New DSC VHF Feature Helps Rescue 4 in Atlantic
When a fishing boat started taking on water 15 miles offshore from Ocean City, MD, on the morning of July 4th, every moment mattered. The Coast Guard was able to rescue the people aboard and save the boat, all thanks to a useful feature on the boat’s VHF radio.
The Coast Guard says four people were aboard the fishing vessel Hot Pursuit. The captain sent out a distress alert using the Digital Selective Calling feature on the boat’s radio. After making contact, the captain told the USCG that the boat was taking on water and might not make it back to port before it sank.
New VHF Feature Pays Off
Digital Selective Calling (on VHF channel 70) is a channel used “exclusively for distress, safety and calling purposes using digital selective calling (DSC) techniques.”
If a boater takes the time to program his VHF radio ahead of time with GPS information and the boat’s Mobile Marine Service Identity (MMSI) number, he can hold down a red button on the radio. It will send an audible alarm to the Coast Guard and other boat traffic, identifying the boat and its latitude and longitude.
“The distress alert feature on marine radios and GPS’s can be a game changer if it’s properly set up,” said Chief Michael Weelmaa, command duty officer for Coast Guard Sector Maryland-NCR. “In situations like this, every second matters. Follow the instructions for your device before you head out on the water to ensure we’re locked in on your location and can get to you quickly.”
In this case, a Coast Guard Station Ocean City boat crew responded and brought two of the four people from Hot Pursuit onto the 47’ (14.33 m) motor life boat. The crew stabilized the fishing boat with dewatering pumps to get it safely back to shore. None of the boat’s passengers was injured.
Hot Pursuit was escorted to Sunset Marina in Ocean City, where it will undergo repairs.
Read All About It
To find out more about the DSC distress protocol and how to make use of it, visit the USCG website DSC webpage…