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From: ahmet erkan (no email)
Date: Fri Jun 02 2006 - 18:50:18 EDT
Hi All,
Comments about the subjects of proper lookout, single handed sailing, big
ships etc. were very interesting.
Some of the highlights were :
--Radar cannot be relied upon 100%.
--Sonar like equipment is not available and not likely to work reliably
either.
--Visual detection of a small sailboat from the bridge of a big ship is a
case of hit and miss.
--Ships tend to keep the Radar on standby or off to save the maggie or
power.
--Radar detectors work only if the Radar is in use.
--You can stand watch all night long in a gale but you are not going to see
the ship until she is almost on top of you. Especially if you are looking
through the clear plastic portholes on a dodger.
--Ships almost always answer when called on Channel 16. (156.8 MHz)
--Collision avoidance is much more important between two ships.
After hearing these comments and recognizing how significant an issue we are
dealing with, I am astonished that there are no solutions. We should find a
solution, reach an agreement among ourselves, get comments and/or approval
from big ship's captains and push the authorities to make it law. (Piece of
cake huh ?)
The first thing that comes to my mind is using the VHF radio, because it is
cheap enough for every vessel to own one, needs very little power when
receiving, does not need moving parts therefore more reliable than Radar,
and ships and boats are already in the habit of monitoring Ch16.
What if it became the law for every ship to be equipped with a marine radio
that monitored Channel 16.
What if the new radios implemented a simple timer that triggered the
transmitter for 1/100th of a second every 5 minutes. (This function can be
added cheaply by purchasing a new mike)
What if the radios had a "carrier detect" circuit tuned precisely to
156.8MHz, that latched a relay for 6 minutes whenever a signal is detected.
What if the relay contacts were brought out to a standard socket on the
radio and the users can purchase the alarm of their choice. (ie: Start with
a gentle beep and progress into a scream to wake up the single handed
captain, or the watch officer who may be re-circulating some coffee)
Especially in zero visibility conditions at high seas when a 156.8MHz signal
is detected, thanks to GPS technology, both ships can broadcast location,
heading and speed information and keep away from each other. (Note : My Dad
was a Sub driver in diesel boats of the 50's in the Turkish Navy and he
considered fog to be worse than any storm. GPS unheard of, totally
unreliable Radar, on the surface, passing through the straits, concentrated
shipping lane, 1800Tons of ship almost at neutral buoyancy, ready to go
down, thin skin, thick fog, very hard on the nerves.) Here we are half a
century later, and the problem is still there.
Getting back to subject, a smarter radio could transmit the location,
heading and speed during the 1/100 second burst, and a smart receiver and
laptop could present a tactical plot to the captain as he wakes up, takes a
look at the plot, turns on the Radar for verification and makes himself a
cup of coffee, totally relaxed in his cabin during a gale. But the simplest
unit with voice communication and a captain that can wake up and achieve
situational awareness without delay will get the job done just as reliably.
Airplanes already use variations of this technology and click their
microphones a predetermined number of times to turn on the runway lights at
small airfields for night landings.
So "What say you all" ..... (Borrowed from Commander Adama of Battlestar
Galactica)
Ahmet
SV8827
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