PAN PAN - Help Please - Sailing Helios S01E32

We're adrift, 27 nautical miles away from our destination of Cap Monastir, Tunisia.
Our trusty engine has decided to take an unscheduled break, leaving us stranded in the middle of nowhere. And to make matters worse, there's not a breath of wind in sight.
A day ago we left Malta on this 195Nm passage to Cap Monastir. With nightfall fast approaching and the threat of strong winds looming on the horizon, every moment counts.
We swallow our pride and reach out for a helping hand - our priority is our safety.

[@krisvanaut]

Thanks for sharing. This is insightful. Glad both of you and the boat came out well. I’m not sure if I would have been able to remain as calm as you have been.

[@sailinghelios2023]

Thank you. We are both pretty level headed people and manage to always stay calm. All you can do is the best you can at the time. The spectacular entrance (several actually ) into the marina under sail and working out how to stop got our hearts thudding though.

[@nickmn6108]

As an ex merchant navy deck officer and ex full-time coastguard officer now retired you did the right thing with the Pan Pan broadcast for the purpose of informing the coastguard/radio station and any other vessels in proximity of your position and nature of urgency BUT I would not have requested a tow 27 miles offshore until I had made way to a few miles from the marina no matter how long it took but continually assessing the situation and weather/tides/currents etc... My purpose for the pan pan would be solely to provide my position and be monitored. Just my humble opinion. I see one or two comments below are overly critical of you but such comments are from the 'know alls' and are the real "muppets" (as one comment called you) and the ones we more often than not had the issues with and who put others lives at risk. We never stop learning at sea, I certainly haven't, but your safety must always comes first. Just a suggestion but when you initially transmit your vessels name to a coastal station say it three times (not just once) clearly and spell it out, "I spell" so the receiver has got it immediately if possible.

[@sailinghelios2023]

Thank you Nick for your expert opinion. There were a lot of things we learned from this experience and things we would do differently and I think you have picked out these well. I suppose the main thing I wouldn't change is making the call and doing it early. As you have picked up my radio protocol was not up to scratch for the PAN PAN message. I have a PAN PAN/MAYDAY printed card at the nav desk now so we won't miss out vital info in out message. The fact is you just need to get the call out and just because someone doesn't answer does not mean that nobody has heard. Thanks again for your comments.

[@nickmn6108]

@@sailinghelios2023 You are welcome but I am no expert and am I constantly learning no matter my age or experience, it is only because it was my day to day job and I appreciate alot has changed since I was at sea in a professional capacity or in the coastguard service. For example there was no GPS, no mobile phones, no technology to speak of. Anyway I totally agree with you, you just needed to get the call out which you did, well done. I confess I was irritated by the comments of one or two 'know alls' calling you names because my past experience is that it is these very people absent of any humility, who are a danger to themselves and others at sea. Best wishes to you sir and also your family and safe sailing.👍

[@dalltm]

Just like airplanes, never trust gauges for anything. Good job getting the boat in!

[@sailinghelios2023]

Yeah. Good advice. And thanks. I was very proud of Richard for getting us in with those conditions. Jude.

[@Pumba_PIG]

You've got nav lights and ais so ships can see you... why not go have a rest until some wind picks up.

[@sailinghelios2023]

That is true but the real issue for us was getting into port without a motor. Most marinas do not allow you to enter under sail and sailing into a new marina after dark is not a fun prospect. The wind did pick up as I expected so we could sail all the way there but the calm patch meant that we got there after dark. Because I had reserched the marina quite well I was confident that we could sail in but the risk was hitting a fishing net at the entrance. This would have been a disaster. However the coast guard vessel going in ahead of us mitigated this risk. We could have stayed out but with high winds expected thsi would have just delayed the problem and quite possibly made it worse. E.g. tied crew and batteries running low. The up side is that we could have come in during daylight. These are all the choces we were running through. Regards Richard

[@jptilley10]

Hey guys! Wow, great job under tricky conditions, glad you are both ok and the boat is safe. Would have been easy not to share that and pretend it didn’t happen but glad you did, definitely a few take aways for me watching this, and good to see what these situations are like in practice. I wanted to share something we found useful which you might also. That is to keep a fuel log, basically fill up, look up the fuel curve for your engine in the manual and pick a cruising RPM and note corresponding fuel flow then make a note of how long you’ve run the engine and keep a running tally of the fuel you have remaining. It’s remarkable how accurate this can be, we sailed for months on one fill and our log was within about 5L when we topped back up again. Also, you can usually calibrate the gauge but requires you starting from an empty tank. Fun fact, we keep a fuel log flying commercial airliners, to verify what we are seeing on the gauges, granted the risk profiles are very different to sailing, but food for thought. Hope you are enjoying the sailing and have a great stop over 😊 (John+Kristina, Kristina’s Travels)

