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ANNAPOLIS, Md., March 28, 2023 – For most recreational boaters, VHF radios are a better lifesaving tool than the omnipresent cellphone, even as more boaters use cellphones for emergency on-water communications. Why? The VHF radio remains the only tool at the boater’s disposal that can summon those potential rescuers on the water nearest you – sometimes with the press of one simple red button – saving critical rescue time.

To help boaters get the most out of their VHF radio, the BoatUS Foundation for Boating Safety and Clean Water reveals the top three mistakes boaters tend to make when using VHF radios.

1. Failure to get an MMSI (and program it in). A Maritime Mobile Service Identity (MMSI) number brings your VHF into the modern age of Digital Selective Calling (DSC VHF), offering the ability make direct calls to other DSC-VHF radios. However, what an MMSI-equipped DSC-VHF radio does better than any cellphone is it allows a simple, one-button mayday distress, giving everyone aboard the ability to summon emergency help to your precise location on the water. This unique nine-digit MMSI number is issued for your vessel and must be programmed into your radio. Without it, you lose your DSC-VHF’s biggest lifesaving advantage. You can request an MMSI for $25 at BoatUS.com/MMSI, or join BoatUS and get it for free.

2. Forgetting to speak slowly and clearly. Life on the water isn’t always peaceful. We may have to deal with a tricky situation, which causes stress that may affect the way we speak. If you have pick up the VHF microphone to summon emergency help, remember to slow down, speak slowly to help ensure your words are understood the first time. It can save rescuers time.

3. Talking on VHF radio Ch. 16. Think of VHF channel 16 as a “street corner” where you go to meet up with friends before heading to an activity, a night out, or fishing. You “connect” there, and then move on. More importantly, Ch. 16 is the place to summon emergency help, because U.S. Coast Guard watchstanders are also on the “street corner.” However, because only one person may transmit on Ch. 16 at a time, routine communications with other vessels should move off the “street corner” as quickly as possible. To do this, simply hail the vessel you wish to communicate with, and once they respond to the affirmative, bring the conversation to working channels 68, 69, 71, 72 or 78A. Write these channels down on your radio with a sharpie so you’ll remember. This keeps channel 16 clear of non-emergency chatter. The U.S. Coast Guard asks that VHF radio checks also take place on working channels.

Want to improve your VHF skills? The BoatUS Foundation offers an online learning course, All About Marine Radio, at BoatUS.org.

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Press Contact: D. Scott Croft, 703-461-2864, SCroft@BoatUS.com

Sailing has traditionally been considered a male-dominated activity, with men occupying prominent positions in professional racing teams and boards of directors across organizations. However, the North Fork and Shelter Island regions are challenging this norm, as women are currently serving as commodores at four out of the five yacht clubs in the area.

For the past two years, Alyssa Constant, Ellen Talbot, and Lisa Reich have served as commodores of the Orient Yacht Club, the Old Cove Yacht Club, and the Shelter Island Yacht Club, respectively. Mary Kalich has held the title of commodore at the Mattituck Yacht Club for the past eight years.

According to all four of these women, their boards of trustees and officers, which usually consist of 14 members, are fairly evenly split between men and women, with either 50% female representation or close to it.

Although Greg Young is currently the commodore of the Southold Yacht Club, multiple women had previously held the position in recent years. Nevertheless, this current predominantly female group of commodores is a historical exception, despite the presence of women on yacht clubs' boards.

Commodores are top figures at yacht clubs and come from various backgrounds. They typically work their way up through the organization and oversee all operations. Yacht clubs are known to be family- and youth-oriented community centers that organize activities on and off the water. 

On the North Fork and Shelter Island, women currently hold four of the five commodore positions. The yacht clubs are part of the Peconic Gardiners Junior Sailing Association, which oversees the coed racing circuit across various clubs each season. The junior sailing program attracts a mix of boys and girls.

The boys at North Folks yacht clubs make up around two-thirds of junior sailors in the Peconic Gardiners Junior Sailing Association (PGJSA), which includes four South Fork yacht clubs. Many colleges offer all-women sailing teams as well as coed teams. Shelter Island hosts three all-women regattas throughout the season and has previously offered all-women and all-girls educational sailing clinics. These efforts aim to make women feel welcome and secure in the male-dominated sport, and the all-female regattas also feature an all-women race committee.

The Shelter Island Yacht Club member, Amanda Clark, competed in the 2008 and 2012 Olympics and has hosted junior sailing clinics. However, commodore Jodi Reich, her mother-in-law was the one who introduced her family to sailing and inspired her to continue the multi-generational activity. Reich believes that community figures can inspire and guide the next generation of sailors.

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For the full article visit The Suffolk Times.

On March 13th, a party of companions had already been sailing for 13 days from the Galápagos to French Polynesia on the Raindancer, a 44-foot sailboat. Suddenly, they heard a loud noise, and Rick Rodriguez, the owner of the boat, was in the middle of enjoying some pizza when he felt the stern of the boat lift up and shift to starboard. It became apparent that they had struck a whale. The crew quickly inflated their lifeaft, and loaded their dinghy with essential supplies such as food, water, and communication equipment, and within 15 minutes, the Raindancer sunk beneath the waves.

After the collision with the whale and the Raindancer began to sink, Rick Rodriguez promptly sent out a mayday distress signal on the VHF radio. He and his companions then proceeded to evacuate onto the lifeboat and dinghy, taking essential supplies with them. In a report by The Washington Post, Rodriguez recounted that he and his friends felt a sense of disbelief and shock that this was happening, but they remained calm and focused on gathering what they needed to prepare for abandoning the ship. Despite the surreal situation, they managed to act efficiently and without much emotional turmoil, as Rodriguez stated: "While we were getting things done, we all had that feeling, 'I can't believe this is happening,' but it didn't keep us from doing what we needed to do and prepare ourselves to abandon ship."

Following the evacuation, the crew of the Raindancer spent 10 hours adrift before being rescued by the civilian boat Rolling Stone. The rescue was described as seamless and efficient. The Raindancer was equipped with various communication devices and emergency equipment, and its crew was trained to handle worst-case scenarios. Despite these measures, collisions between whales and boats have been on the rise since 2007, with approximately 1,200 such incidents recorded to date. Alana Litz, one of the individuals on board the Raindancer, believes that the whale they struck was a Bryde's whale, and she and her companions observed the animal bleeding as it swam away.

Rodriguez expressed his gratitude for the swift rescue, stating: "I feel very lucky and grateful that we were rescued so quickly. We were in the right place at the right time to go down." Despite the unfortunate event, he and his companions were grateful to have made it out alive and credited their preparedness and training for helping them handle the situation as best they could.

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For the full story visit The Washington Post.

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