Why This Zig-Zag Coast Guard Search Pattern is Actually Genius - Smarter Every Day 268 

I like that feeling I get when I do the final watch through of a video just before uploading it.... and I genuinely enjoy the content. It's like I'm grateful that the video exists, independent of who made it. Checkout this link to sign up for the email list if you’d prefer not to think and want me to just email new videos to you when I make them. www.smartereveryday.com/email-list Thanks to all the Coasties that took the time to teach me, and who worked with me to make this video possible.

That drifting VS pattern was really interesting. Overlying drifts with search patterns really leads to a counterintuitive result. This video definitely lived up to the channel name. 👍

I’m an old man, and just did the finger whistle for the first my whole life and have always wanted to learn and no one has been able to explain it to me. Love this channel!!!

My relative was once the subject of a Coast Guard search and he mentioned that they told him they found him because they knew he was alone with just a kayak and did modeling math. They told him that a ship juts way more out of the water and usually has WAY more air currents exerted on it than a person with just their head and shoulders out of the water, who is pulled by the first 8 feet of surface currents. Mindblowing. That's a level of predictive science that's like... High risk high reward meteorology.

Former Canadian Volunteer marine SAR guy here. Ive done all of these search patterns except the barrier search (not relative for our region) and this video is absolutely dead accurate for how it really works. In canada we use slightly different terms and tech, but the core is exactly the same, as are the outcomes. Bravo Zulu to everyone involved in this!

"Zoom in, enhance" I think Destin just fulfilled a childhood dream saying that line.

A retired Coastie here. It's good to see someone talking about what the Coast Guard does to help their fellow man in distress. It's not talked about much, and I wish things like this was publicized more. I think it would benefit the Coast Guard greatly. I had a lot of fun in the Coast Guard, there's a lot of real good, and dedicated men and women hard at work 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year to do only one small part of the Coast Guard's job. I don't regret the time I served, and I'd gladly do it again without hesitation. I remember one SAR case I got involved in. I was on a cutter returning from a Narcotics Patrol in the Caribbean, on our way home when we got tagged to do a SAR for a sailboat. It was almost an all hands effort, even I had pair of binoculars and was looking for them. I made a comment to one my fellow watchstanders saying "it's too bad we don't have a helo onboard". I noticed the Captain jerked his head up and stared at me, then left the bridge. The next morning we had a helo onboard. After refueling it, giving the flight crew bathroom break (called a head), and a snack, they were back in the air officially joining the SAR effort. About 40 minutes into their patrol. They found the sailboat. All hands were rescued. And we went home to loved ones we hadn't seen in almost 2 months.

Destin learning how to whistle with his fingers was the most wholesome thing I'll see today

I honestly love how they were there to talk and teach instead of them just doing it and you watching. You don't even ask anything and they'll still look at you and the camera and explain everything. Amazing way to teach and learn.

Career Mariner here, I would also like to stress the importance of the capacity of those in need to reacue to also have their own search and scanning patterns. If they have flares, mirrors, flashlights, whistles, smoke signals, flags, anything... it can help the search party locate them quicker. Do not use your equipment until you spot a search asset. I understand not all lost at sea may have this equipment.

Washed my hands, spent maybe seven min trying; got a little light headed. But after about twelve years I can finally whistle with my fingers. A skill I've always genuinely desired.

At first, I thought they would be crisscrossing the triangles, and the center was fixed by GPS. When I discovered they move around the perimeter of the triangles surveying in three directions and staying relative to a drifting center, it all fell into place. This is one of the most interesting and relevant things I have ever watched. Thank you and bravo.

I love what the Coastguard does. Your videos highlight the precision and professionalism of how they do and why they do their business. As pilot, I’m awed by their SAR process.

The whistling thing is extremely infuriating as I've never in my whole life been able to do it. Seeing Destin do it first try fills me with jealousy. I swear I've tried it a million times.