[@sailinghelios2023]

Hi John and Kristina. Thanks is was a bit tricky and we learnt a few things through the process. I think the idea of a fuel log is good. I generally keep a log of engine running time and RPM but have just not converted this to fuel consumption. I have asked about calibrating the gauge and it is factory set so I have a Victron Cerbo GX unit installed now and will put the fuel tank on that as I can calibrate it. I might even see if I can connect the engine to the NMEA 200 network and then it will log fuel on the MFD. After we filled up we realised we missed an opportunity to check the guage as it filled. Thanks for your comment, we are enjoying your videos in the Jeaneau 55. Looks like a really nice boat and a great new concept. Regards Richard and Jude

[@jptilley10]

@@sailinghelios2023 sounds like a great idea! 👌🏻 the J55 had the fuel data going to the MFD and it was great, it’d give you a range etc also based on current fuel flow and ground speed also which was pretty handy as well as a estimate of fuel remaining based on what I imagine was a fuel flow sensor data. Have a great time out there! Looking forward to seeing where you guys head to next 😊

[@0e32]

Is the sails just for looks now a days? Some arond the wold Yatchts dont even have a engine installed 🙂

[@sailinghelios2023]

That is very true. I have seen a few of them here being towed into harbour and pushed into their moorings by the Marinos in their tenders. I know people sail on and off anchor but I am yet to see someone sail into a Med-mooring.

[@captratty2167]

I often consider the possibility of engine failure and ask myself what would Sam Holmes do. He would heave to, drift, sleep on it, whatever the circumstances dictated, while waiting for a favourable wind, and then sail onto anchor as close as possible to his destination. Then he would either get help or put the dinghy over the side and tow himself in. He sailed all over the Med without an engine looking for somewhere to get repairs. Nothing seems to phase him.

[@dutchangle229]

Sailing into the harbor was gutsy. I reckon you were a dinghy sailor, before you became a sea sailor. You made your decisions for your own reasons. No criticism from me. I would have done things differently though. Just continued drifting and sailing towards the destination until shallow enough to anchor. Waited out whatever nasty whether was due. Then used my dinghy to tow my yacht into the harbor, perhaps with assistance of harbor crew.

[@sailinghelios2023]

Thank you. Yes, I spent many years sailing dinghies. You are correct that anchor and using our tender to tow us in was an option. The problem was the wind direction. This is a very shallow coast and the wind was straight onshore so anchoring in 3m seas would be too risky. It is definitely something we considered.

[@Coleen_West]

Is this really an emergency? Engine out on a sailboat?? I don't understand this.

[@sailinghelios2023]

You are correct, this is not an emergency. A PAN PAN is used in radiotelephone communications to signify that there is an urgency on board a boat, ship, aircraft, or other vehicle. It is referred to when it is a state of urgency, but not when there is an immediate danger to a person’s life or to the vessel itself. So our call was just for assistance to get into the harbour as it is normal that sailing ships drop their sails and motor into a harbour. While we did manage to safely sail into the harbour and anchor without an engine, a safer way to do this would have been able to get a tow from just ourside or for them to tie up along side as soon as we entered. Our biggest danger was running over a fishing net or pot on entry to the harbour as the wind would have quickly blown us onto the beach and we would have grounded within 100 meters of the entrance. With the Coast Guard vessel leading us in this mitigated this risk. The big picture to manage here is that we don't allow problems to escalate and end up in a Mayday situation where our lives and those who would come to rescue us would be put at risk.

[@Coleen_West]

@@sailinghelios2023 ...fair enough. Didn't know that.

[@sailinghelios2023]

Thanks Coleen.

[@Sailngdarcy]

Well done safety first and that is whatever you personally think is the right thing to do

[@sailinghelios2023]

Thank you.

[@bangarang1515]

Not sure I understand why you couldn’t sail into the marina?

[@sailinghelios2023]

Well, in the end we did sail into the marina, but it is not typical to sail into a marina, especially one you have not been to in the dark. Fortuanally I had studied the marina quite closely so knew what to expect, but still, it is not the safest way to do it which is why I was asking for a tow from outside. Probably the biggest risk was the possiblity of fishing nets around the entrance. If we had collected one of these then we would have been blown onto the beach. The boat leading us in mitigated this risk for us, otherwise I would have headed offshore and approached again in day light.

[@johnryan2193]

I find this incredible.. this is a SAILING BOAT not a motor boat .why waste the time of the rescue services asking for a tow .

