We all know the story of THE BOY WHO CRIED WOLF. How the little boy sounded the false alarm "WOLF" which caused the town's people to all come to his aid when assistance was not needed. After doing this a few times the town's people did not respond and so when the little boy really did need help there was no one who would respond. The story stops there but more could be said.

The town realized the danger they were placing the shepherd boys in by not responding so they called a town meeting to decide what should be done. The blacksmith told how when he responded the fire in the forge would go out so with the time it took to rekindle the fire and the time lost responding he was not able to do all his work and he had to raise his prices to compensate for the lost time. The baker gave a similar response because he lost the bread, pies, and pastries that were in the oven and the bread dough which was rising would spoil because it was not processed in proper time so he had to raise his prices. On and on similar testimonies were given so finally the town's people decided to hire a special group of people who would be responsible to respond to the cry of "wolf." They were to go even if they thought it might be a fake.

To pay the newly formed team the town's people had to be taxed. There were also taxes necessary to pay for the special equipment the team needed so they would be able to respond quickly no matter what the conditions or where the shepherd boy might be. Some of the children and even some adults thought it great fun to watch the team respond so the false "wolf" cries became so numerous that the size of the team and equipment had to be increased and the taxes with it.

This may all sound like a fairy tail but this is actually going on in real life and it is not necessarily children that are giving the cry for help but, as in the story, many times it is by adults. The cry for help is not "wolf" but "MAYDAY."

The word "mayday,' which is an English speaker's corruption of the French "m' aider" which means "help me," is the international radiotelephone distress call. It is the same as SOS is in Morse code.

It was reported at the 02/18/2009 meeting of Flotilla 35 of the USCG Auxiliary that the United States Coast Guard estimates about fifty percent of the mayday calls made on channel 16, the maritime distress VHF radio frequency are false. Every time a false distress call is given, even if it is believed to be false, the Coast Guard must respond. That means personnel and equipment are dispatched no matter what the conditions. This can place lives and equipment in jeopardy.

The Coast Guard is paid with taxes so when a false distress is sent the money that is spent responding to that is taken from tax money that could have been used more productively for another purpose or more taxes have to be charged to compensate.

There is also the response from local police and fire teams, who are likewise paid by taxes, placing their lives and equipment in danger. It also takes the life saving team away during which time a true disaster or emergency might happen increasing the response time to the real emergency which increases the possibility that lives and property could be lost which might have otherwise have been saved.

People who are giving false distress calls are taking money out of your pockets and they are placing you at greater risk if you should need assistance. Report any information you may have concerning a false alarm to the proper authorities.

If a false distress message is given from your vessel cancel the mayday immediately.

A false mayday can result in prison up to six years for each offense, a large fine, and the person making the call may be charged for cost of responding to that call. Mayday calls are not games nor are they jokes.

Keep children away from the boat's radio equipment. It is not a toy.

Reducing the number of false mayday calls will make boating safer and more fun for all. Protect your boat radio so it is not used improperly and report all information you may have that will help authorities to find the perpetrators of false distress calls.