Our "Deal" With Search and Rescue as Recreational Boaters
Dick Stevenson, S/V Alchemy, New York Station
I have been writing about safety at sea, here and there, for a long time. A few years ago, I started writing about our “deal” (if you will) as recreational skippers with Search and Rescue (SAR) services as I see it. I believe I was the first to put the following in this way, but the ideas have since found acceptance in a number of arenas.
Most portrayals of boating life are of a sun-drenched, care-free and unfettered lifestyle where no one tells you what to do or how to do it. Like all such descriptions, there is truth to it. Generally, there are few rules and regulations; there are no or few inspections, there are no or few licenses needed. What is rarely addressed in the portrayals of such freedom is that this great freedom comes with great responsibility for the skipper who can and must make decisions with no or little outside oversight or guidance.
When, in the old days, sailors dropped their mooring, they were perfectly clear they were on their own for better or for worse. Most prepared themselves and their boat with that thought firmly in mind.
These days, much of the above still exists, but most do not operate with the belief that they are on their own. There is now the capacity to reach out for help from any position on earth and, generally, expect it. Because of this, too many, I worry, see the skill and availability of SAR services as a bit of a “get out of jail free” card for when they get into trouble. This “easy” availability of help or rescue diminishes the motivation to have the boat and its crew be well-prepared and may even promote risk-taking.
But, then, this is not the only factor. Add also the percentage of people who lack imagination or who operate as if bad things will never happen to them. Then there is the impressive sheer increase in the numbers of recreational boaters and, I think, by the unrealistic (to my mind) expectation that leaving the marina/mooring is no big deal. Generally, in the way life often unfolds, it usually is no big deal. But, going to sea is, to channel the nursery rhyme: “When it is good, it is really really good, but when bad, it is horrid.” A skipper’s responsibility is to have the boat and crew ready for the occasionally-to-be-encountered horrid times. With enough miles under the keel, it will be “when” and not “if” the challenging horrid occurs.
As a result, I read of and hear about, on a regular basis, SAR call-outs where, even in the occasional reports that I hear about, it is often clear that the skipper and/or the boat had not been properly prepared. Moreover, casual observation and conversations have convinced me that too many boats and crew are going to sea with significant gaps in their preparation.
With the above in mind and with respect to reaching out for SAR help, I would portray our “deal”, as recreational boaters, with Search and Rescue support services, as that we will go to sea in a boat and with skipper and crew well-equipped and well-prepared to meet the bad conditions that the cruising area we choose can (and does) occasionally dish out and then, if we run into bad luck, SAR services will be called. In my opinion, that is the deal that “gives us permission” to carry an EPIRB and put out a MAYDAY on VHF. SAR services, again to my mind, are there for our bad luck and not for poor boat preparation or for bad judgment on the skipper’s part.
That said, I see far too many boats out there who, in my estimation, are not living up to their side of the deal. By well-equipped, I mean, first, boat choice and then that there is appropriate gear to deal with reasonably expected bad conditions and low-level bad luck that might occur: a skipper does the hard thing in preparation so as to live up to their part of the deal. Well-prepared also applies to the skipper and crew: they need to have the requisite skill and experience to deal with reasonably occurring difficult conditions in their cruising area and the occasional low-level bad luck that any boat experiences. By challenging conditions, a weather example: coastal cruisers should be able to handle a squall with short-lived but high gusting winds and an offshore passage-making boat be prepared to weather a sustained gale. Even with good boat preparation and an experienced skipper and crew, trouble can still occur if bad luck gets into the mix: any boat can have significant bad luck. SAR services, again to my mind, are there for bad luck and not for poor boat preparation or for bad judgment on the skipper’s part. From actual reported events: bad luck might include hitting a semi-submerged log and disabling the rudder or an orca attack. Poor judgement, certainly more subjective, might include sailing southbound in the Gulf Stream around Cape Hatteras in November in a sailboat with a north wind forecast.
I care about the skipper and crew, especially those crew who are just passengers out for fun and adventure and may not have a clue about the safety of the vessel, but my major concern is that at some point, a rescue will lead to the death of, or serious injury to, a SAR crew. Every SAR call-out, even under the most benign conditions, holds some danger. This would be tragic in any scenario, but if the rescue was for a vessel calling for aid where it was clear that the boat and crew should not have “been-there doing-that.” They were in trouble not from bad luck, but rather from poor judgment, poor preparation and/or inadequate equipment, the tragedy enters a new realm.
Think of trying to explain to the spouse of an injured or killed SAR person that it occurred during a rescue of a skipper who was off Cape Hatteras in November and had little or no offshore experience. Or a motor boat who leaves a marina for a 30-mile trip along a rocky lee shore and does not check that there's enough fuel and runs out. Rescues can be, and often are, dangerous undertakings.
Another concern, also potent, is that, in response to unreasonable and/or excessive call-outs (or the worst, a SAR personnel being hurt or killed), there may be a bureaucratic outcry to develop rules and regulations for vessels and crew to meet before departure: this impacts one of the major appeals of a cruising life: independence and freedom from interference. This has already occurred in isolated instances.
Now, I admit where one draws the line is arguable, but I would contend, the issue is not.
The Cruising Club of America is a collection of accomplished ocean sailors having extensive boat handling, seamanship, and command experience honed over many years. “Safety Moments” are written by the Club’s Safety Officers from CCA Stations across North America and Bermuda, as well as CCA members at large. They are published by the CCA Safety and Seamanship Committee and are intended to advance seamanship and safety by highlighting new technologies, suggestions for safe operation and reports of maritime disasters around the world.
