Skipper Saver Handbook
Don’t Panic
Nearly every discussion about facing an emergency begins with “DON’T PANIC”. Its easy to say, and obviously very beneficial, but who knows how anyone will react. What is certain however, is that people are far less likely to panic if they know how to react to the emergency.Knowledge is your best ally.
Man Overboard
Man overboard is a special case because the skipper may no longer be on the boat. Regardless if the skipper is the MOB or someone else the actions to recover him are the same. Immediately throw your life ring toward the MOB. This is a flotation device (a life ring or more likely a flotation cushion) that is required by law to be readily available for this purpose. Also throw life jackets, and anything that will float to help locating the victim. If more than one person is still aboard immediately assign a spotter whose job is to keep the MOB in sight at all times until rescued. It is all to easy to lose sight of a person in the water, especially if the water is rough or the MOB isn’t conscious.
Power boats: reduce speed, turn around, and follow your wake back to the MOB. Approach from down wind. Other wise the wind may blow the boat over the MOB and force him under water. Put on your life jacket. Pull the MOB into the boat or onto the swim platform. If this can’t be done,secure the MOB to the boat with a line under his arms. Call for help. Call the Coast Guard on your VHF radio, call for help from fellow boaters (they may get there much faster), put up a flare; use all your emergency signaling equipment to get help. If you have to go in the water to get the MOB, tie yourself to the boat and be sure you are wearing a life jacket. Wind and current can move the boat much faster than you can swim, especially towing a victim.
Sail Boats:If you’re in a sail boat the best course is probably to drop the sails, start the engine and motor back to the MOB. Use the same procedures as above for power boats (at this point you are a power boat).
First Things First
There is a straight forward sequence you need to follow in case of an emergency:
1 Get The Boat Under Control–This usually means getting it slowed down or stopped. It won’t do any good to tend to other aspects of the emergency if the boat flips over or crashes into something.
Power boats: pull the throttle back to idle and then the shift into neutral.
Sail boats: turn into the wind and drop your sails.
Anchor if necessary to prevent being blown or set by a current into a dangerous situation. Put on your life jacket. Drop the anchor and back off a considerable distance. 5 times water depth if possible. Tie off the anchor line and back up gently to set it.
2 Put Out Any Fire - You will locate and learn how to use your fire extinguisher/s during your checkout. Pull the ring on the extinguisher and aim at the base on one side of the fire Squeeze the handle and move from side to side across the fire (always at the base).
Stop and asses the situation! Is there any other emergency you need to control before attending to the skipper?
3 Provide Emergency First Aid –
There are two primary life threatening situations you can and must attend to immediately (but after 1&2 above)
Breathing–If the victim isn’t breathing, check the air way, apply CPR as soon as possible. Call for help!
Circulation – Check for a heart beat. Stop severe bleeding. Apply a pressure bandage to the wound as soon as possible. Call for help!
Make the patient as comfortable as possible.
We recommend taking Emergency First Aid and CPR classes. The Red Cross offers these courses.
4 Call For Help - First call the Coast Guard or local authorities. Use the radio procedure below. Call on fellow boaters. They will readily come to your aid. Use your emergency signaling gear as you learned in the seminar. You can signal other boats your emergency flag, mirror, flash light, and flares. Also try your cell phone but remember it can only reach one contact at a time, usually on land, and has limited range. It should be considered a back up at best.
Marine VHF Radio
Your best resource for getting help is a marine VHF radio. It transmits to everyone who has a VHF turned on within at least 10 miles. Your primarily purpose is to contact the Coast guard or local water safety organization. But you also want to alert your fellow boaters. They may be much closer and will help you if they know you are in trouble.
Send a MAYDAYcall!!! A MAYDAY call is only used for a serious emergency such as a sinking boat, a fire, or serious injury needing immediate attention. A MAYDAY call will initiate an emergency response, such as launching a patrol boat,and aircraft being deployed. If you don’t have an emergency this serious, simply call the Coast Guard on channel 16 and ask for help. The responding authorities will call you back and stay in contact with you until you are safe. They will asses your situation and take appropriate action. They will ask you for the information they need and tell you what actions you need to take. Listen to them and do as they request. It’s their job to help you with your emergency, and they are very good at it.
