Offshore the decisions are yours: which turn, which door to shut, when to leave the yacht, whom to call on which band. Command also brings duties in law.
1 · Man overboard
Three turns, and a level lift
Which man overboard turn do I use at night if I don't know when he fell?
The Williamson turn: hard over, at 60° off hard back, and steady on the reciprocal; it brings you back in your own wake. The Anderson turn is for a casualty still in sight.
Turn
When
How
Anderson
In sight
Hard over to his side, round 250°, stop
Williamson
Time unknown, night
Hard over; at 60° off, hard back; steady on reciprocal
Scharnow
Late report, time known
Hard over; at 240° off, hard back; steady on reciprocal
Helm towards the casualty swings the propellers away from him. Williamson and Scharnow bring you back in your own wake; the Scharnow in less distance, but only once he is well astern.
Scharnow turn from 130°T
Wheel hard to starboard
Reverse it at 130° + 240° = 010°T
Steady on the reciprocal: 310°T
Search back along your own wake
A high-sided motor yacht drifts faster than a swimmer: stop upwind, beam-on, propellers still, and come down to him. Lift an exhausted casualty amidships to leeward in a net on a halyard: the stern slams near the propellers, a vertical lift can collapse him.
2 · Fire and flooding
Shut the space, then count the litres
Why must I keep the engine room shut after firing the fixed extinguisher?
A fixed system works only in a closed space: keep it shut for the hold time while you cool the bulkhead, because opened early the fire reignites.
A fixed system needs a closed space, and the space stays shut for the hold time while you cool the bulkhead: opened early it reignites, and a shutdown at discharge is meant. Under sail put the fire downwind of the crew: fire aft, bow to wind, slow. Use the fire port, hatch shut; a lithium battery goes overboard or under plenty of water.
Flooding is litres in against litres out. A patch goes outside, where the sea presses it on: a collision mat on lines under the keel; a bulging panel gets pad, board and a shore to a bulkhead. Shut a watertight door once everyone is out. One flooded bow still floats a catamaran: stay aboard. A working keel may drop off: sails down, raft ready, motor gently.
How long have you got?
In 650 L/min, pumps 250 L/min: net 400
Lost with 6,000 L more aboard
6,000 ÷ 400 = 15 min
Distress alert and rafts now
3 · Disabled
Aground, dismasted, no steering, no charge
What should I do first when the mast goes over the side?
Cut it away, and run no propeller until every line is aboard. Then work out your range under power, reserve kept, and rig a jury sail for the rest.
Failure
First move
Aground on sand
Kedge out, weight aft, off on the tide; engines suck sand
Mast overboard
Cut it away; no propeller until every line is aboard
Rudder blade gone
Drogue on a bridle, steered by its legs
Hydraulics dead
Open the bypass valve, ship the tiller; twin screws steer on engines
No charging
Nav lights and VHF only; plot on paper
After the top of springs each high water is lower: stranded just after high water, act now or wait a fortnight. Dismasted, work out the range under power, reserve kept, and rig a jury sail for the rest.
Range under power
Fuel 90 L, keep 20%: 72 L usable
4.5 L/h at 6 kn: 16 h
16 h × 6 kn = 96 M
Port 120 M off: a jury rig as well
4 · Abandoning and rescue
Leave dry, stay together, hold the course
How do I get from a sinking yacht into the liferaft?
Dry, from the lowest point, one at a time. If there are more people than one raft's rating, launch both and tie them together.
Board the raft dry, from the lowest point, one at a time; more people than one raft's rating, launch both, tie them together. First hour: seasickness pills, inflate the floor, a lookout. No water for 24 hours, then half a litre each a day.
Cold water: 1-10-1
1 minute: cold shock, control your breathing
10 minutes of useful movement: swim now
1 hour before hypothermia: then keep still
Alone: HELP, knees up, arms crossed, still
Together: huddle, chests touching
A helicopter pilot keeps station on you: steer what he asks, usually wind 30° on the port bow, and hold course and speed; out of range, close to inside his radius of action. A pale, sweaty, muddled diabetic gets sugar while he can swallow.
5 · GMDSS offshore
Which band reaches whom
How do I send a distress alert beyond VHF range?
By MF DSC on 2187.5 kHz, then speech on 2182 kHz: that is sea area A2, beyond VHF DSC cover (A1); A3 is covered by satellite.
