Emergency Distress Call VHF Scripts for Boaters: Mayday, Pan Pan, and Securite
Strangely, I like collecting scripts for distress calls so I can compare the wording. Should the caller start with location, as you do on land, so make sure the first – and possibly only – thing you say is where the problem is? Is your type of vessel the most important bit of information? If you are cut off by another VHF call, and all that is heard are your first words – were they enough? What’s the best order of information? These are questions I grapple with and ponder. When I hear of emergencies on the water, I run through what was the most important information, what should be said first, and for what type of assistance to ask. Here are some starting points – scripts for the three distress calls, as well as a few tips.