MAYDAY – If you have a serious emergency and need immediate help, make a MAYDAYcall using your marine VHF radio:
To use the radio, first be sure it’s turned on.Check to be sure it’s tuned to channel 16 (there will be a big 16 on the display). If it isn’t on 16 push the 16 or 16/9 button. This will tune the radio to channel 16. Put the microphone very close to your mouth, push the transmit button on the side and call MAY DAY for your boat “Lucky?”
•MAYDAY, MAYDAY, MAYDAY
THIS IS POWER BOAT LUCKY? LUCKY?LUCKY?LUCKY?
MAYDAY LUCKY?: OVER
•VESSEL CALLING MAYDAY - THIS IS COAST GUARD: OVER
•THIS IS POWER BOAT LUCKY? MY POSITION APPROXIMATELY 5 MILES OFF ANNA MARIA. WE ARE SLOWLY SINKING. FOUR PERSONS ABOARD, ONE INJURED, FRACTURED LEG.
WE ARE 32 FOOT CRUSIER, COLOR WHITE WITH BLUE CANVAS.
LUCKY? OVER.
•COAST GUARD REPLIES WITH FURTHER INSTRUCTIONS
Over means you have finished talking and are waiting for a reply.
Release the transmit button! VHF radios only go one way. Push to talk – Release to listen.
If your radio has a working DSC function, lift the little red door on the radio and push the button for 5 seconds. This will send an emergency message to authorities, telling them where you are, who you are, and what your boat looks like. It will switch your radio to channel 16 and alert all other boaters in the area there is an emergency. Everyone with a DSC equipped radio will be listening, and will help if they can. Boaters help other boaters!
GPS
GPS can tell you and anyone else exactly where you are. If you have a DSC equipped radio and it has been set up, when you push the button under the little red door, it will read the GPS and transmit your exact location to everyone. When talking to the authorities, the first thing they will want to know is the GPS coordinates.
Look for numbers like these! Push the page button on the GPSuntil you find them.
N 29° 40.1’
W 082° 24.4’
This means you are located at 29 degrees, 40.1minutes North latitude and
82 degrees, 24.4 minutes West longitude.
People who can help you will know exactly what these numbers mean. They tell them exactly where you are. The manual that came with your radio will explain how to set up the DSC function. It is very easy and one of the best safety tool available to you. If you don’t want to do it yourself any marine mechanic should be able to help you.
Next!
Now that you have things under control, the boat stopped, any fire out, and first aid administered, you have several options depending on your situation.
1 You can wait for help to arrive.
2 You can drive the boat to the nearest land or port.
3 You can go home.
1 If you decide to wait for help you can either anchor or drift. It will be easiest to drift, and unless you might drift into a dangerous situation, this may be your best option. If you have help on the way, and have given them your location, they will find you. If you need to prevent drifting into danger (a channel, rocks, another boat, anything) you will need to anchor. Also if you have to wait a considerable amount of time (more than 30 minutes) you will be better off to remain where you are. If you previously called for help, use the VHF radio to announce your intentions. If you no longer need help, cancel your request.
2 Go to land - If you can’t get help on the water or you think it will take too long you may decide to drive to the nearest land fall or port. When you get there pull in as close as you can and dock anywhere. If you can’t dock, get as close as you can. “Holler” for help. People will generally rush to your aid. If nothing else they will dial 911 and call for help. Get the boat tied up so it doesn’t float away and cause a new emergency. Wait for help!
3 Go home. - If your Skipper recovers enough that you don’t need emergency assistance you may decide to return home. At this point your Skipper should be able to help you even if he can’t drive. Call on your VHF radio to cancel any request you have made for help.
The situations we have described cover many of the problems you may encounter, but there are as many variations as there areemergencies. Use your (now better informed) judgment in determining how to proceed. If you are in doubt call for help and let the emergency services bring you to safety.
Anchoring
Anchor if it isn’t safe to drift, or if you want to stay where you are while waiting for help.
Always anchor from the bow (front). Be sure the bitter end is fastened to the boat. Release the safety catch and lower the anchor to the bottom (when the line goes slack). Back off a considerable distance (5 time water depth) and tie the anchor line to a bow cleat. Back off slowly to set the anchor. Call again to be sure help is on the way.