Sea areas follow what the shore hears: A1 VHF DSC, A2 MF DSC beyond it, A3 satellite, A4 the poles. Beyond VHF range distress goes by MF DSC on 2187.5 kHz, speech on 2182 kHz. On HF, day and distance want a higher band, night a lower.
Sinking, ship in sight: DSC alert and MAYDAY on 16 first, then phone the MRCC.
Alert acknowledged by a coast station: listen, log, help if asked. Unacknowledged, beyond you: relay to the coast station alone.
Medical advice is urgency: DSC urgency call, then PAN-PAN.
In the grab bag
EPIRB: registered to you with the flag state
False alert: switch off, tell the MRCC
Radar SART: flashes when a radar sweeps it
AIS-SART: shows with position on AIS screens
NAVTEX: nav, gale, SAR messages always print
Silence on channel 16
SEELONCE MAYDAY: casualty or control station
SEELONCE DISTRESS: any other station nearby
PRUDONCE: restricted working may resume
SEELONCE FEENEE: distress traffic ended
6 · The master's duties
What the law expects of you at sea
Is a yacht skipper obliged to go to help a vessel in distress?
Yes: under SOLAS V/33 you go with all speed, or tell SAR and log why you cannot; you are released once others are tasked.
Rule
Duty
SOLAS V/31
Report a navigational danger or unforecast force 10 to ships near and the coast
SOLAS V/33
Go to distress with all speed, or tell SAR and log why; released once others are tasked
SOLAS V/34-1
Safety decisions are the master's alone
Collision
Stand by and help; exchange names and ports; report, records untouched
Your safety orders bind guests too. The log is evidence: correct with one line through, the right figure beside, initialled.
Correcting the log
0300 · Course 245°T: one line through it
254°T written beside it, initialled
The old figure stays readable
Never erase or tear out a page
Waste
Rule
Oil
Never overboard; report every spill and slick
Sewage
Local rules; MARPOL's 12 M at 4 kn binds larger ships
Garbage
Plastic never; special area (Med): food waste only, 12 M off, under way
Placards
Garbage rules displayed from 12 m
By-laws apply with the COLREGs, to visitors too; a reserve may require its buoys. Dues: LOA rounded up, more for multihulls.
7 · Papers, insurance, salvage
The yacht as property and as a contract
Which flag do I fly arriving from abroad, and who goes ashore?
Fly Q from arrival until you are cleared; usually only the skipper lands, with the crew list and passports.
Rules differ by country, principles do not. A yacht flies one flag: a new register wants a deletion certificate, a buyer re-registers in time, the original certificate travels aboard. A registered mortgage survives a sale: have it discharged before paying. Mortgages rank by date of entry where the register records them.
Before the passage: the policy
Limits: area, season; extension in writing
Warranties: skipper's certificate, use, crew
Private pleasure: no paying guests
Hull covers your yacht; third party, others
Disclosure: every material fact, or void
Paid skippering needs commercial papers; under a bareboat charter the charterer commands. Paid crew: a signed agreement, 10 hours' rest in 24 in at most two spells, one of 6, repatriation at the employer's cost. From abroad fly Q: usually only the skipper lands, with crew list and passports. Schengen: 90 days in 180; VAT-free temporary admission only for boats of non-EU residents.
Salvage Convention 1989
No cure, no pay: no result, no reward (LOF)
The award never exceeds the value saved
No danger: towage price; refusal bars a claim
Beyond the contract: salvage for extra work
The master signs; life salvors get a share
An owner limits liability by tonnage, unless the loss came from his own reckless act.
Practice questions
Questions from this topic, as the app asks them. Open one to see the answer.
0310Crew missing
Last seen in the cockpit at 0245
Heading 225°T at 13 kn
Night, wind NE 4, sea 1.5 m
You skipper a 22 m motor yacht on an overnight passage. At 0310 the watch reports a crew member missing. How do you turn to search?
Williamson turn: hard over, at 60° off hard back to 045°T
Hard over and hold it right round onto 045°T
Anderson turn: hard over and round 250° to the spot
Stop both engines and let him drift down to you
Show the answer
A. Williamson turn: hard over, at 60° off hard back to 045°T
Time unknown: the Williamson turn puts you back on your own track, reciprocal 225° − 180° = 045°T, to search along it.
All 100 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.
