Now what?

The Coast Guard began the overdue hunt with a series of radio calls over Channel 16 and Channel 09 to the overdue sail boat. No response.

Group operations then requested that the Pentwater police check out marinas in Pentwater. They found nothing. Then Group asked the Muskegon police to check the vessel’s home port. They, too, came up empty. Meanwhile, Ludington Coast Guard made a radio call to the Great Lakes’ largest motor vessel, the Tregurtha, which was transiting the shipping lane off Ludington. They also reported no sightings on radar as far out as 24 nautical miles.

Frustrating? You bet!

Where was the sail boat?

Group Grand Haven made calls to White Lake marinas, the only port between Muskegon and Pentwater. All the marinas were closed, which always cranks up the frustration level, but is a common dilemma when tracking down late-night overdues. Fortunately, we received help from the salvage vessel Lake Assist. Its captain reported negative sightings on White Lake and at the White Lake Yacht Club, located at the lake’s west end.

Now what?

It was about 11:35 p.m. when this old sea dog received the call from Group Operations directing me to launch. They directed me to steam up to White Lake and check out the marinas at the lake’s east end. If not sighted, then I would steam 17 nautical miles north to Little Point Sable while Station Ludington steamed south to the Point conducting their own shoreline search for the 36-foot Islander.

What, then, if we failed to located the overdue sailboat?

Fact is, there is seldom a “what then?” In my 17 years in search and rescue on Lake Michigan, I recall less than a handful of overdue reports that were for real. In this case, I suspected that the overdue captain steamed north and failed to find a point of wind in which to sail. Earlier, I was on the Lake and the conditions were mild except for a slow chop from the north. Weather was certainly not a life-threatening factor but it did offer a clue. Rather than chug slowly north under motor, which many sail boaters hate doing with their auxiliary engines, he slipped into White Lake. I felt this, but until we had hard copy evidence I had orders to steam and search.

What really frustrated me was that a simple phone call to his father or a radio call to the Coast Guard from the sail boat captain could stop the further outreach of rescuers. The Coast Guard rescue helicopter at Muskegon airport was now on standby.

Bingo! Right after hanging the phone up with Group, the sail boat captain called reporting he was safely moored at White Lake Marina, at the lake’s east end.

Relieved? Of course. Satisfied? Not hardly. Irritated. You bet. These needless overdue reports, as you can see, put an enormous strain on the rescue system. Can most be avoided? Absolutely. Here’s how.

Nearly 95 percent of overdue vessel reports made to Coast Guard Group Grand Haven’s Rescue Coordination Center are totally unfounded. Most, if not all, stem from poor COMMUNICATIONS. A boater fails to inform loved ones of changed plans, such as unexpected stay-overs, unforeseen mechanical problems, prolonged fishing plans, and so on.

Boaters should inform family or friends of their boating plans. And not with just a passing “we’re going boating,” but the why, where, and when the boating will take place, and the boat’s description and name. If plans change, please keep people informed so, in the event an emergency develops, searchers will have a clue as to your whereabouts.

And as stressful as it might be on the search and rescue system in locating you, consider the stress it places on family and friends. Boat smart, give them a call if you’re running behind and don’t hesitate to call the Coast Guard either. We wish our sail boat’s captain had.

Help save lives: use Channel 16 for emergencies, Channel 09 for non-emergencies.