tone of the voice calling for help. As soon as you establish comms on your working frequency, begin immediatelyusing phraseology and ask very specific questions that make it clear that your voice willbe in control of the communications. Speak in a calm, normal voice. You don’t have totell the mariner that you are in control, or that you have to be the boss; you takecontrol simply by the questions you ask and the way you ask them. It is very importantthat you begin this way, and after just a few exchanges, the mariner will usually get theidea and become your source of information, rather than acting as one half of a Search& Rescue negotiation. There may be some negotiations much later in the conversation,but avoid “negotiating” what his nature of distress is, or where exactly he might be.When I answer an assistance call, I start out by assuming that this is a realdistress, so I collect all the information that I know the Coast Guard will want if I haveto involve them. There is a very logical progression of questions that the Coast Guardwill ask if someone declares a Mayday. They will always start with “What is yourposition and nature of distress.” If that is the only question that gets answered, theyhave enough to begin a search.Thus begins what I call the five and a half W’s. That is just an easy way toremember
Who, What, Where, Why,
When
(the five w’s) and
Will
(the half w).
Who
ishow many people are we searching for?
What
kind of boat are we looking for?
Where
should we be searching?
Why
are we searching (what was their distress)?
When
didthey call for help, and how long since you last talked to them? And finally,
Will
you getpaid?
Will
is only a half a W, because it’s only important to your decision about whetheryou are going to respond to this situation. As you go through this list of W’s, the manner in which you ask a question willdetermine the quality of the answers. If you say “Yeah Cap, what seems to be thetrouble this afternoon?” you might get a longwinded answer that includes the name of his mechanic and a list of recent part purchases. On the other hand, if you say “What isyour position and nature of your distress?” the formality of the question will often cluethe mariner that this will not be a conversation, but an efficient, organized exchangewhere you ask the questions and he provides concise answers. As you get each answer,use that information to proceed to the next question (what we call active listening): “Roger sir, I understand that your battery is dead and you are six miles from Tangoharbor. How many people are on board your vessel?” Do not ask “what kind of boat do you have?” or even say “give me a descriptionof your vessel.” What you want to know is the length, make and color, so ask for that: “What is the length, make and color of your vessel?” Keeping your questions simple andto the point will improve the chances that the answers are simple and to the point.Before you proceed to any discussion of membership status or quoting hourlyrates, you should know the following information:
•
What:
Vessel description: length, make, color and vessel’s name if it has one
•
Who:
How many people on board
•
Why
are we looking for him? (nature of distress)
•
Where
is the vessel. Lat/Lon if possible.
The vessel’s description and people on board are not subjects that offer anyopportunity for confusion. Determining the nature of distress can be a little tricky,
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