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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
-
- Turn the combined volume/on/off switch on the
radio to 'on' with some volume.
- Adjust the 'squelch' knob to stop any hissing
noise... but do not over-adjust.
- Turn to the correct channel... this can be
by knob, or press button.
- Press the PTT switch on your microphone quickly
once and listen for the 'echo' to check your signal
is getting out... Wait until the channel is clear
of traffic. Depress handset button to talk.
- Release handset button to listen
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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:
| Radio talk
'Yes' or 'No' - May be used to
indicate if the message is received and understood
'Over' - Over to you to transmit
'Stand by' - I will resume transmitting
in a few minutes
'Out' - My transmission is concluded
(end of conversation)
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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 -
| The Phonetic Alphabet
for use on the Marine Radio |
| When it is necessary to spell
words, the following phonetic pronunciation is recommended.
The syllables to be emphasised are in bold. |
| A |
Alpha |
AL fah |
N |
November |
no VEM ber |
| B |
Bravo |
BRAH vo |
O |
Oscar |
OS cah |
| C |
Charlie |
CHAR lee |
P |
Papa |
pah PAH |
| D |
Delta |
DELL tah |
Q |
Quebec |
keh BECK |
| E |
Echo |
ECK oh |
R |
Romeo |
ROW me oh |
| F |
Foxtrot |
FOKS trot |
S |
Sierra |
see AIR rah |
| G |
Golf |
GOLF |
T |
Tango |
TANG go |
| H |
Hotel |
ho TELL |
U |
Uniform |
YOU nee form |
| I |
India |
IN dee ah |
V |
Victor |
VIK tah |
| J |
Juliet |
JEW lee ett |
W |
Whiskey |
WISS key |
| K |
Kilo |
KEY loh |
X |
X-ray |
ECKS ray |
| L |
Lima |
LEE mah |
Y |
Yankee |
YANG key |
| M |
Mike |
MIKE |
Z |
Zulu |
ZOO loo |
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.
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