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26 West Marine VHF200 Owner’s Manual
24. Emergency
Communications
One of the most important reasons to
have a VHF radio on board your boat is
so you can make distress calls to rescue
agencies like the US Coast Guard, State
Boating Authorities, County Sheriffs, and
towing organizations. There are three
acknowledged levels of severity when
making an emergency call, and it’s impor-
tant to know what to do if you should
have to make an emergency call, and
what to do if you hear one.
An excellent source for information on
marine communications is Chapman
Piloting, Seamanship, and Small Boat
Handling
. We recommend that you con-
sult Chapman’s for more information, and
also consult the web at one of the follow-
ing web sites:
www.boatingsafety.com
www.boatsafe.com/nauticalknowhow/radi
o.htm
Mayday for Distress
Communications
Mayday calls are only for when your ves-
sel or crew face “grave and imminent
danger, and immediate help is required”.
Therefore, you should not transmit a
Mayday call unless you’re likely to lose a
life or your boat.
Procedure for making a Distress
Call:
Select Channel 16 and high transmit
power.
Transmit as follows:
1. “Mayday, Mayday, Mayday”.
2. “This is (Name of Vessel)”. Repeat
three times.
3. “(Your call sign or other indication of
the vessel)”. Repeat three times.
4. “Located at (your position)”. The
position can be in latitude and longi-
tude, or can be in reference to a
known object. Be specific. “Near a
Red buoy” or “South of the
Lighthouse” is too easy to misinter-
pret.
5. State “(The nature of the distress and
assistance required.)”. Examples: tak-
ing on water, medical emergency,
fire, dismasting, aground in surf.
6. State “(Any other information which
might facilitate the rescue)”.
Examples: # of adults and children on
board, other communications devices,
life raft on board, color of vessel,
size of vessel, # of injuries, type of
help or equipment needed.
After making a Mayday call, allow the
Coast Guard, other rescue agencies, or
other boaters to contact you. If you don’t
hear from anyone in a minute, repeat your
message.
WM-200 Manual v7 12/18/02 2:21 PM Page 26