As a retired Coastie of almost 22 years, I want to thank you for this look into what truly is an amazing career! The men and women of the CG work tirelessly to maintain their profession, which is hard to convey to anyone who is not a member of the CG. Your CG series is doing a good job as helping the public see a little more of what makes the CG such a great service! I miss being in the CG, as I feel the CG and its outstanding members helped made me the person I am today. Keep up the great content, and stay safe out there, my brothers and sisters in blue!

Wow, as a scuba diver this is so reassuring and although it makes total sense, it would definitely not have been the way I would've steered the boat if I ever lost a buddy. So cool, and everyone in the video is so nice! Thanks for this video :D

I spent 23 years as a coxswain with the Coast Guard Auxiliary before retiring four years ago. We did a lot of search-pattern training and I wish I'd had your video to show new crew members before going out. You did an excellent job, and it was a pleasure going through it again with you.

I am a member of the US Coast Guard Auxiliary. We also train on these search patterns in our mission to augment the active duty surface operations. This is one of the best explanations of SAR patterns I have ever seen. I am going to suggest to all of my operational colleagues that they watch this episode. Bravo Zulu, Destin!

I feel you, bro. So many times, I have filmed things "out of phase." It's a perfect way to describe that phenomenon.

Great to see Station Rochester featured (and of course CG in general)! I work in the Sector Command Center for Rochester's AOR and it's still amazing to me the tools we use to get the job done. Definitely checking out the rest of this series, I've really enjoyed your channel!

Destin, that was sooooo cool and informative. I’m glad to see that there is a clear scientific method to their madness when conducting these operations. I love your enthusiasm and work, keep up the good job.

Well I just learned how to whistle with my hands the first try... That is crazy haha.

This is a great

Imagine if our teachers in school were as enthusiastic as Destin. A full grown man who almost passed out from excitement from learning how to whistle. 😂

I loved the end of this video. It's great to go out on a laugh. I think I replayed the dummy being pulled out of the water and hitting his head on the boat. Ortiz's laugh was so genuine.

Everyone talking in this video were able to articulate themselves really well. They don't sound like they only recite stuff they memorized, but like they understand the subject (including the math) and are able to explain it. In short: they all seem to be smart people on top of the can-do attitude. I imagine that the acceptance tests to join are not easy.

Wow! I'm a commercial fisherman on Mobile Bay and have worked along side USCG Sector Mobile in two searches over the years. One of the searches our vessel located the debri and sunken vessel of the lost fisherman, such an odd feeling of joy mixed with sorrow. Both men were eventually located, unfortunately neither alive. We located their debri and vessel along the southwest side of Gaillard Island in the northern half of Mobile Bay, one man was found near the Heron Bay cutoff and the other was found on Petit Bois Island in Mississippi. Very sad, but that's a risk we take in our line of work. I'm very glad to have the USCG out there with us, I've been caught in some very violent weather on that Bay and they fly in it....absolute Mad Lads!!! God bless them.

Man this is great to see so many views on the Coast Guard's missions and tactics.

Spent 20 years and a month in the Coast Guard in engineering. Never heard of the search pattern VZ. It is job specific. That being said, I'm 57 and just learned to whistle with my fingers. That was awesome. Thanks for the videos.

The square wave search pattern is called Boustrophedon, literally meaning "turning like the ox plows". That's the one piece of information I can't forget from my university signal-processing classes....

This patterns reminded me of patterns for farming operations. Every pattern is good for certain conditions. For example, the most efficient way for harvest is "narrowing square" or "narrowing parralel" but if there are wild animals spotted in the area, you need "expanding parralel" pattern for those animals/birds to be able to escape.

The RU-vid algorithm has a dark sense of humor😂

Love the sly smile from the coastie while explaining 6 knots for 1 minute.

Been subbed to sed for longer than I've been subbed to anyone else. Genuinely makes me happy to watch your videos Destin. You're like a cool big brother to a lot of us I'm sure, at least for myself I feel that way.

