Rescue at Sea

[kmclemore]

I saw this on Facebook today and thought I'd share it. I would be EXTREMELY wary of any at-sea contact with another vessel, but this one turned out very well, and Alex is to be commended.

Link (you need to be on FB and a member of the "MacGregor 26 Owners" page to view it): https://www.facebook.com/groups/8994597 ... 3815307045

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From: Alex Shyshkov

MAYDAY !!!
Last night we did an offshore run from Bimini island to Great Harbour Cay, 83 nm. (If you want to argue it's not truly *offshore*, don't bother, that's not the point)
Shortly after sunset, we noticed a center console boat bopping on the waves not far from our course. As we approach, they started to chase us while shouting "fuel, fuel, give us fuel" on ch 16.
We held the course and let the sails out to slow down. They got on a parallel course, they explained (half English, half whatever) that they ran from Freeport to Bimini and ran out of fuel. How the F... do you run out of fuel 3/4 way of your destination on a powerboat, where fuel is the ONLY propellant you have? Where is your spare fuel? And the spare spare one?
5 people onboard of a powerboat, catching up with us in another country, miles and miles from any land, telling us some icky story, while having 4 5-10 gal red gasoline jerry cans on the deck... Yeah, looked suspicious.
So, the answer is NO, I can't give you fuel. 1st of all, my fuel is 2-stroke, 2nd - I have just 8-10gal which wouldn't be enough for your motor to get you to any land.
I have made multiple PAM-PAM calls, hoping my mast-top VHF antenna has better range than their handheld. No response.
"All right, can you tow us?"
Well,... NO! Your boat is heavier than mine, my 1990 8hp outboard wouldn't get us anywhere. Can't tow under sail - the air is light, I am doing 2.5 kn on my own. Hook you up and it's a 2 -3 days sail to the next island.
At this point, we ran out of options. They asked us to hail BASRA (Bahamian Coast Guard) when we get closer to land, which we promised them to do. We wished them best of luck, trimmed the sails and picked up speed...
300 yards later, I slapped myself on forehead and did a 180 turn. We came back to them and heaved to. And then... we powered up our Starlink
They gave me some local number and I have made a WhatsApp call and gave my phone to them. They talked for some time and got very happy.
Meanwhile we had a chance to observe their crew. 2 older men who behaved like "been-there- done-that", one 20ish yo guy who behaved very "unsure" and 2 women who looked like they are terrified to the very deepest corners of their souls.
One of women quietly asked something, one of man "shush" her. But it was enough to get the point across. Food... She wants food.
"how long you been there?"
"A day"
OMG
They been bopping on waves without fuels and food and with a very distant possibility of a rescue...for a day, going into their 2nd night.
As they wrapped up the phone call, they were ready to push off. But we held them for a couple more minutes and gave them some food. while the food is accounted on a small boat sailing autonomously, we thought this sh~t was well qualified for an exception.
They said they have water.
They pushed off, we circled out of heave to and returned to our course.
By that time the wind picked up to a point of "you should have reefed a while back". It was a late night by then, not a time for messing around I clipped in my harness and went forward to reef the foresail (we have a hank-on slab-reefed jib, really sweet). And while I worked there, my wife was on a call with BASRA, giving them Lat/Lon, description of the vessel, etc.
As I done with the sails, we started to get messages from other phone number "stop, anchor in place,...etc". While I was texting back-and-forth, we had a close encounter with a small cargo vessel. Few of my ch16 hails were unanswered, but we were both pointing spot lights on each other, so I knew they are aware of my presence. Finally radio came alive and told us that they intent to keep their course. Although I suppose to be the stand-on vessel, I didn't want to be "that guy", so I acknowledged and circled around to avoid a collision. I hailed them again, warning of a disabled vessel in the area, and, as expected... silence.
By then the red light on the disabled center concole boat has turned into a small red dot on horizon. At that moment I started to come to a full weight of realization that I just been in actual MAYDAY (or rather PAM-PAM) situation.
Did I handled it right?
Should I have siphoned all my gas? It's 2-stroke, plus likely not enough for their big motor.
Should I have try to tow them? It was about 20 miles to closest land. Later that night we were sailing with a reefed jib and deep-reefed main, in a bumpy seas. I can see how towing a vessel twice havier than my Mac would end up with something braking.
Should I have stayed with them? What's for? they had a light and a VHF radio and a little fuel to manuver around.
And so we went our ways - a small sailboat heading to a tropical paradise and a small motorboat with 5 souls onboard uncertain of their future...
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What do you usually do in such situations?
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PS. Later update - at 8 am next morning I started to get multiple calls from multiple numbers, BASRA staff, asking exactly the same questions (lat/lon, time, etc).
As for next morning 11am the boat is still not located
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PSS. May 1st, 10:30am. 36 hour after the encounter.
The crew of the disabled vessel has just been rescued. Why it took 36hrs to locate the boat at precise lat/lon is beyond me
They have spent 3 days and 3 nights in open ocean on a center console boat with a tiny shade and just a little food we gave them.
We just got a call from a relative of one of survivors. Attached.
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Sorry for long text and random pics.
We are done with rescues for today. Heading to the beach now Well deserved, I think



