At anchor, The Lagoon, St. Martin

Using a cell phone in different countries requires an international cell phone plan or purchase of a local SIM card. Both options can be expensive or impractical given the length of stay. In addition, cell phone range is only about 20-40 miles from the tower depending on conditions, so they are useless out at sea. Contacting nearby boats and land stations is usually done using VHF (Very High Frequency) radio. VHF range is roughly line-of-sight, for most boats effectively about 20 miles. Just about every cruising boat has a VHF, and hand-held models allow the ability to make calls when on land.

bridges generally have a channel set aside for bridge tenders, channel 12 here in St. Martin for example. Busy areas often use a different channel for local hailing and information so as not to clog up channel 16. Here in St. Martin, the cruising community uses channel 10 for hailing, inquiries, and announcements.
Since VHFs cannot simultaneously transmit and receive, radio etiquette requires that participants end each transmission with the term over, which means I have finished transmitting and am waiting for you to reply. Usually these days, people omit over unless reception is bad. By the way, since out means I have finished transmitting and am not waiting for any reply, the term over and out that some people seem to have gotten from old war movies or Saturday morning cartoons is nonsensical.
Here’s an example of how one would initiate a conversation here on channel 10:
- Daystar: [calling Daydreamer]:
"Daydreamer, Daydreamer, Daydreamer; Daystar, Daystar." - Daydreamer:
[answering]:
"Daystar this is Daydreamer. Switch to channel 09." - Daystar: [acknowledging]:
"Daystar switching to 09."
[Both parties change to channel 09] - Daydreamer:
"Daystar, this is Daydreamer."
[Conversation proceeds]
It might seem cliched, but other radio lingo does help to keep things concise and helps to clarify, especially when reception is poor. For example: affirmative for yes, or roger for I received your last transmission. Spelling out words is always done with the phonetic alphabet.
Okay... we admit it. We follow conversations. But so does everyone else from time to time. VHF conversations cannot be private, as each channel broadcasts to all who own a radio. Just like the 1950s party line telephones, we can switch to the channel on which others are talking and listen in. It’s commonplace, and people expect it. If someone wishes to interrupt a conversation in progress, he says "break break" during a pause. The break is acknowledged by one of the original speakers, and the third party then enters the conversation.
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Mike, of Shrimpy's Laundry is St. Martin's net controller extraordinaire |
One of the best things about St. Martin is the morning Radio Net, an information session held six days a week at 7:30 on channel 10. The boating community in St. Martin is quite active, and the net, a tradition here for thirty years, reflects that. Mike, of Shrimpy’s Laundry (which does laundry, sells used marine supplies, and provides internet, coffee, beer, wine, and food), has been the most charming of hosts for the past 12 years.
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Sally, also of Shrimpy's Laundry has the most polite radio manner ever. |
Mike opens the Net each day with a radio check and a weather report before moving through a sequence of categories:
Safety & Security
Arrivals & Departures
Announcements
Buy, Sell & Swap
Anything in General
Once the Net is finished, a flurry of calling ensues.
Here’s some audio to give you a sense of this simple but effective way to connect and share with other boaters. The net can run from twenty to fifty minutes, so we have not recorded an entire session. Instead, we pieced together bits from a variety of days to give the best sense of the type of information shared.
I'm so glad you recorded this! Now I can always go back and listen to my favorites like Cyberman and of course Sylvia from Spain. Great post.
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