The sign of an expert is being able to explain their craft back to you in a simple way. These coast guard members were very well practiced in what they do

These guys are legendary..knowing these guys are out there doing this important work makes me feel safer when I go out sea fishing..

Awesome! As a former ground SAR volunteer, I found the marine search patterns really interesting. And that finger whistling was just so cool! It reminded me when I was learning the skill when I was about 11 years old, while waiting my turn for an annual athletic medical checkup with about ten other boys. You can imagine the racket, and what the nurses thought of it… lol. But I digress. A great video! I am smarter than I was yesterday 😀

The genuine surprise, awe, and excitement over the whistle working was so fun to watch.

I’m 45 years old. Wanted to do that whistle my whole life. Did it within the first 30 seconds after watching this video. Amazing! Thank you.

Love Justin’s _“Awesome Mix vol. 1”_ tattoo!!! Guardians fan no doubt!

These shows are incredible and educational I have watched a load of them and there’s not one that’s boring. In fact it’s helped me with my anxiety it takes me to a place of excitement and wonder keep them coming these coast guard 1s are the best. From uk 🇬🇧

I hope everybody watching this video series will appreciate the level of training and competence of the Coast Guard personnel. Because they are so well trained, the Coast Guard entrusts their junior personnel with a tremendous degree of authority and autonomy. The Coast Guard is a great organization with some really impressive people.

As a (much less experienced) mechanical engineer as well, I think it makes perfect sense to call the buoy a datum because it is stationary RELATIVE to the drift of the water. You are keeping track of your starting point relative to the drift, not geological coordinates like the GPS uses, and thus measuring the exact drift at the same time!

Fascinating indeed, how the Victor-Sierra works out with the drift of the waves. Thanks for this episode, it is fascinating and very informative!

Solid content. It’s impressive seeing the coast guard guys talking easily about complex procedures. Respect.

I was just reading about the development of optimal search patterns last week. Good to finally learn how to finger whistle!

My dad was a rescue swimmer for 20 years, and I’ve never thought about what it took for him and the helicopter crew to find the casualties. Thank you for the extra insight, awesome series by the way

Love this, so much. As a kid I knew there was so many variables that has to be able to calculate into real events, there is no way we can't have formulas for everything needed. That's why i'm so in love with this, and made it so effective.

As a former US Navy member, I have to correct you on your "port" and "starboard" sides of the ship. Please do not refer to port as the left side because both have four letters. I say this because you can change which side of the ship is "left" or "right" by which way your facing on the ship/boat. There's 4 sides of the ship/boat. The bow(Front), Aft(back), port and starboard. People learning Port being the "left" side of the ship can cause a lot of issues if there is an emergency. You can use "left" side of the boat/ship if you're facing the bow of the ship and then forget the words left and right after that. This also applies to airplanes as well.

Thank you for highlighting the Small Boat role in SAR. Everyone focuses on the "Airedales" and the glory of the helicopters; what they miss is the crews that go out in the worst weather, spend hours on scene searching and getting beaten on by the ocean, only to have the air assets show up and make the rescue. And we still have hours more punishment going back to the station, doing maintenance to get ready for the next call, and doing our reports. Like the crew from Station Rochester said, sometimes it's fun and sometimes it absolutely sucks. That said, we wouldn't want to be anywhere else. Semper Paratus.

Amazing video as usual. Also, whistled first time with that trick!

I said it on the last video in this series, but I feel these are as important as they are interesting, fantastic work Destin and a big thank you to you and all guys and gals out there risking their lives every day for our safety

When you whisled and learned something so fast, I enjoy that feeling too, how amazing is that, I just get so hyped like you do. I learned some harder maths for an assessment and I was just so happy, after the test I passed out so hard from being excited all day. I just wish there was more people to have fun with math with, so really get people into it... There isn't much play room for maths with others.

