ESCORT BOAT

An escort vessel is required by the Polynesian Voyaging Society on all voyages in motorless-canoes. The escort boat assists in towing and emergency situations. The canoe captain is the primary command; the escort boat captain takes orders from the canoe captain.

The Escort Vessel on Open Ocean Voyages

1. The Escort Vessel usually stays a 1/2 mile to 3/4 of a mile to the stern of the canoe.

2. The canoe should contact the Escort Vessel whenever the canoe initiates a maneuver: tacking, reducing speed for any reason, stopping to pull in a fish, etc.

3. The Escort Vessel maintains a position on the downwind side of the canoe for whatever tack the canoe is sailing.

4. The Escort Vessel monitors the canoe's position via radar.

5. The Escort Vessel and canoe monitor VHF Radio Channel 16. Vessels will switch to other designated channel after making contact.

6. If VHF Radio contact cannot be made, then other means of attracting the attention of the canoe or the escort boat may be used to indicate the need to communicate via VHF Channel 16: (1) signaling with a strobe light or strong flashlight to transmit. SOS signal (at night), (2) shooting off a flare or sounding a power horn or whistle (day or night), (3) using an orange smoke signal, a mirror, an orange flag, or arm signals (day).

Picking Up The Tow at Sea

In relatively calm seas in the daytime, with an escort boat that is maneuverable and a relatively skilled driver at the wheel, the canoe slows down by tricing the back sail, and the escort boat approaches parallel to the canoe on the downwind side; someone on the canoe tosses the end of the tow rope to the escort boat. When the seas are rough or at night, the tow line is deployed in the water off of the canoe and the escort boat picks up the line from the water, keeping a safe distance from the canoe. The following are procedures for deploying the tow line at sea.

Daytime

1. Use 2 coils of 3/4" x 300' Poly-pro line; join the two coils of Poly-pro together to create one 600 foot length. The Poly-pro line is used because it floats.

2. Attach an empty 5-gallon water jug to the end of tow line to be used as a floater.

3. Tie end of tow rope to bridle with a 20 foot tail leading back to the forward mast step.

4. Deploy tow rope off the bow of the canoe under sail; let out 350 feet of line, then tie it off to bow spreader.

5. Turn the canoe into the wind.

6. Contact escort boat and inform them what direction the tow rope lays in the water and on what side of the canoe they should pass to pick up the tow rope. Escort boat will repeat transmission for verification.

7. Once the tow rope is picked up by the escort boat, the remaining length of rope on board the canoe can now be paid out.

8. The length of the tow line needs to be controlled for each towing situation:

Harbors / close quarters: use a short tow

Open ocean towing: use entire length of tow rope

At Night

1. Break glow sticks and place them inside of the empty 5-gallon water jug so the jug will be visible in the dark. Also, tie glow sticks at 10 foot intervals for the first 40 feet of tow line. Follow the same procedure as during the daytime in throwing the line to the tow boat.