 For sailors, the VHF is a lifeline. Bruce Balan of ChartLocker was recently anchored in Nuku Hiva in the Marquesas listening out on VHF Channel 16 and sent this poignant message to the cruising community: “I counted 35 boats in the bay. Scanning all the normal calling channels I heard maybe 2 boats a day making VHF calls. When I started asking around, it seems many boats don’t even turn their VHF on any more... 10 comments
He asks, “Please turn your radio on - it ties our community together. Don’t let the other technologies destroy that.” Sourced from Noonsite.com newsletter  @rek funny that, today i get to hook up the masthead antenna, but even before i had the vhf hooked up to the ais antenna on the pushpit to keep a radio watch. not many of us do that here, sadly... @rek Even back in 2002, I was traveling up the Colombia coast from Panama to Venezuela (not a route I'd recommend) and there was no VHF traffic even in the busy port of Barranquilla - ship agents and port staff were all talking to each other on cell phones! We always kept a "working channel" for harbor chat and it was vital! @rek I usually turn the radio on when underway, in anchorages it might not be necessary imho. Especially when the battery power is short. Like on my boat.  @rek damn that's sad & scary. kind of confunding when considering the convenience of DSC-enabled VHFs already present  @poetaster When we did our run around the Pacific Ocean, ppl were using their radios, as did we, but many ppl had SAT messaging. I didnt get a sense that ppl werent leaving radios on. Bit different now with Starlink. All sailors that I know that are going offshore in the last 2 years have it (whether or not that means theyll use radio is something else, id have to ask how often they leave it on). @rek I wasn't familiar with Starlink coverage but it's obviously been improving rapidly. Pros and cons obviously on both sides. I guess it's a question of coverage and reliability. Radio has those distance limits compounded by this and that. Maybe SAT has become 'go to'. A radio transmitter I can build, though. No subscription or service provider. |
Gregory's Server
"With Iridium GO texting, Starlink, increased mobile phone coverage, most people SMS, message, or call. Frankly, this is crazy. The VHF is our lifeline to each other and fastest and best way to contact boats nearby. How can someone come to your aid, or you help a fellow cruiser, if no one is listening on 16?"
Bruce fears this will only get worse as more and more boats choose to have 24/7 internet access and use texting and calling to communicate with each other...