Nice video. Back in the 70's when I was a Coast Guard Helo pilot there were no computers, GPS, calculators, or autopilots. We did expanding squares, parrallel lines, track lines, and creeping patterns. We calculated it manually on out knee pads with a Jeppsen flight computer. What we did have, if we had an approximate position, was a datum marker buoy. It was a radio transmitter with a flashing light that we dropped. It drifted with the current and it made it easier particularly for expanding square patterns as your turn points were specific radio directional headings to the datum. Of course we also had to compensate for the wind which was different from the current since the aircraft was affected by the wind and the wind over the body of water was different from at base so our heading on each leg had to be offset. Things are a lot more complicated. A body is mainly carried by the current but a boat or raft is also affected by the wind from the amount of surface area above the water. Then, is there a sea drogue deployed or not which would give a compromise between wind and water. The wind is constantly changing so how long has it been since the event and how long is the search taking. A storm system going through changes wind direction as it passes. There is fetch which is surface current from long term wind versus ocean current such as the Gulf Stream. They may actually be going in the opposite direction. Waves, though they mainly are going up and down also effects drift by causing slippage for a boat or raft. Things are a lot easier now for the pilots with onboard computers and autopilots that will fly the search pattern allowing the pilots and crew to spend more time looking outside for that tiny dot of a head or life jacket in rough seas. I actually got to do the prototype testing on the first aircraft flir systems which really helps out. Destin, are you sure you really want to get into this deep stuff? Enjoy all the math. I look forward to seeing the rest of the series.

My late father was in the USCG from 1950-75 and shared a lot of stories with me from things you would never think the Coast Guard would do. He did weather patrols in the Pacific (long before there were weather satellites), was stationed in Rhodes, Greece on the USCGC Courier that broadcast the Voice of America across the Iron Curtain and into the Soviet Union, worked on a buoy tender for the last of the atomic and first of the hydrogen bomb tests, and worked in Public Health Service hospitals (back when we had Public Health Service Hospitals...), and many other things. He passed away last year at 93 and I am still proud of everything he did!

This is such good content! I sail on inland waters on the east coast so this was really cool to learn, thank you!

I lived in fort walton, just west of Destin for 5 years. Also, I've been trying to learn how to finger whistle sinse I was a kid. My dad used to call us kids home with that whistle. Thanks to THIS video (after watching MANY others), I did it FIRST TRY. Thanks for all you do!

That whistle moment gave me chills! Destin, your genuine surprise and glee was so awesome. Thank you for your video!

I appreciate that the hand-drawn intro was probably as much effort as the rest of the video.

This is the most fascinating video that you've ever produced (I'm biased because I love the ocean), and I just wanted to say that you are such an inspiration to so many people; keep doing what you're doing!

The animation of the VS search following that janky course was brilliant. I had to rewind and watch it again. The static pattern flowing over a moving plane suddenly made sense. Thanks for making it so easy to understand!

The most mind-blowing thing I'm taking away from this video: I just learned how to finger whistle. I can whistle a tune well enough, but I've never been able to do those really loud whistles. I tried learning the way where you make a ring with your index finger and thumb and blow down that, but was never consistent. But I did the step by step he showed in this video and immediately got a loud clear whistle. Very minor thing but I'm honestly really amazed right now. (Not anywhere near consistent though, I'll need practice.)

Fine video and host! He asks really good questions that teach the concepts well. I have a new appreciation for the Coast Guard and their methods.

This was awesome, thanks for presenting. I saw a Coastie presentation on something approach finite element analysis for drift outside the Golden Gate. They dump a HUGE number of micro-transmitters in the water and measure the drift for each one. This feeds back to a super computer and they adjust their models for drift (much in the same way our wind/temp reports to Air Traffic Control feedback to NOAA/NWS to refine winds aloft and other weather forecasts). As a result, PIW off the Golden gate, feed in current conditions and voila, high probability search area. Nifty!

As a random lateral connection. I have seen many pro paragliders recommending this search pattern for thermals. Most guides say to turn into the thermal. But in doing so you often just circle past it and miss it. The solution, apparently is to do a 270* turn away from where you think the thermal is, which should then align you to pass through the centre of it. It also accounts for your wind drift and the thermals.

