VHF radio is line of sight
Operation of your VHF radio
Marine radio transmitting
Marine radio procedures
Daily radio schedules

You probably want to get away on bareboat sailing holidays... away from phone calls, faxes, and e-mail, but in an emergency, a communication link can be vital. For coastal sailing, a mobile phone may be your best communication device - if it has the range to connect you with the shore - but the most common form of communication on the water is through a VHF marine radio.

VHF (Very High Frequency) radios...are simply two-way radios. With a VHF marine radio, you can get in touch with marine rescue, talk to friends on other boats, listen to a coastal waters forecast , and talk to marinas and holiday and island resorts. The VHF radios' range depends on the power of the unit, the height of the antenna and location of the repeater station.

Marine repeaters are community owned and for all to use. They are maintained by volunteer marine rescue organisations along the Queensland coastline... When you take a bareboat charter you are given special dispensation by the Australian Communications Authority for limited use of a VHF radio for communication.

VHF Marine radio is line of sight

The VHF marine radio on each bareboat provides you with a high level of safety. Although VHF is line of sight and restricted to a range of about 80 km (50 miles), it is possible to navigate the whole of the Queensland Coast and stay in contact with radio stations by means of repeater stations at 80 kilometre intervals. As each repeater is battery powered they are equipped with automatic cut-outs which limit the time any one party can talk ...this conserves valuable battery power.

The VHF marine radio is routinely powered from your bareboats house batteries - however, if this battery should fail (for any reason) most bareboats are provided with an emergency 'back-up' battery you can switch to.

The VHF radio transceiver on your bareboat has a number of working channels with each bareboat VHF having its own unique 7 digit call sign... this number is often recorded on (or near) your radio... alternatively it will be given to you when you do your bareboat briefing.

You only use this VHF radio under the rules, regulations and guidelines set by the Radio Communications Act and the Commonwealth Navigation Act... this means you are required to operate the radio on bareboat yacht charters to comply with standard operating procedures.

Operation of your VHF Marine radio

To use your VHF radio first check that the 'radio' switch is on at the switchboard -

The repeater stations are powered by solar power and stop transmitting after 30 seconds. If you have longer transmissions to make simply release the microphone key briefly before continuing.

VHF radio transmitting

It is useful to listen to other craft and learn the language of radio transmitting. Some of the abbreviations will sound strange at first, but they are all simple and effective. Some of the most common expressions you will hear used on a Whitsundays yacht charter or other bareboat charters along the Queensland coast are:

To make VHF radio transmissions easier to understand under poor conditions, each letter of the alphabet has a code word... Use this code, if you are having trouble getting through and need to spell out the message. It is not hard to learn -

If your boat's name was 'Magic', this is how you would call under bad conditions:

"Radio base, Radio base...This is Magic, Magic, I spell...Mike, Alpha, Golf, India, Charlie...over"

Marine radio procedures

While it is not the purpose of these web pages to teach you to be a marine radio operator, here is a sample of a typical call you would make to Radio Base (name of your Charter Company) on the twice daily schedule:

Always state the called station two or three times before the name of your bareboat.

"Radio base, Radio base, Radio base...this is Magic, Magic on channel 80, over"

The answer should come back,

"Magic, Magic, Magic...this is Radio base, Radio base, go ahead please"

If you do not hear an immediate reply, repeat you call once or twice, then wait 5 to 10 minutes before calling again. Your bareboat charter operator sometimes scans different frequencies, and their radio could have been locked momentarily into another channel at the time you call.

Use the word 'over' at the end of the message to indicate to the other party that you have ceased transmitting.

Do not say 'over and out' at the end of your communication... Simply say 'listening out'. It's good practice not to turn your radio off immediately after use in case another station is trying to contact you.

If you are unable to contact the Radio base of your bareboat operator, you can ask any other bareboat charter base or vessel to pass a message.

In the event of total radio failure, visit any other vessel anchored close by, their VHF marine radio will have the same frequencies as you...ask them to contact your bareboat charter operator on your behalf.

Daily marine radio schedules

Your bareboat charter operator will call you on your VHF radio morning and evening.

If you fail to contact your charter operator on two consecutive schedules, a search operation may be initiated... depending on the circumstances you could be liable for all the search costs involved.

If you miss one radio contact, it is essential you make every effort to contact your bareboat charter operator prior to the next schedule.

The morning call allows your charter operator to discuss your plans for the day and the suitability of your intended evening anchorage... The afternoon call is to check you are safely 'anchored or moored' for the night.

Sometimes the afternoon call can be inconvenient, but you may avoid this by calling your charter base as soon as you are secure at your overnight location.

Staff manning the office of your bareboat operator do not leave their radio base until they confirm your bareboat is secure for the night.