[@sailinghelios2023]

Thanks John. The issue is not sailing the boat to the marina but getting into the marina. Typically sailing into a marina is not allowed and med mooring under sail is something I’m yet to see anyone achieve but willing to give it a go. :)

[@andrewmcfarlane5040]

Frustrating and scary. Glad you guys made it in ok.

[@sailinghelios2023]

Thank you. We were very happy to get in to the marina. It certainly reset my expectations of what help I should expect and appreciate the fantastic services available in some countries.

[@Avi-sf8ld]

@@sailinghelios2023you guys are brave and inspiring. I’ll be happy to share my thoughts on how to handle such case in a slightly different way (from experience)

[@sailinghelios2023]

Thank you and happy to hear your suggestions. There were quite a few things we learnt from this experience.

[@Avi-sf8ld]

@@sailinghelios2023entering the marina just with the Genoa is a better approach. You can roll it as soon as you are in and maneuver using your residual speed. If you need, unroll it a little to gain some speed and close it again. A bit of a gym session, but you are in control. Keep sharing, you are the best!

[@sailinghelios2023]

I agree that would have allowed us to depower very quickly and avoided the problem we had alond side the fuel dock where we could not stop because we were on a reach. My concern was about if I had to turn around and beat my way offshore again under Genoa alone. Then my tacking angles would not be good and tacking would have been difficult. With the onshore breeze this could have gone bad quickley. If it was reach offshore then this would have been the best option I think.

[@josepmassot4696]

Con todo respeto y cariño, no os toméis a mal lo que os voy a decir pero sois un velero con sus velas totalmente funcionales, luego si falla el motor y no hay viento toca esperar, el viento siempre acaba por llegar y una vez llegas a puerto entonces si que es adecuado pedir ayuda para maniobrar en el amarre.

[@sailinghelios2023]

You are correct. We wanted to get a tow from outside the marina. It is risky to sail into a marina and forbidden in most of them but in the end that is what we did.

[@irrationalmarket8079]

i know this was vety stressfull for you but i was laughing so much., the guy had no idea what you were talking.... i would have lost temper... and be extremely stressed with the situation... it was a great learning to me... if it ever happen to me i'll have your attitue in mind before exploding of the poor guy not understaing you....

[@sailinghelios2023]

It was stressful but we had a bit of a laugh about it afterwards as well. I am sure he was as frustrated as I was becuase of my lack of French. It was just a matter of assessing the situation and choosing the best option knowing what the issues would be going into the marina at night. Glad you are enjoying the videos.

[@Scubachick67]

Was I the only viewer shouting back at Mr. EntreèEntreè? 😂😂 very fustrating. May that be your first, last and only Pan Pan. 🍀🍀🤞

[@sailinghelios2023]

Haha it was very frustrating, but in the end it all worked out. My greatest concern was catchinh a fishing net as we entered the harbour but by following them in we reduced this risk as much as possible. We are the no drama channel so this will enough Pan Pan's for us

[@glengrant3884]

Muppets at sea!!😂🤣😂help help we're privileged!!

[@sailinghelios2023]

Thank you for your valuable contribution to the discussion

[@jeroenvanrixel7980]

Jeez you have provisions you can ride it out . Their literally refugees crossing in more precarios vessels 😂😂😂😂

[@sailinghelios2023]

Yes, that is true. But I don’t understand how the plight of poor refugees is relevant to asking for a tow into port ?

[@AHmad-pm4pb]

What actually happen? I just dont get it 😮 if engine died , pls explain .

[@sailinghelios2023]

Yes the engine died. It ran out of fuel. This is how we found out we had a very inaccurate fuel guage. From that point forward I had three options, continue into Monastir or sail to Malta or Sicily. Malta or Sicily would have meant sailing for two days in 30-40 knot winds with the potential of running low on power so needing to hand steer. Depending on possible anchorages I might have still needed to be towed into a marina. So I thought my best option was to continue to Monastir and get a tow into the marina there. In the end they did not understand what I wanted so I had to sail into the marina. Now most marinas you are not allowed to sail into but because I had done my homework I knew we could do this here and leave if we needed. My only concern was fishing pots at the entrance of the marina and this was mitigated by the Coastguard vessel leading the way into the marina. Thanks for the question. Regards Richard