Having served in the Coast Guard for 6 years more than 30 years ago it is nice to see an educational video of these fine professionals. No on ever seems to think about those that risk their lives to save others. The old saying, “They say we have to go out…they don’t say we have to come back,” is so true. Training is done on nice calm sunny days like this but I can assure you when you are doing SAR cases in real life that is never the case. There were many times I thought we weren’t going to make it back in the seas we were in. I have passed on my patriotism and desire for service to two of my children who now serve in the Army. So proud of them both. God bless this great nation and those that protect her. Semper Paratus!

Nice whistle. :) As a rescue diver we were taught similar patterns. Good to see the coast guard is so well manned with great technology.

The fact that my RU-vid is recommending this video from over a year ago in the wake of the Titan Titanic submarine tragedy is hilariously dark.

Destin’s reaction to whistling is why I love this channel in a nutshell. The genuine enthusiasm to learn something new, and to share it with us is contagious.

21 year retired Coastie here and you explained that perfectly. The funny thing is our small boat station community are some of our youngest people and they are performing these searches all the time. It sounds complex but when you do them all the time it becomes routine. The large ships and aircraft use the same procedures.

I remember reading once that in a "man overboard situation" if you happen to see the person fall overboard or already in the water- you should not take your eyes off them. In rough seas you may never get another visual on the person due to the waves etc, and you may never find them again.

As a sailor I found the discussion of the Coast Guards VS execution very interesting. Getting aboard the vessel and watching an exercise was invaluable.

This brought back memories of being a rescue swimmer years ago. One of the most disappointing things was staring out the window of the helicopter, searching for hours and hours, and never finding the victims.

"Let's simulate the GPS coordinates of an RBM performing a victor sierra in different types of sea drift." That is one heck of a sentence, and props for explaining and constructing the video so well that the meaning is absolutely clear. Always impressed with the depth of understanding each of your videos guides the watcher to.

The Coastie says "We'll travel 6 miles an hour for 1 minute" . Rocket scientist says "How far will that take you?" Coastie giggles slightly and replies " 0.1 mile"😂

Just was checking out flight tracker data for one of the USAF's Hurricane Hunters call sign Teal 73 and saw their VS pattern going through Hurricane Ian in the Gulf of Mexico near the West Coast of Florida, while NOAA 42 was doing circular-ish orbits though the storm...

I took part in a (ultimately successful) search for two missing persons of a downed aircraft over the ocean, but the patterns proved entirely wrong in this case because they did not predict or include the possibility the persons in the water would be swimming towards the nearest shoreline, and had moved many miles from the search area. I did happen to fly over the missing persons, as I was not part of the "official" search and/or pattern system, but I unfortunately did NOT see them in the water, and was only informed I flew over them by them telling me this after the fact. (This is hard to hear and not get discouraged.) As you mentioned, a person is VERY hard to see in the ocean unless you are very close to them. When they were only a mile or so from the shoreline, they were ultimately spotted by an aircraft landing at a nearby airport.

“I was out of phase” is SUCH an engineer way of saying “I forgot it was already on” lol Loving this series. Keep up the great work.

When I was stationed in USCG Air Station Clearwater on HC130H's, did a SAR for a sinking/sunk sailboat off of Bermuda. I was a loadmaster, camera operator, dropmaster and other things. I don't make the search pattern, our radar operator does that, so don't really know much about it. This helps make sense of why district gave us a search box pretty far away from where the EPIRB was pinging (satellite beacon that floats in water). Probably took us 8+ hours to get on scene and it was pretty rough waters so I guess district did their drift calculations and came up with the search box. We/my aircraft commander wanted to fly directly to the EPIRB first but was told to begin the search box instead. Once we completed the search box and only had I think 30 minutes of on scene time for fuel left, my aircraft commander flew us straight to the EPIRB and we found them! The sailboat's captain kept the EPIRB on the raft they got on as the sailboat sunk. The EPIRB was not floating around separate to them. We stayed on scene to direct a good Samaritan cargo ship to them and they were saved. All survived, nice to have days like that. Think we were near 15 hours of flight time.

