[C38] Radios

[Charles]

My understanding is that any vessel underway is supposed to monitor CH16 
if possible.  Vessels over 60' are required to do so, but after sailing 
the Great Lakes for the past couple months, I can report that many of 
the large freighters do not respond to queries, which could mean they 
are not listening or simply don't wish to respond.  In one case, I 
spotted a MOB pole in the water and tried to contact a freighter that 
was heading directly for it....  no response on any of the contact 
channels.  He ran right over it.  Good news is that once I was able to 
get to the pole it was apparent it had been in the water for some time.
We have both a hand held and a fixed radio in our cockpit.  The fixed 
radio shares our main antennae with the one below with a manual switch.  
The portable is mostly for contacting ports and locks, but it is on all 
the time. 
Weather on the Great Lakes is prone to change dramatically and quickly.  
At one point, we were on a run with moderate air and haze.  The radio 
came on with a warning that a storm was detected moving towards us (5 
miles away) with winds reaching 50+.  We immediately battened down and 
it was a good thing as the wind hit us like a hammer (it would have 
stripped the sails off us if they had been up).  One interesting thing 
is that due to the haze and lack of a land horizon, it was hard to 
actually see the wind wall coming at us even though we knew it was 
coming!  Without the radio in the cockpit, we would have been in real 
trouble.

Note:  If you are thinking of purchasing a new radio, look at the new 
versions that can communicate GPS info (DSC option). 

Charles Finn
Mighty Quinn #114
Great Lakes

D. R. Strong wrote:
> Joe: We have the cockpit remote for the VHF on Discreet Charm and had 
> to replace it recently. Sounds to me like some work with your plug 
> (corrosion?) might be due. Monitoring 16 is a really good idea, dunno 
> about legalities. Someone in the water would be a Pon-Pon, which we 
> hear fairly frequently in SFB. I was sailing last week on Lake 
> Michigan and heard several: airplane lost in the lake off Sheboigan , 
> man overboard near Milwaukee, boat without a rudder in Indiana 
> somewhere.  The man overboard was first broadcast by the vessel that 
> lost the unfortunate person. Within a few minutes, the Coastguard 
> began repeating the broadcast, then canceled it when the guy was 
> rescued. We never heard a cancellation for the lost aircraft or the 
> boat sans rudder. The woman in the water at King Harbor was /muy/ lucky.
> regards, Don
>
> Joseph Launie wrote:
>> *Hi,
>>     Two issues which are related.
>>           First, we have an extention radio in our cockpit. The kit 
>> included a 12 foot long cord with a male plug at the end which you 
>> could install in the side of your cockpit. We did. The radio is 
>> attached to a female plug so it can be easily removed. It is supposed 
>> to be able to change channel, turn on & off and all from the cockpit. 
>> One problem - we cannot get it to work. Everytime a mechanic looks at 
>> it he mates the two parts violently and it works. is there a better 
>> way to do this?
>>     We feel the need for a radio in the cockpit we can hear while 
>> racing.
>>     I have a recollection of a "rule" that under way you are supposed 
>> to monitor channel 16.
>> What brings this up is the gal in the water without boat or flotation 
>> in the King harbor race. She was in the water 30 minutes and only 
>> picked up because a J37 skipper happened to go below and turn on the 
>> radio and hear the M'aidez over channel 16. She was passed by 2 boats 
>> within `10 boat lengths who sailed by without seeing her. They did 
>> not see her because they were not looking. They were not looking 
>> because they had not heard the m'aidez from Channel 16.
>>
>>     My question is, is the admonition to monitor channel 16 a rule, 
>> so that those in breach are negligent, or is it a suggestion like 
>> your father's suggestion to avoid having anything to do with women 
>> who have more problems than you do. Not always followed. Joe
>> *
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>
> -- 
> Donald R. Strong
> Professor
> Section of Evolution and Ecology
> University of California Davis
> 95616
> 530 752 7886
>   
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