A distress call sets a rescue in motion, and every station that hears it has a part in it: mostly to listen and keep quiet, sometimes to answer, relay or go. This is what you do on the radio when the MAYDAY is someone else's.
1 · Hearing a MAYDAY
Listen and write it down
What should I do when I hear someone else's MAYDAY on channel 16?
Do not transmit. Listen and write down the vessel's name, position, what is wrong, the help asked for, the persons aboard and the time, then wait a short while for a coast station to acknowledge.
When a MAYDAY comes over channel 16, do not transmit. Listen and write: the vessel's name, her position, what is wrong, the help she asks for, the number of persons aboard and the time. You may have to relay the call or go to help, and the coast station may not have heard it.
Then wait a short while for a coast station to acknowledge. It normally does, and from then on it runs the radio traffic.
2 · Answering
When you speak, and to whom
Should I answer a MAYDAY from another boat?
Only if nobody has and you can help: acknowledge it, MAYDAY, her name and call sign or MMSI, THIS IS, your name, RECEIVED, MAYDAY, and go. If a coast station has answered, stay silent, or offer help if you are close.
Situation
What you do
A coast station has acknowledged; you are far away
Stay silent, keep listening and noting: you may be asked to help later
A coast station has acknowledged; you are close
Offer your help to the coast station, with your position and how soon you can arrive
Nobody has answered; you can help
Acknowledge the MAYDAY, go, and tell the coastguard you are going
The acknowledgement has a fixed form: MAYDAY, the name of the vessel in distress with her call sign or MMSI, THIS IS, your own name, RECEIVED, MAYDAY. Each name is said once.
Aura answers Thalassa, on 16
MAYDAY
Thalassa, MMSI 237 012 345
THIS IS Aura
RECEIVED, MAYDAY
On your way, the coastguard may call to say a lifeboat is there and you are not needed. Acknowledge the message and resume your passage.
3 · Radio silence
Three signals that govern the channel
What do SEELONCE MAYDAY, PRUDONCE and SEELONCE FEENEE mean on the radio?
SEELONCE MAYDAY imposes silence on stations not in the rescue; PRUDONCE allows short, necessary calls while the distress is not over; SEELONCE FEENEE means distress traffic is over and the channel is used normally again.
During a rescue the channel belongs to the distress. The station controlling the traffic says so with three signals, normally heard in this order:
You hear
It means
You
SEELONCE MAYDAY
Silence is imposed
Keep off the channel unless you are in the rescue
PRUDONCE
The distress is not over, but restricted working may resume
Make only short, necessary calls
SEELONCE FEENEE
Distress traffic is over
Use the channel normally again
Silence binds the stations that are not involved. If the rescue centre calls you by name, you are part of the distress traffic: answer. A routine message waits, however small: leave 16 alone and reach your friend later, or another way.
4 · On scene
One coordinator, one channel
Which VHF channel do I use on scene during a search and rescue?
The one the coordinator, the coastguard's MRCC, directs, often 16 or 6; keep all search talk on it. Report anything you sight there at once, and pass messages between stations exactly as heard, in full.
A search and rescue is coordinated by the coastguard's rescue centre, the MRCC, usually speaking through a coast station. Vessels on scene work on the channel the coordinator directs, often 16 or 6. If you are told to use 6, all your search talk goes on 6.
Asked to pass messages between two stations that cannot hear each other, repeat each one exactly as you heard it, in full.
Report anything you sight at once to the coordinator, on the channel in use.
5 · Helicopter
Brief by VHF, clear deck, wire to earth first
How do I prepare my yacht for a helicopter rescue?
Follow the crew's VHF brief exactly, stow or lash down everything loose, let the winch wire touch the water or the deck before anyone touches it, since it carries a static charge, and never make it fast to the boat.
A rescue helicopter is too loud to shout over. Its crew brief you by VHF before they come in: listen, and do exactly what they tell you.
Before it arrives, stow or lash down everything loose and clear the pick-up area: the downdraft throws cushions, towels and slack sails about.
Let the winch wire touch the water or the deck before anyone touches it: it carries a static charge.
Never make the wire fast to the boat.
Practice questions
Questions from this topic, as the app asks them. Open one to see the answer.
3 minMAYDAY heard
Yacht Thalassa: holed, sinking
She is 3 miles from you
No coast station has answered
You can reach the sinking yacht in half an hour. What do you do on the radio?
Send a MAYDAY RELAY and keep your course
Acknowledge, then tell the coastguard you are going
Head there in silence to keep 16 clear
Keep listening — only coast stations acknowledge
Show the answer
B. Acknowledge, then tell the coastguard you are going
If no coast station answers and you can help, acknowledge the MAYDAY and inform the coastguard.
All 20 questions of this topic are in the app: practice by topic with the reason after every answer, your mistakes brought back, and a timed mock exam. Free, no sign-up, in the browser or in Telegram.
