takemefishing.org

Getting Help

Make sure you’re prepared if an emergency occurs while you’re out on the water:

• Stay calm.
• Ensure everyone on board is wearing their life jacket.
• Survey the situation.
• Call 911 from your cell phone or radio for help.

When you radio:

• Know the name of your boat, the location of your boat, how many people are on board, the type of emergency, and if anyone is wounded.
• If the boat has a ship to shore radio, tune it to channel 16 (United States Coast Guard) and clearly say “MAYDAY” three times for life threatening emergencies or “SECURITE" (pronounced: secure-i-tay) for safety emergencies that are non life-threatening.

Content provided by Discover Boating.

Towing Services

In non life-threatening situations, contact these companies for assistance.

• TowBoatUS has 280 ports and more than 500 vessels standing by. Boaters can hail “TowBoatUS” on VHF Channel 16 or call the BoatUS 24-hour National Dispatch Center at 800-391-4869.
• SeaTow has nearly 1,000 captains, crew and professional support staff standing by 24 hours a day with more than 121 locations in the United States, Australia, Europe, the Bahamas and Puerto Rico.