Man overboard at night near the shipping lane
You are skipper of the 13 m yacht Kestrel, 18 nm south of the Isle of Wight, close-hauled on starboard in 18 knots of wind and a 1.5 m sea. It is 23:40, dark, visibility 4 nm. Six crew are aboard. While reefing the mainsail a crew member loses balance at the mast, goes over the side and is swept astern. You see a lifejacket light intermittently. The person is conscious and shouting but is 80 m away and the yacht is making 6 knots. Your engine starts, but the propeller is not yet engaged; the boat has a fixed DSC VHF with MMSI programmed. The chart shows no other vessel within 2 nm. You have a white parachute flare and a handheld VHF. The water is 12°C.
1. State whether this is a MAYDAY, PAN PAN or SECURITE situation, and justify the category in GMDSS terms.
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This is a MAYDAY. A person is in the water at night, in 12°C water, 80 m astern and drifting away from a yacht making 6 knots. There is grave and imminent danger to life: cold-water immersion, difficulty keeping the person in sight and the risk of losing them altogether. That is the test for a distress alert, not the test for urgency.
PAN PAN is for a serious situation that may develop into danger but does not yet require immediate distress action - for example, a mechanical breakdown with no immediate threat to life. SECURITE is for safety information such as a navigation warning. Neither fits a live man-overboard in these conditions.
The correct action is therefore a DSC distress alert followed by a MAYDAY voice call, while the crew begin recovery. The category matters because it sets the urgency of the response and tells other stations that immediate assistance is required.
2. Describe the DSC and voice actions you would take in the first few minutes, including what you would say.
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I would lift the red cover and press and hold the distress button for about five seconds, then wait briefly for the DSC acknowledgement while the crew keep the person in sight, throw buoyancy and start the engine. I would not delay recovery to operate the radio.
On Ch16 I would send: 'MAYDAY, MAYDAY, MAYDAY. This is Kestrel, Kestrel, Kestrel, callsign [callsign], MMSI [MMSI]. MAYDAY Kestrel. Position [latitude and longitude]. Man overboard, one person in the water, lifejacket light visible, 80 metres astern. Six persons on board. Immediate assistance required. Over.'
If there is no DSC acknowledgement, I would not wait indefinitely: I would continue the voice MAYDAY on Ch16 and, after about five minutes with no response, repeat the DSC alert. The handheld is a backup for voice if the fixed set fails. The priority order is recovery of the person, accurate position and a clear distress message.
3. A nearby merchant vessel answers on Ch16 before the coastguard and asks what you need. What do you tell it, and what should you not do?
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Give a concise, factual picture: 'Kestrel, position [latitude and longitude], one person in the water 80 metres astern of us, lifejacket light visible, water 12°C, six persons on board. Request you stand by and keep a lookout; illuminate if possible; please inform the coastguard if you have not already.' I would ask the merchant vessel to approach carefully and avoid running over the person, and I would keep the person's bearing and distance updated.
I would not hand over coordination unless the coastguard or a properly designated on-scene commander asks me to, and I would not leave the scene. I would not use 'over and out' or make long explanatory speeches on Ch16. Once the immediate distress traffic is established, detailed coordination can move to a working channel, but Ch16 must remain monitored for the coastguard and other distress traffic.