Engine Failure Drifting Toward a Lee Shore
At 14:20 a 10 m commercial tour boat is 0.6 nautical miles off a rocky lee shore with six passengers when the engine loses power and will not restart. The wind is 25 knots onshore, seas are 1 m, and the tidal current sets toward shore at about 1.5 knots. The chart shows 22 m of water under the vessel, shoaling to 8 m within 0.4 nautical miles of the shore. The vessel carries a 15 kg anchor with 60 m of rope and chain rode; there is no drogue. A tow from a nearby operator is at least 90 minutes away. The VHF works. The vessel has a life raft for eight and a handheld VHF in the abandon-ship bag, but no EPIRB. The operator's cellphone has patchy coverage. Passengers are anxious but uninjured. Fuel is shut off at the tank. The operator holds SVOP and MED A3.
1. What are your first actions and priorities?
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First confirm there is no fire, flooding, or person in the water, keep the fuel shut off, and make a quick attempt to restart only if it can be done safely. Get all passengers into PFDs and brief them to stay low and hold on. Broadcast a pan-pan on VHF 16 requesting immediate tow and give position, drift, persons aboard, PFDs, vessel description, and that the vessel is not under command. If grounding becomes imminent and lives are at risk, upgrade to mayday. Plot the drift toward shore and identify the shallowest safe anchoring depth. Prepare the anchor and rode, but do not expect 60 m in 22 m of water to hold in 25 knots; that is only about 2.7:1 scope. Use the anchor to slow the drift and hold the bow into the sea, then veer more rode as depth decreases. Keep the rode clear of the propeller. Prepare the life raft and abandon-ship bag, but do not abandon until the vessel is unusable or grounding is certain.
2. Should you anchor in 22 m of water with 60 m of rode? Explain your reasoning.
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Not as a holding anchor. In 22 m, 60 m of rode gives less than 3:1 scope, which is inadequate for a 15 kg anchor in 25 knots and a 1.5-knot current. The anchor may drag immediately, and if it fouls, the vessel could lose its best chance to control heading. A better use is to deploy it as a drag to slow the drift and keep the bow toward the sea while calling for the tow. As the vessel drifts into shallower water, veer the full rode; at about 10 to 12 m depth, 60 m gives roughly 5:1 and the anchor has a better chance to hold. The operator should be ready to recover or slip the rode if it endangers the propeller or the vessel. I would also consider a controlled beaching only as a last resort, with passengers briefed and PFDs on, because a rocky shore can hole the hull and put people in 6 to 8 C water.
3. What communications and passenger-management actions are appropriate?
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Use VHF 16 for the pan-pan or mayday, and use DSC if the radio is connected to a GPS so the position is transmitted. State the vessel name, position, nature of distress, number of persons, PFD status, and intentions. Ask the Coast Guard to relay to the tow operator and confirm the estimated arrival time. Keep a listening watch on 16 and use the handheld VHF as a backup if the main set fails. Tell the passengers what is happening in plain language, assign one person to watch for the tow and one to help anyone who becomes seasick or panicked. Keep them out of the working area around the anchor. Reassure them that the vessel is still afloat and that abandonment is not yet ordered. Log times, positions, radio calls, and the tow's ETA.