Pan Pan, Boat Missing

Marathon, FL
No LL

Two days ago I wrote a post about the dangers of crossing the Gulf Stream in the wrong weather. Yesterday and today on our VHF radio we can hear repeated calls from the US Coast Guard "PAN PAN. PAN PAN. PAN PAN. [meaning emergency] a 27 foot sailboat enroute from Marathon to Bimini is missing ..."

Oh dear. I have no idea if the missing boat is the same one I discussed on the blog. It is also true, that a boat reported missing is not necessarily in any trouble at all. Sometimes, people just forget to call their mother to say, "I got here fine." Nevertheless, calls like that make the blood run cold and the imagination run wild.

We sure hope the people on that boat are OK.