(There are more photos and some videos on the FB posting)

[Russ]

I'm glad to see a happy ending to this story.

Illustrates the point to be prudent when encountering strangers at sea. Especially in foreign waters. My first thought was the possibility of pirates. The movie "Dead Calm" comes to mind.

Intersting how Starlink has changed blue water sailing. With the ability to have constant communication from anywhere in the sea is a game changer.

[OverEasy]

Interesting story…. and kinda scary
Like a lot of things in life I don’t believe there is a ‘right’ answer.

Piracy did come to mind but not of the black flag kind but of the inadvertent desperations kind where people can act badly in stressful situations beyond their skill levels or control.

The basic maritime rules are something maybe someone on the forum better versed than I am can comment on …

It just my opinion but I would think that the safety and integrity of your person & crew and that of your vessel come first and foremost. One cannot be expected to place those in jeopardy. That said I feel that the author did what was reasonable under the circumstances. He could not ‘out run’ the center console boat as it was catching up to him. They were non aggressive. They clearly stated their distress situation. The situation occurred in open waters outside the immediate support of local legal authorities. Apparently the center console boat had a 4-stroke engine while the sailboat had a 2-stroke with limited fuel supply aboard..
It’s a difficult thing to know just what to do.

The satellite communication was the first thing I would have gone to and made direct contact with the appropriate authorities providing all relevant information such as detailed GPS location, vessel registration numbers, description of vessel, condition, number of persons, names, gender, ages, addresses, phone numbers, any medical conditions, port of departure, original port of destination. I would have also provided my vessel and personnel information for official contact by the appropriate authorities. I would have requested of the authorities an anticipated response timeframe, what resources where in the area, anticipated weather conditions.

Now after contact and response from local authorities and with the understanding that the situation was legitimate taken care of I don’t think I would leave a vessel and persons in distress. I believe that it would be more appropriate to remain in visual proximity until the arrival of the appropriate authorities… as long as it was safe to do so. So yes, that might mean sailing in circles for a while and a delay in plans. There are many things that can go awry in normal life, never mind in distressing ones…. Injuries, medical, fire, etc. So providing a support function I believe would be appropriate. Providing surplus PFDs, shade tarpaulin, sunscreen, surplus to needs food I believe would also be appropriate.

Regular periodic continued contact with the appropriate responding authorities on an arranged scheduled basis until they arrive I believe would be appropriate. This would provide responders with updated position and conditions. This would be for the benefit and safety of everyone involved.

I can understand that towing by sail is slow and limited but it is doable. It can also be utilized to keep both vessels pointed into the waves for stability. An unpowered vessel will quickly wallow in the wave troughs and that would very uncomfortable at the least and potential dangerous depending upon the sea state (potentially in the future). I wouldn’t be expecting to effect rescue by this but some stability or potentially movement toward an appropriate directed rendezvous with a vessel designated by the appropriate authorities.

I wouldn’t be expecting have a hard time finding it appropriate leaving a non threatening vessel and personnel in distress. That is a personal perspective. Doing the right thing in the right way can make all the difference in the lives of others and your own in the present as well as the future. I’m a firm believer in “Doing what you can, With what you can, While you can”. I also am of the persuasion that serendipity gift and is what you are prepared make of it by doing the next right thing. Do unto others as you would have done unto you is a universal cross cultural concept throughout history. I know the gratitude I’ve felt when having received the help, kindness and consideration of others. I wouldn’t want to miss the opportunity to do the same for someone else. Life’s too short to miss those moments to make a constructive difference.

Like was said, it’s a difficult situation and these are just my opinions.
I can only hope that I has da wits, da courage, da capability and da confidence to appropriately deal with such a situation.

Best Regards,
Over Easy