It never ceases to amaze me how we manage to get through the height of the boating season with so few major mishaps, particularly when, IMHO, so many "recreational shipmasters" appear to be brain dead! I sometimes wonder to where the innate human problem-solving ability has departed. So many people get into problems because they are blissfully unaware of what is going on around them ... the weather ... the state of the tide ... other vessels ... wash, etc. A couple of years ago, around Christmas time, I had crew duty with my local Flotilla of the Australian Volunteer Coast Guard Association. We were kept busy, non-stop, all day with calls to assist people in difficulty ... mostly flat batteries and such like ... hadn't even had a break for a coffee! About 4.00 in the afternoon I relieved the Duty Radio Operator and received a call from a vessel stranded at the top end of our operational area, saying that he had a problem with his steering ram and that he was unable to steer his vessel. Could we tow him home? I explained to him that all of our boats were occupied at that time, as were the boats of all the other Volunteer Marine Rescue Units in our area. It would be at least 2 hours before we could get to him. I then asked him what size motor he was running. It was a 150HP Outboard. I asked him if he had an oar or paddle on board. He thought I was being funny and said," yes, but I ain't paddling home!"<br />I suggested that he lash the paddle to his motor and idle home at about 6-8 knots ... as long as he was below planing, and was able to have enough control of his vessel ... he could steer his vessel using the paddle on the motor as a tiller. Of course he had to disconnect the ram first, but that wasn't a problem. It saved him money, (in the form of a donation ... we are not allowed to charge for our services)and it saved us a long night tow! Any way ... a little bit of Situational Awareness can relieve a lot of stress!
