Sounding smart on the radio
Published on September 17th, 2024
by Vincent Pica, WindCheck magazine
There is a natural tendency to shy away from the unfamiliar, especially when you can’t get the words back. Remember the first time you were faced with a phone message machine: “Leave your answer after the beep” – BEEP! Now what? Even today, that beep can strike fear into the hearts of some. Now, how about multiplying that a hundred-fold to everyone tuned to VHF channel 16…?
Some Basics
Unless you know the cell phone number of every boater in your vicinity, your only source of help is your radio. You don’t have one, you say? Stop reading and check yourself in someplace, because that is simply nutty. Your radio is likely to be your only source of help and you go to sea without one? To save a couple hundred dollars? And West Marine, for one, will give you a three-year warranty in the price. Come on, Bunky, where else can we skimp with such potentially disastrous results? – Full report