Marine VHF Radio

We have talked about the value of your marine VHF radio on several occasions. Sometimes your VHF radio is the only link between you and the help that you may need. However, today we won't be talking so much about "you" making that call for assistance. We will be talking more about who might be listening.

There are many of us on the water. Whether it is for sport fishing, commercial fishing, water sports, research, general recreation, or any other reason, we should all be listening to VHF channel 16. That's the channel that mariners use to call for help, either from the Coast Guard or from other mariners.

As mariners, we all have an obligation to each other to "monitor" VHF channel 16. That is, to listen to messages that are broadcast over what is known as the "hailing and distress" channel. "Hailing" refers to getting the attention of another boater or a land station so that a conversation can begin. Once initial contact is made, the parties will switch to a working channel to have their conversation.

VHF Channel 16 is also the "distress" channel. That's where mariners call for help when they are in trouble. While calling for help is important, of equal importance is other mariners listening for the call. The trouble is that many mariners do not monitor channel 16. Their radios are on the "sport fishing channel" or some other channel that relates to what they are doing on the water.

This has been a point of contention for me for a long time. For some time, VHF radio technology has made it possible to monitor two VHF radio channels at the same time. The feature is referred to as "dual station" monitoring. It works by automatically switching back and forth between two channels as messages are transmitted on those channels.

The trouble is that many mariners don't monitor channel 16 simultaneously with their "working channel of interest." If they did, they could receive messages over both VHF channels. In that case, they could stay in touch with their fishing buddies and monitor for distress calls at the same time.

In my line of work, I have occasion to talk to mariners about many real distress situations. In some of those catastrophes mariners have lost their lives. I have heard from people on the water that monitor the sport fishing, commercial fishing or other channels. When they are in the vicinity of mariners in distress, and the distress call is made on channel 16, the message is not received by many nearby mariners.

The result can be that the vessel in distress may not reach another vessel to assist them in time, since many vessel operators are not listening to channel 16. At times, monitoring channel 16 can make the difference between life and death. In fact, it may be YOU that is making the distress call. That certainly puts the issue in a different light.

When we are on the water, when the weather turns against us, or the visibility deteriorates, and we have an emergency, we have to rely on each other. It's important to all of us that we look out and "listen" for each other. 

Until next time, I wish you clear skies, fair winds, and calm seas!