fire distress flares at intervals (plus any other information which may assist in rescue operations, e.g. five persons aboard, EPIRB or PLB activated, etc.),
OVER.
22. ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF RECEIPT OF A DISTRESS MESSAGE
An acknowledgment of receipt of a Distress message should be made according to the following example. For the purposes of the example, the vessel ALPHA has transmitted a Distress message which has been received by the vessel BETA:-
“MAYDAY
ALPHA THIS IS BETA BETA BETA
RECEIVED MAYDAY
OVER.”
N.B.
IT IS INCUMBENT UPON EVERY STATION RECEIVING A DISTRESS MESSAGE TO ACKNOWLEDGE RECEIPT, WHETHER OR NOT THEY ARE IN A POSITION TO ASSIST.
23. VESSEL IN THE IMMEDIATE VICINITY OF A DISTRESS
Such vessels should acknowledge receipt immediately, but when in the vicinity of a Coast station a short time should be allowed for the Coast Station to acknowledge without interference.
24. VESSELS NOT IN THE IMMEDIATE VICINITY
Such vessels should allow a short interval to elapse before acknowledging receipt to permit stations which may be closer to the Distress to acknowledge first.
25. AFTER INITIAL ACKNOWLEDGMENT
Every vessel acknowledging receipt of a Distress message should, upon the order of the Master or person responsible for the vessel and as soon as possible AFTER the acknowledgment, supply its NAME, POSITION, SPEED at which it is proceeding and ETA at the Distress scene, to the station in Distress and also to the nearest Coast Station.
26. MAYDAY RELAY
When not in a position itself to render assistance, a station hearing a Distress message which has not been acknowledged by another station should take all possible action to attract the attention of other stations who may be more favourably placed to assist. The “MAYDAY RELAY” signal MUST be used. Additionally, any station learning of a mobile station in Distress should relay a Distress message in the following instances:-
a) when the station in Distress cannot transmit a message itself (e.g. due to radio failure, etc.); or
b) when the Master or person responsible for the vessel receiving the Distress considers that further assistance is required.
The Distress should be relayed as follows:-
“MAYDAY RELAY MAYDAY RELAY MAYDAY RELAY
THIS IS
(Name of the station RELAYING the Distress message, transmitted three times)
FOLLOWING DISTRESS MESSAGE RECEIVED FROM...(Name of the vessel in Distress)....then repeat the Distress message EXACTLY AS RECEIVED
OVER”.
NOTE:
WHEN RELAYING A DISTRESS MESSAGE IT IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT TO USE THE SIGNAL “MAYDAY RELAY” TO AVOID CONFUSION AS TO WHICH VESSEL IS ACTUALLY IN DISTRESS.

[NiceAft]

Good information!

Now let's give this captain a little slack. He/she did not use the terms MAYDAY or SOS. That captain was, to say the least, not just stuck, but highly embarrassed, and flustered. We should all be as calm, cool, and collected as we believe we would be in the same situation.

Ray

[Catigale]

Pan pan, pan Pan, Pan pan...

Caribbean Charters, this is Rent-a-Boat, over

CC >>Go ahead Rent-a-Boat, this Caribbean Charters...

RAB >> We cant find an anchor and are adrift in the Bay.

CC>> There are three anchors on board in the forward locker - please advise.

RAB >>We found those three, but this is our fourth night out...

CC>> HIss of radio static.....

[Tomfoolery]

[Russ]

RAB >>We found those three, but this is our fourth night out...

CC>> HIss of radio static.....

Good one.

[BOAT]

mastreb - should we exchange mmsi numbers?

[SKIPPER2C]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yR0lWICH3rY

Old but still the best.

[mastreb]

mastreb - should we exchange mmsi numbers?

Yes--and beers! PM me.

[BOAT]

You got it! Will to today!

[topcat0399]

Pan pan, pan Pan, Pan pan...

Caribbean Charters, this is Rent-a-Boat, over

CC >>Go ahead Rent-a-Boat, this Caribbean Charters...

RAB >> We cant find an anchor and are adrift in the Bay.

CC>> There are three anchors on board in the forward locker - please advise.

RAB >>We found those three, but this is our fourth night out...

CC>> HIss of radio static.....

i giggled

[mastreb]

So I should have checked the VHF regs before posting this--I'm remembering regs passed down in the Navy verbally, and thought the call was "pan-pan-pan" repeated twice, not "pan-pan" repeated three times.

Six of one, half dozen of the other I suppose.

[yukonbob]

Id have to double check but I'm pretty sure you use PAN PAN to relay a mayday as well. ie if the mayday boat had a handheld VHF you can relay via PAN PAN over a broader range with a base mounted VHF or if the boat in distress lost communication you relay the the mayday with the distressed boats info and location until you or someone else finds it.

*Nope never mind. Thought I had read that somewhere, its just mayday relay three times now instead.