NBELGIUMFRANCEENGLANDRamsgateDoverCalaisBoulogne-sur-MerBoulogne
MarinaDungenessBeachy
HeadGravelines
Cap
Gris NezINSHORE
TRAFFIC
ZON
EINSHO
RE^ TRAFFIC
ZONETRAFFIC
SEPARATION
ZONEGoodwin
SandsFrom Bradwell MarinaStrait^o
f^ Dover
Position of
Westerly Griffon
nautical miles Kerrin II0 20myself, I hove to, brought the weight on
board and tried to pull the weight and line
to see if this would dislodge the rope.
When this didn’t work I set to work on
grabbing the jerry cans with the boat
hook, but they were tied fast and would
not come up over the transom.
Clearly, I was in a spot of bother. I went
into the cabin to write down my position
and to see what my drift direction was.
Even though I was hove to, with a
running tide I was drifting toward land,
and if I did miss that I’d be in the middle of
the ferry routes in and out of Calais.
Neither outcome was ideal.
I pondered things over for a bit. Could I
launch the dinghy and see if I could cut
away the jerry cans in time before I hit
land? Could I climb down the stern steps,
reach the rudder to try to cut the lines?
The sea is pretty lumpy, what if I fall in? I’m
‘Clearly, I was in a spot of bother... Even
though I was hove to, with a running tide I
was drifting, and if I did miss land, I would
be in the middle of the Calais ferry routes’
single-handed, what if I can’t get back
aboard? There appeared to be no obvious
safe solution given the shore’s proximity.
I concluded that I needed a tow to a
port, preferably Calais. So, for the first time
in 18 years of sailing, I issued a Pan-Pan.
I gave my position, much easier to do
when already written down on paper, and
asked for a tow. No answer. After a few
minutes, I thought I’d try to contact the
French coastguard. But what are their
stations called? No idea, OK, let’s try
“French coastguard, French coastguard,
French coastguard, this is Kerrin II, Kerrin II,
Kerrin II, over”. They responded with what
sounded like ‘Green Aid’. But, because I
failed to check before I departed the call
sign of the rescue coordination centre in
the area I was sailing, I only later learnt that
this was actually the Gendarmerie Maritime
station at Cap Gris Nez. I explained my
predicament and they asked me to
confirm I needed assistance, which I did.Naval assistance
After a few minutes, they came back on
the radio to confirm that a French Navy
ship was able to provide assistance; in the
meantime, could I lower my sails, which I
did. Having lowered the sails, I looked
behind me and saw a French Navy
gunboat appear out of nowhere and come
barrelling towards me. It circled around
me and I confirmed to ‘Green Aid’ that I
had them in sight. Interestingly, they said
they already knew this because they could
see me on their radar. It was nice to know
my radar reflector was doing its job.
Slowly, what looked like the transom of
the gunboat lifted and a dinghy with three
men and a scuba diver appeared and
made its way towards me. When
alongside, the diver, who spoke perfect
English, said he would go down and see
how badly I was entangled. He came up a
few minutes later and confirmed the rope
was wrapped around the rudder and thepropeller. I’d had my suspicions and so it
proved that using the engine for the final
bit into Calais was not an option. I was
also worried about the forces on the rudder
and prop the drag of the rope, weight and
jerry cans would create if I tried to sail with
it all attached.
The diver got a knife from one of the
men on the dinghy and went back down.
Eventually the jerry cans floated free and I
could pull in the remaining rope with the
attached weight. The diver, holding the
jerry cans, climbed back into the dinghy
which came back to collect the weight.
Before they left, I started the engine to see
if the propeller was free to turn, and when
I gave them the thumbs up, they motored
back to their ship. I called the Navy ship
on the radio: “French Warship, French
Warship, French Warship, this is Kerrin II,
over.” I’ve no idea if “French Warship” was
their correct call sign, but it got a response.
I thanked the captain and crew profusely
for their very professional assistance and
continued to beat towards Calais picking
up a waiting mooring a few hours later.
The beer tasted good that night.LOBSTER POT WRAP
Q Stick your head above the
sprayhood on a regular basis to get a
clear view of what’s ahead. If I’d done
that, I would probably have spotted
the jerry cans.Q Write down your position as soon
as you realise you’re in trouble. This
makes it easier to give your position
over the radio. Trying to read direct
from the radio on a moving yacht
while transmitting is not easy.Q Figure out your drift rate first to find
your time window. Looking over my
position, drift rate and direction later, I
actually had over three hours before I
would drift onto land or the ferry
lanes. If I’d done the calculations at
the time, I’d have known I had time to
blow up the dinghy to try to clear the
lines myself before calling for help.Q Note down the coastguard station
names for your intended passage
and destinations.LESSONS LEARNED
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