Running the Boat
If you decide to move the boat, follow these steps!
Turn on the bilge blower for 4 minutes. You must do this to prevent a possible explosion!
Start your engine/s in neutral.
Retrieve the anchor if necessary.
Put the boat in gear and proceed slowly and as smoothly as possible to your destination.
Driving rules-
Keep to the right whenever possible
A boat approaching from your right has the right of way. Slow down or turn away to let
him pass in front of you. Likewise you have the right of way over boats coming from
your left. This is very much like driving a car. Don’t assume the other guy knows what
he is doing. Start an evasive maneuver early (turn or slow). Do what ever is necessary to
avoid a collision regardless of the rules.
Night - Traveling after dark is much more difficult. If you are not an experienced boater it may be best to call for help. If you must travel at night you will need a spot light to see the markers. Turn on your running lights (switch on the control panel). You will determine who has the right of way by the lights you see on the other boats. If you see a red light on your right that boat has the right of way (red stop). A green light on a boat to your left means you have the right of way (green go). Go slowly and give other boats plenty of room
Markers – They are lined up on one, or both sides of the channels you must stay in to avoid going aground. There are two different kinds of markers to show which side of the marker to pass on.
In normal channels the rule is. RED RIGHT RETURNING
This means that if you are coming from the sea (Gulf or ocean) you must keep the red markers on your right. If going out, the red would of course be on the left.
In the intracoastal waterway there is a different rule since the ICW isn’t going to or coming from the sea but running along the land, usually inside islands. Here the rule is RED LANDSIDE. This means keep the red marks between you and the mainland. Keep the green marks on the island side. If in doubt look to see what other boats are doing. The ICW markers look very much like the normal channel marks except they have a small yellow square or triangle at the top.
Docking
Everyone’s greatest fear! But it isn’t that hard if you do the following:
Go slow (but not too slow): about normal walking speed. Boats need to be moving to be steered. Too slow and the boat won’t turn and you won’t have any control. Too fast and you risk crashing into something. To get the right speed you will need to go in and out of gear. Typically, you will be coasting in neutral during most of the approach.
Approach the dock at a 30 degree angle. Just before you get there turn parallel to the dock and go to reverse gear just enough to stop and then right back to neutral. Be calling for help as you approach. If you cry out for help, that you have an emergency, people will rush to help you.
Towing
If you need help getting the boat safely home, you can call for a tow. Being towed is very expensive so many boaters carry towing insurance. Hopefully your skipper has signed up. If you need to be towed, call for help using your VHF radio. When the tow boat driver arrives the captain will tell you what to do. Put on a life jacket and follow his instructions. Return to the cabin while under way.
Rough Weather
If you are caught in bad weather put on a life jacket and proceed at a moderate speed. Close hatches and port holes. Like docking, the boat won’t turn if you are going too slowly. Likewise too much speed will make the boat unstable. How do you tell. Drive at a speed that “feels” good. Not pounding and not wallowing. Travel at an angle to large waves not directly into or across them.Seek shelter at the closest port. If you are afraid you’re in trouble call for help. Don’t wait for an additional emergency to occur.
Aground
If you are aground, first check the boat to see if it is holed and a lot of water is coming in. If this is the case stay where you are and call for help. If the boat seems OK, try putting the engine/s in reverse and see if it backs into deeper water. Use moderate power. Too much might destroy the running gear, and you will have a skipper with not just a bump on his head, but a big repair bill a swell. If it doesn’t come off relatively easily, it’s best to call for help (another reason to carry towing insurance).
Carbon Monoxide
Carbon Monoxide is a silent killer. It comes from engines and galley cooking equipment. It is colorless and odorless. If not discovered in time it will asphyxiate it’s victims. Many people don’t recognize the danger. They just go to sleep. They may be acting erratically and not even realize it. If you suspect carbon monoxide poising may be occurring get the victim/s into fresh air immediately. Check for normal breathing. Apply CPR if necessary. If on land call 911 for help. If out on the water and the victim doesn’t respond to CPR call a MAYDAY. This is a life threatening situation
Developed by -
The Manatee Sail and Power Squadron - Education Department
A unit of : United Stated Power Squadrons
Contributions from: MSPS N Club, ABC,
Seamanship, Partners In Command
•
1