Canadian Yachting December 2017 - 30

A Guide to Maritime VHF
Radio for Pleasure Craft
Practical User Tips and Broadcast Etiquette

By Ken Goodings

Marine VHF Radio is a shared resource, so it's important to be
community-minded when using your radio. It's not a private
telephone; so anyone with a maritime radio in a nearby vessel
can hear every word you say!
Here are a few tips for more efficient VHF operation so that
you won't trigger groans from your boating neighbours, or garner
the reputation of being, "That Boat."
VHF CH-16. IT'S THE CALLING CHANNEL
It's worldwide maritime practice to listen to VHF Ch-16 while
vessels are under way. However, some boaters like to monitor a
"Buddy Channel" when cruising or anchoring with friends.
Please remember that if you're not listening, or at least scanning
Ch-16, you will miss important Coast Guard Radio weather
announcements, distress calls from other vessels near you, or
perhaps another boat trying to warn you about a navigation hazard. Scanning both Ch-16 and several other channels of interest
during the daytime is a great idea if you don't want to miss anything. Then you'll hear all of the commercial traffic on 16 and

30

Canadian Yachting

other recreational vessels calling one another as well. Always listen to Ch-16 when your boat is moving. It's the responsible
thing to do.
Remember, too, that Ch-16 is the universal worldwide VHF
channel for emergency and calling. After making an initial contact with another boat on 16, please switch your radio to another
simplex (Ship to Ship) channel. Whenever you happen to hear
a boater unwittingly chatting away on 16, please try to be considerate. Keying or whistling over someone with your microphone won't solve anything, and this kind of passive-aggressive
behaviour is considered to be low class, and actually illegal.
Politely advising them that there may be a hundred or more vessels overhearing their conversation on 16 is probably sufficient.
Mariners often forget to switch to a working channel. At the end
of their conversation, it's quite amusing to hear them say on 16,
"This is Soggy Bottom going back to 16...Oops!!!"
It's worth clarifying the Channel 16/9 button that's found on
all marine VHF transceivers manufactured for the Canadian
and United States pleasurecraft market. In Canada and else-

DECEMBER 2017



Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Canadian Yachting December 2017

Vantage Point: Little Boat, Big Boat – Where Did You Start?
Club Profile: Gimli Yacht Club
Galley Guys: The Galley Guys Travel to Newfoundland
Travel Destinations: The Middens of Galiano Island
Profile of a Cruising Family: Redefining the Face of Yachting in Canada
Marine Electronics: Special Feature – A Guide to Maritime VHF Radio for Pleasure Craft
Marine Electronics: Special Feature – AIS - Peering Atop Islands and Around Bends
The Port Hole
Marine Electronics: Special Feature – WiFi Boosters
Sail Review: Dehler 38
Power Review: Cruisers Yachts Cantius 50
Power Review: Jeanneau NC 895
Summer Event Coverage: Poker Run 101
Crossing the Line: Flying Dutchman
Canadian Yachting December 2017 - Cover1
Canadian Yachting December 2017 - Cover2
Canadian Yachting December 2017 - 3
Canadian Yachting December 2017 - Vantage Point: Little Boat, Big Boat – Where Did You Start?
Canadian Yachting December 2017 - 5
Canadian Yachting December 2017 - Club Profile: Gimli Yacht Club
Canadian Yachting December 2017 - 7
Canadian Yachting December 2017 - 8
Canadian Yachting December 2017 - 9
Canadian Yachting December 2017 - 10
Canadian Yachting December 2017 - 11
Canadian Yachting December 2017 - Galley Guys: The Galley Guys Travel to Newfoundland
Canadian Yachting December 2017 - 13
Canadian Yachting December 2017 - 14
Canadian Yachting December 2017 - 15
Canadian Yachting December 2017 - Travel Destinations: The Middens of Galiano Island
Canadian Yachting December 2017 - 17
Canadian Yachting December 2017 - 18
Canadian Yachting December 2017 - 19
Canadian Yachting December 2017 - 20
Canadian Yachting December 2017 - 21
Canadian Yachting December 2017 - 22
Canadian Yachting December 2017 - 23
Canadian Yachting December 2017 - Profile of a Cruising Family: Redefining the Face of Yachting in Canada
Canadian Yachting December 2017 - 25
Canadian Yachting December 2017 - 26
Canadian Yachting December 2017 - 27
Canadian Yachting December 2017 - Marine Electronics: Special Feature – A Guide to Maritime VHF Radio for Pleasure Craft
Canadian Yachting December 2017 - 29
Canadian Yachting December 2017 - 30
Canadian Yachting December 2017 - 31
Canadian Yachting December 2017 - 32
Canadian Yachting December 2017 - 33
Canadian Yachting December 2017 - 34
Canadian Yachting December 2017 - 35
Canadian Yachting December 2017 - Marine Electronics: Special Feature – AIS - Peering Atop Islands and Around Bends
Canadian Yachting December 2017 - 37
Canadian Yachting December 2017 - 38
Canadian Yachting December 2017 - The Port Hole
Canadian Yachting December 2017 - 40
Canadian Yachting December 2017 - 41
Canadian Yachting December 2017 - 42
Canadian Yachting December 2017 - 43
Canadian Yachting December 2017 - 44
Canadian Yachting December 2017 - 45
Canadian Yachting December 2017 - 46
Canadian Yachting December 2017 - 47
Canadian Yachting December 2017 - 48
Canadian Yachting December 2017 - 49
Canadian Yachting December 2017 - 50
Canadian Yachting December 2017 - 51
Canadian Yachting December 2017 - Marine Electronics: Special Feature – WiFi Boosters
Canadian Yachting December 2017 - 53
Canadian Yachting December 2017 - 54
Canadian Yachting December 2017 - 55
Canadian Yachting December 2017 - Sail Review: Dehler 38
Canadian Yachting December 2017 - 57
Canadian Yachting December 2017 - 58
Canadian Yachting December 2017 - 59
Canadian Yachting December 2017 - Power Review: Cruisers Yachts Cantius 50
Canadian Yachting December 2017 - 61
Canadian Yachting December 2017 - 62
Canadian Yachting December 2017 - 63
Canadian Yachting December 2017 - 64
Canadian Yachting December 2017 - 65
Canadian Yachting December 2017 - Power Review: Jeanneau NC 895
Canadian Yachting December 2017 - 67
Canadian Yachting December 2017 - 68
Canadian Yachting December 2017 - 69
Canadian Yachting December 2017 - 70
Canadian Yachting December 2017 - 71
Canadian Yachting December 2017 - Summer Event Coverage: Poker Run 101
Canadian Yachting December 2017 - 73
Canadian Yachting December 2017 - 74
Canadian Yachting December 2017 - 75
Canadian Yachting December 2017 - 76
Canadian Yachting December 2017 - 77
Canadian Yachting December 2017 - 78
Canadian Yachting December 2017 - 79
Canadian Yachting December 2017 - 80
Canadian Yachting December 2017 - 81
Canadian Yachting December 2017 - 82
Canadian Yachting December 2017 - 83
Canadian Yachting December 2017 - 84
Canadian Yachting December 2017 - 85
Canadian Yachting December 2017 - Crossing the Line: Flying Dutchman
Canadian Yachting December 2017 - Cover3
Canadian Yachting December 2017 - Cover4
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