Great video! I’ll take that knowledge with me back and try to implement that in the Danish Marine Home Force

I had a hard time acclimating to college and almost quit pursuing engineering to find another major, but through your videos and some other fantastic creators in this genre I found a major I enjoy. So thank you.

The expertise and dedication of these young men and women is impressive. To all the Coasties out there, thank you for your service!

Thank you, Justin 😂 I've always wondered how to whistle properly, and I'm totally trying that on the dog walk tomorrow!!

Nice, this will come in handy when I plan coast guard rescue patterns.

The humility to admit when you messed up. Doing it when you could just edit that out and pretend it didn't happen - priceless. You're a man of character, Destin.

CG Vet here. Glad you did a series on the USCG. By far the best decision of my life, best people to serve with. And, unfortunately, the lease funded or talked about service. Fair winds and following seas… Semper Paratus!

I just learned to finger whistle while watching this video. I always wanted to learn that! SOOO COOL! Thanks, Justin and Destin! Hey, Destin, have you been to Destin Beach, Florida? The sand is super white and so fine in particulate that it squeaks when your feet move in and against it. You'll love it!

Loving the tat on Justin's arm @8:46 - Guardians of the Galaxy! So cool that it's only oriented correctly when he's at his station working...

In my early days of doing analysis of anti-submarine warfare for the US Navy, we had a term called "flaming datum". If a friendly surface vessel got torpedoed, it was a datum used to initiate a search for a hostile sub in that area.

The software they're using was developed by just one employee many years ago! He was actually asked to stay on for years after his retirement because he was the only person who knew how to work the software! I believe that the search pattern originally included eight search objects (it was hard to get people to agree to just go adrift for research!) but eventually expanded to the number that we have today. The setup became so well used because it was considerably more effective than traditional search patterns (although never perfect). Sadly I heard all of this years ago so I can't remember if this was the story of SAROPS (the current system) or SARPS (the original system). On one hand it was the first of it's kind so surely it was SARPS, but on the other I remember it's use continuing until fairly recently, which might make it SAROPS (which started being used in 2003).

Justin and Destin taught me how to whistle loud using the finger guns technique! Got it first try! Thank you!

Stumbled upon your channel by change and this is so interesting and very well explained. I already feel smarter today

My father would call us home in the evenings with the finger whistle. I've tried for 30+ years to replicate it but never could....until I tried this technique. I'm expecting my first child later this year and I feel ready to be a father now.

Starboard comes from steering board. In olden times the steering board was at the right rear of the boat so the seaman could use his right hand to steer. Thus, the right side of the boat was the steering board side, or more simply starboard. Because the steering board was hanging over the right side boats would dock with the left side against the dock, so the left side was known as the port side, or simply port.

Could not fight the tears rolling down my face for some reason the moment the realization that these folk and many more like them in different fields are what stands between rescuing a life and not when out in these situations I give thanks to how awesome people are when they really take what they do seriously and master said craft shame these kinda of aspects of society / reality isn’t highlighted more

That sliding Victor Sierra graphic was exactly what I needed to visualize this, thanks!

Addendum to how hard it is to find things in the water: also consider that the quickest way you'd normally recognize a person at that distance is to find movement against a relatively still background, which *also* doesn't really work on open water.

Destin, I’ve been following your channel for a long time. Love your content! This one in particular hits home because I’m one of the lead technicians that maintains the software and infrastructure for the SAROPS program that you’re referring to. My coworker and I are on-call 24/7/365 to ensure a 100% uptime of SAROPS program for all the command centers. Thank you for such an excellent video, please keep them coming!!! I will be sharing this with my team!

This is fascinating. Thank you for shining a spotlight on this unbelievably important work.

Great video. We use the same pattern in Canada but we compete a 3 sections then shift back to datum and re start at 45 degrees offset. That changed about 15 years ago. But I clearly remember that floating datum style