why are a VHF and flares important?

[Martin Hurst]

shucks Gb - Gutted

[baldycoup]

Me, but there is no way I'm ever gonna give you the kiss of life

 

Why has this thread been dragged up?

 

 

lol that,ll be me i spose.............. i was browsing the threads earlier and posted on a few. is there a problem replying to old threads even though they are new to new members ? seems a shame to start a new one and then be told to search earlier threads lol

 

anyway, it was pertinent to me as the coastguard had to rescue me yesterday and they never mentioned flares or whistles or radios , they just asked if i had a pfd which i had.

 

gotta try everything once havent you lol

[boomphat]

it was pertinent to me as the coastguard had to rescue me yesterday

what happened?

[GB]

No problem with waking up old threads it's just that this one ended on a sour note and was brought back up on a less than favourable one.

 

Anyway give us a full account of what happened to you with the coastguard in a seperate thread as that would be benificial to everyone.

[baldycoup]

what happened?

 

 

i was fishing in a large bay on very calm water, no chop whatsoever but a few swells now and again and i headed out to a spot id fished before maybe a mile from shore. i stopped and was unravelling my anchor rope which was in a nice neat roll straight from b&q thinking it would run straight out - first mistake , ended in a tangled mess so i spent time unravelling it. i didnt realise the tide was pulling me to the left of the bay so qiuckly on its way out.

 

when i turned round i was about 100 yards from the headland on my way out so i pulled up my anchor which wasnt holding me at all and started paddling .after about twenty minutes i rerasis4ed i was making no headway so i changed direction away from land hoping the tidal rip would be less and i could paddle back across the bay, this worked to an extent but i was getting quite tired . there was no one else about to signal to so i phoned the coastguard and told him my situation.

 

he understood where i was and what was happening ,and told me he would send the lifeboat out to come and get me . although the sea was quite calm it was a little unnerving knowing i was at the mercy of the tide and had little choice but to let it take me along with it .

 

the coastguard called me back on my mobile and gave me an eta of eight minutes,he was very reassuring and pleasant and when i asked if the callout was going to cost me anything he said `not a thing mate-just the embarrasment of telling my mates in the pub later`

 

then in the distance i could see the lifeboat heading straight for me ,i waved my paddle and a foil backed bag but they could see me clearly anyway and it wasnt long before they were alongside and i was passing my gear up to them then climbing aboard myself , then two of the three man team lifted my yak up and it sat along the side of the big rib.

 

they were really friendly guys and very professional and when i said` you dont rescue many of these do you ?` the answer was ` youd be surprised` then one of the guys said that the fishing was fantastic just where theyed picked me up and laughed when i told them to come back in an hour .

 

i was amazed at the sheer power and speed of the boat , powered by a couple of 75 engines and we flew across the water on full power then back into the bay where they dropped me off at a little harbour . they told me that i could continue fishing but perhaps i should stay away from the headland on a changing tide. but before they went i asked if i could get a photo of me beside the boat ,they were pleased to oblige and one of the shore crew took a couple of snaps .

 

i thanked them very much and they headed off.

 

the experience made me appreciate the fact that these guys are there in times of need and while i dont intend to ever need them again ,it does make one feel much safer .

 

so a big thankyou to the RNLI and coastguard and never again will i pass someone collecting for them without making a donation.like the advert says - they dont need your thanks , they need your support!

 

 

tho whole experience did make me think about safety a lot more and having knowledge of tides.also about measures needed if i did get in trouble in different circumstances. JUST DONT PANIC lol

Edited October 16, 2007 by baldycoup

[SpeciMan]

Thanks for sharing Baldycoup.

 

Don't know the area you were fishing but it sounds like you would have been inconvenienced and not at danger if you had to go with the tide for a while. Once away from a headland the tide usually eases a bit. There may have been the option of paddling across the tide and back to shore (ferrygliding).

 

Worth buying charts for the area you plan to fish so you have an idea of tide direction & speed, features and any dangers in the area. When you check the tide times for a given area try to see the tidal curve. When trip planning I take these factors along with weather and swell to get a picture of whats happening before I launch.

 

Recommend rigging up a quick release anchor system (posted in a recent thread) and a dive knife on your pfd if you don't have one.

 

Offshore RNLI membership is only £5 per month direct debit.

[jerseytrev]

Thanks for sharing Baldycoup.

 

Don't know the area you were fishing but it sounds like you would have been inconvenienced and not at danger if you had to go with the tide for a while. Once away from a headland the tide usually eases a bit. There may have been the option of paddling across the tide and back to shore (ferrygliding).

 

Worth buying charts for the area you plan to fish so you have an idea of tide direction & speed, features and any dangers in the area. When you check the tide times for a given area try to see the tidal curve. When trip planning I take these factors along with weather and swell to get a picture of whats happening before I launch.

 

Recommend rigging up a quick release anchor system (posted in a recent thread) and a dive knife on your pfd if you don't have one.

 

Offshore RNLI membership is only £5 per month direct debit.

good point aout cpr ,i am the first aider for work so have to know . mind you it would have to be an emergency for me to give some of the guys at work cpr

yuk !!!!

but jokes aside always worth learning ,

[baldycoup]

yes Speciman, your right about being inconvenienced and not really in danger,the guys on the lifeboat told me the same thing - id have drifted back in with the rising tide.

 

i had the same idea about heading away from the headland out to sea thinking the tide would have eased but as im relativly new to this caper i wasnt sure wether id be making things worse than they were lol.

 

as they say , you live and learn .....but some things prompt you to learn a little faster eh?

 

things were better today though, loads of doggies and a nice pollock for the pan, i only lost my anchor! had the weak link set-up and all but the bugger wouldnt budge so i had to cut the rope. it was too big anyway apparently.

 

sound advice though thanks.

[Adam Si]

Worth buying charts for the area you plan to fish so you have an idea of tide direction & speed, features and any dangers in the area. When you check the tide times for a given area try to see the tidal curve. When trip planning I take these factors along with weather and swell to get a picture of whats happening before I launch.

 

Does anyone do an electronic version of tide direction and speed ? I know you can get tidal stream maps from local chandlers but would love an electronic copy of bristol channel (N.Devon Coast)

[SpeciMan]

http://www.memory-map.co.uk/acatalog/maps_uk_atsea.html

 

Maps come with a lite version of Chart Navigator so you can view them. Includes tide data (height and current).