Is Best Way to Call for Help Sexist ?

[markpierce]

Calling "mayday" or "pan" would seem to me best done by a female on board. Do I hear any disagreements?

[zeehag]

Originally Posted by markpierce

Calling "mayday" or "pan" would seem to me best done by a female on board. Do I hear any disagreements?

female is also the key to opening bridges, usually.... LOL

[Wotname]

I am not sure if the OP is asking a serious question or is it just in jest but I am taking the second viewpoint.

I would never have female crew make a mayday call; I would be too worried that they got lat & lon reversed or somesuch.

Perhaps this is why I have sail solo .

[MarkJ]

Nicolle did our one in the Gulf of Aden when we were witnessing a pirate attack. She did very well.

She used our Satellite phone and it was quite amazing: Instant clear connection to the right person in the right command centre... who rang her back to save our money!!!!!!

Given the choice again I would never use anything else before the Sat Phone. Worth their weight in Unicorn Poop!


Obviously you need the phone number of the Search and Rescure ops centre you wish to call. In an 'at sea' emeergency I would use my 'ome grown one in Australia as they would pass the information on to the right countires mob ---- and, mostly, they speak (a type of) Engrish!!

Read the account of what happened

Mark

[denverd0n]

Well, assuming the OP is serious (and I'm not sure he is), I would most definitely disagree. If my wife is at the helm and I am below when an emergency arises, it would seem foolish and wasteful for me to go up and relieve her so that she can come below and make the mayday call. Who makes the mayday call shouldn't be a matter of gender, but a matter of who is in the best position to make the call while the emergency is being dealt with. That seems pretty obvious to me.

The other thing that seems obvious to me is that everyone on-board should have been given basic instructions in how to make a mayday call, even just for a daysail.

[zeehag]

i have found that QUITE OFTEN it is difficult to go thru bridges that require opening via calling on radio. the MAN on the other end of the radio-- the bridge guy-- he likes the sound of ladies' voices over mens-- seems to work best at opening bridges in the southland of usa.
as for mayday calli9ng, i woupldnt know-- we did have to call a seatow for a spoil bank grounding in darkness and 41 kt winds.... i clled--- they weree super slow, s our time was measured in different means than wwas theirs--we were bumping on the bank-- they were warm and in bed,..so iit took them an hpur to rescue us from pounding to bits.....i think it woulod have been just as long if a male voice had called. i really believe the response for mayday wouold nlot be any different for male or female voices to call--- same response time.
but bridges an othwr lil stuff-- YES-- female voice calling in there does makes a difference. same with tugn tow in icw..LOL

[rebel heart]

I've done some securite's before; happily never a pan or mayday. Hoping to keep it that way :-)

[Jesse]

It shouldn't make any difference at all, but human nature being what it is? it probably does.

[Stillraining]

Id post a picture of what the OP had in mind about the validity of his theory which I agree with by the way....but it would probably get flagged as off topic..

A helpess lass does conger up a bit more emotion then some donk whaling away the same urgent message IMHO...calls of help say for a grounding by a lady with 3 kids aboard just summons the chivilry in all mens hearts...more so then a bunch of nutter catfish noodlers in the same predicament.

Right or wrong there it is.

But I agree in the silliness of taking the extra time to affect such a procedure in the midst of an emergency...The most capable of communicating clearly and rationally should be the one on the radio...not to mention the one that's awake and up to speed on the situation.

Nothing like getting woken up and a mic shoved in your face.."Here make a May day were sinking"........Huhhhhh??...Whattttt?

[capn_billl]

I would dissagree. A faster mayday response will be to clearly spoken coordinates and clearly stated real emergency. If the woman aboard is capable of that, then yes. But generally the person most able to state the cause and nature of the emergency will be the person at the helm, (the man for the typical couple day cruisers). The bridges around my area are extremely rude and argumentive to anyone who doesn't sound like they know what they are doing, either sex. Barges on the other hand, ....

[Ben M-P]

I wouldn't know about mayday calls, but the US Military found during their research into voice control technology that if the weapon system had a "male" voice it was much more likely to get ignored than if it had a "female" voice.

[Therapy]

Originally Posted by Ben M-P

I wouldn't know about mayday calls, but the US Military found during their research into voice control technology that if the weapon system had a "male" voice it was much more likely to get ignored than if it had a "female" voice.

Well, with things bending the way they are and all the PC crap that may change.

[zeehag]

as long as boats and boating is a male oriented area, and as longas tug n tow guys ae just that, guys, and a slong a sbridge dudes hear male voices all the time-- i think i have a long time to go yet befo9re i dont have the good advantage of a husky alto female voice on a radio....LOL

[MarkJ]

Originally Posted by capn_billl

I would dissagree. A faster mayday response will be to clearly spoken coordinates and clearly stated real emergency. If the woman aboard is capable of that, then yes. But generally the person most able to state the cause and nature of the emergency will be the person at the helm, ...

interesting..

and thats a fallacy according to both my military experience and sailing.

Officers in the infantry don't hold the microphone of the radio and are not allowed to take the wheel in a vehicle... not because they are 'above' these positions but they have other things to do.

In the situation I described, we had roles to perform in "Action Stations": I was to be at the helm and Nic was to be below. In fact she was locked below with the companionway cover locked and all the hatches locked and all the curtains/ covers closed so no one could look in.
Her sole job was communications. Solely to get our message out with L&L.

So its interesting that the Captain of the ship being attacked couldnt give his lat and Long clearly. He should not have even been holding the mic!!!!!! he should have been soley concentrating on manouvering his ship.

I think our situation was different than normal: we were rehearsed into a particular mode of response. Normally the skipper wants to be at the helm and do the radio Maydays too... probably because he thinks he has a better overview of the situation.

I would think that I am better than everyone else in these situations. but prehaps thats wrong. Set a duty for someone to concentrate on, and let the commander be commanding the larger sitauation....

[Hudson Force]

Originally Posted by zeehag

...............the MAN on the other end of the radio-- the bridge guy-- he likes the sound of ladies' voices over mens-- seems to work best at opening bridges in the southland of usa..............but bridges an othwr lil stuff-- YES-- female voice calling in there does makes a difference. same with tugn tow in icw..LOL

Now, Zeehag's "southland" must be Southern California, USA, because here in the Southeast USA the bridge tenders are just as frequently female as male and all voices seem to have the same influence on the radio. Bridges, tugs, tows, land stations,....I don't think there is any relevance to the voice of the speaker. Certainly, Mayday or pan, any emergiency call, seems to be respected without regard to the quality of the speaker unless it's a giggling child.