[@konanjaarola2511]

thanks heaps guys... because of your lack of seamanship .. and a cant be bothered waiting for wind because im rich attitude... true mariners get penalized ... we suffer from higher insurance, more expensive regos , tighter survey regulations , new rules and laws that make going to sea for traditional , cultural, professional and liveaboard yachties damn near impossible to afford.... the fact that yas laughed about it and joked about cleaning the yacht before they come aboard... just goes to show you dont care about the cost you force true mariners to pay... the ocean needs to be taken seriously as does your preparation and seamanship... i bet if they charge you $150000 for your rescue youll winge your butts off... but thats the sort of money they charge the tax payer for rescuing you... to cover the bill they up the cost they charge us to go to sea... go buy a campervan and try that crap on the road for your youtube video clout... see what the tow truck driver charges you... people risked their lives to save you and your vessel and you dont understand why they are bewildered... yas think its funny not even realizing its you thats the sad joke....and by the way the most basic learnard thing about radio communications is to say "OVER" so the other party knows when they can respond ... its this sort of arogance that gives us yachties a bad name... i really dont mean to be a prick and i believe you have as much right to be on the ocean as i or anyone else does... please use my comment to understand what you do as a yachty reflects on and costs us all .. please be safe and may the lord guide you with pleasent seas and beautiful travels...

[@sailinghelios2023]

Wow, thanks for your message. I understand the point you are making but really, next you will be blaming me for the state of the world economy. The facts here are that no one had to "save us" and no one "risked their lives" If I thought asking for assistance for someone to meet us just outside the marina would risk lives then I would have headed back out to sea. This is a video not a full thesis of the situation and without that you are making judgements without all the facts. What you don't see on the video is me explaining to the Tunisian Coast Guard that I am only looking for assistance from outside the marina, you don't see the trial approach that we made towards the marina to check the sea state close in and test beating offshore again if required, you don't see the hours of study I put in to fully understand the marina layout and the approach to this shore and all its dangers, or the bailout plans and safe havens alone the way. You are correct that my radio protocol was not spot on and this is one of the learnings that we have from this event. In the heat of the moment it was not good enough. Regards Richard

[@paulcoady9399]

The guy's wife had to get to the airport to catch a plane to be with her daughter who is having emergency heart surgery and they are stuck with a blown engine. Maybe engage your brain before you let your ego rant. The question to ask is what were all the boats sitting in the marina listening to a pan pan. Probably had the same attitude you have. Just have another beer. Helping other boats is one of the joys of sailing. Of course he could always tow a 40ft boat in with an 8 ft tender and smash into all the boats in the marina, or maybe sail in close to the shore when the weather turns bad and smash into the coast. Oh no... he forgot to say over. Woopee do! I love sailing but people like you and your "know it all" attitude and overinflated ego make me sick.

[@vistion]

The super sad intro music sends the ridiculous nature of this non-problem over the top! Seriously? This reminds me of liberal politicians allocating tax payer dollars for the development of windmill farms that don't work without wind and kill all the birds when they do.

[@sailinghelios2023]

Hahaha…..so glad we gave you the platform to get that off your chest.

[@jonscott8586]

​@@sailinghelios2023 excellent response, you are taking the undeserved punishment with valour!

[@dereklightbody1353]

You need to watch Dead Calm with Nicole Kidman and Sam Neill.

[@sailinghelios2023]

I have a couple of times. Fortunately our experience was nothing like that.

[@4x4smile]

Problem with fuel gauge? 2:20 says empty. Fuel light flasking in background. User error, sorry but this seems like a bit of a silly vid to post. Fuel gauge says empty and boat stopped. Ahh well learn from it, a sailing vessel calling pan pan when the vessel was at no risk is a bit silly. Glad you swallowed your pride in the end, shows you are learning from it.

[@sailinghelios2023]

Mmmm... interesting take on the situation. My fuel guage doesn't every read empty. At this point it was ready reserve which as explained in the video right after it was reading 25%. If you think we were at no risk then you need to go back and watch the video as sailing into a marina is not without risk and a PAN PAN is not an emergency it is a request for assistance. If you think I learnt from the experience then this justifies posting the video so others can also learn from it. Thanks for watching

[@Yourdadsellsavon]

27 Mile tow? Catch yourselves on

[@sailinghelios2023]

"Catch yourselves on" sorry but I don't understand what this means. We were only after a tow for the minimum amount possible and made it all the way to the marina under sail, I think a tow for the last few hundred meters is reasonable

[@konanjaarola2511]

so then why did you pan pan? @@sailinghelios2023

[@g.stephens]

Man, you guys needed Google Translate. You only needed to know the word tow in another language :)

[@sailinghelios2023]

Yes. We have Google Translate but didn't have mobile coverage to use it and had not downloaded french! We are learning french using Duolingo so might be better now:)

[@markbailey6051]

Towboat US

[@sailinghelios2023]

Not sure they have a service in Tunisia