My Boat is SINKING!!!! MayDay.

Ok, that was the telephone call I got, while working at a marina, Saturday afternoon. The boater, as it turned out, was one of our customers, and had left the marina a few hours earlier for a fishing trip downriver. He had two buddies with him.

I found out where he was, and told him he needed to contact the Coast Guard on his marine VHF radio. First problem: he had one, but had never installed it.

I then told him to contact the Coast Guard on his cell. He didn't have the number. To save what I thought would be critical minutes, I told him to dial 9-1-1, tell them his boat was sinking, and to transfer him to the Coast Guard. That's when the problem started. The dispatcher began asking the usual questions, a lot of them.

Meanwhile, another person in the marina called the cell number for a North Carolina Wildlife officer, a young man we know, one we knew was working in the area on Saturday. With blue light flashing, he headed towards the sinking boat.

Meanwhile, the boater later told me, he was finally transferred to the Coast Guard, and gave them information about his plight while sitting on top of the hull of his now-capsized boat.

An amazing thing, he said, was that he was waving a bright orange life jacket while on top of his stricken craft, and no other boaters responded. They either didn't see him, or they didn't recognize the urgency of the situation. I can't imagine ANY boater not going to the aid of a sinking vessel. So, I'll assume they didn't see him.

By the time he noticed water was coming into his boat, there was not a lot that could have been done to change the outcome. It happened too fast. Wildlife, Marine Patrol and Coast Guard units arrived, and took the occupants off the boat. It was taken to a nearby harbor. They were taken safely to shore.

There are some lessons to be learned here. First one is that cell phones are cute little gimmicks that all of us have. But, if you're counting on them as a first line of defense in ANY emergency, you should think again. How many times, on non-important calls, has it just stopped working? Imagine that being the time when you most need it. Add to this emergency equation the factor of water. Salt water, in this case. Even worse. Cell phones don't work when the humidity gets high!!!! Much less when they get splashed or dunked in water.

On top of that, the simple fact that you have to dial a number, even 9-1-1, under stressful situations, is downright scary. And, getting a dispatcher, with little, if any, training in handling boating emergencies, results in playing 20 questions.

Ok, so let's talk about marine VHF radios. They're pretty cheap. $150 can get one that works very well. Of course, you gotta add an antenna. Depending on your needs, such as how far from the nearest Coast Guard station you plan on boating, will dictate the type of antenna you'll need. They can run from $50-200.

The advantages are huge. As important as having life jackets that are readily available. You push the button on even the most basic radio, call "Mayday" three times, identify your boat, give your location, and give your situation. Coast Guard stations everywhere listen to the emergency channel. So do most marinas, commercial towing companies, and other boaters. You are broadcasting your plight to a LOT of people who are in a postion to help you. Quickly. Without wasting precious minutes. Without asking 20 questions.

I strongly recommend that all coastal counties consider offering additional training for their 9-1-1 dispatchers. I even bet Coast Guard units would gladly offer some procedures to follow, just in case the dispatchers should take a phone call from a boater who hasn't installed a VHF radio. I am not suggesting that the dispatchers haven't been given basic instructions, but until they find themselves sitting on top of the hull of a sinking boat, they are not going to understand the urgency of the situation. Under those conditions, the best thing to do is pass that call to those who are trained in handling boating emergencies.