I now never turn on my VHF radio...

[wonkywinch]

I've heard a mariner tearing a strip from the announcer on the Lulworth ranges channel for not speaking slowly nor being more specific (in position) about one of their targets in the water.

 

[boomerangben]

I can hear Solent cg whilst at Weymouth when they are doing a call for Brighton.
If I know the general location well before they rattle of the lat and long I might have a chance at writing it down. My helm area doesn't have room for pen and paper to be always ready.
I appreciate that some names are generic such as mew stone for Devon and Cornwall but most headlands have different names, especially on the south coast.

How much white plastic have you about you that a pencil or chronograph can scribble on?

 

[Boathook]

How much white plastic have you about you that a pencil or chronograph can scribble on?

Not always in the position to write down as tending sails missing pots, etc. I'm not writting on the gel coat as it is old and difficult to remove pencil and chinagraph.

 

[Boathook]

Why are people writing down the Lat and Long? Can't you just look at it on the Chartplotter?

NMEA DSC and DSE sentences have been fired out of VHF radios for 20+ years. Even free Charplotters like OpenCPN will show you the exact reported location, type of urgency etc. Quite a few will even allow you to initiate a call with an AIS target by clicking on it.

And if you aren't by the chartplotter ?
Also my radio isn't connected to the chartplotter. I might be able to get the icom to talk to Ray marine but it's low on my list of things to do and until now hadn't thought about it

Most of the time the cg reads out the lat and long for emergencies and a simple location at the start would allow me the few seconds as to whether I'm in a position to assist.

 

[Bilgediver]

It makes sense except that clearly communicating a long string of numbers over an unclear radio conversation or phone call can be difficult. A system like “what three words” would be much more likely to be communicated and understood clearly.

The emergency servicescin Scotland seem to accept 3 words as well as Lat/Long and are equipped to deal with it ashore and afloat.

 

[Stemar]

Why are people writing down the Lat and Long? Can't you just look at it on the Chartplotter?

NMEA DSC and DSE sentences have been fired out of VHF radios for 20+ years. Even free Charplotters like OpenCPN will show you the exact reported location, type of urgency etc. Quite a few will even allow you to initiate a call with an AIS target by clicking on it.

Can I set this up on Navionics on a tablet?

Incidentally, All or nearly all the Mayday or Pan Pan calls I've heard recently relayed by Solent CG have given a location - eg Swanage Bay or half a mile S of Langston Harbour.

 

[Sandy]

... because I'm sick of the all too frequent ear-piercing DSC alarms that go off - and require me to go below to cancel them!

It doesn't help being Solent-based of course!

I'm sailing in the Solent this week. I've heard two DSC calls both from Solent CG informing us of PAN PANS. Really no big deal.

Lovely to see PS Waverly on her tour of the south coast.

 

[Never Grumble]

Incidentally, All or nearly all the Mayday or Pan Pan calls I've heard recently relayed by Solent CG have given a location - eg Swanage Bay or half a mile S of Langston Harbour.

I heard same this weekend just past lat and long followed by a distance from a known location. Must admit that helped enormously to decide whether we were in the vicinity.

 

[capnsensible]

Why are people writing down the Lat and Long? Can't you just look at it on the Chartplotter?

NMEA DSC and DSE sentences have been fired out of VHF radios for 20+ years. Even free Charplotters like OpenCPN will show you the exact reported location, type of urgency etc. Quite a few will even allow you to initiate a call with an AIS target by clicking on it.

What if you don't have a chartplotter?

 

[Stemar]

I'm sailing in the Solent this week. I've heard two DSC calls both from Solent CG informing us of PAN PANS. Really no big deal.

Lovely to see PS Waverly on her tour of the south coast.

I agree. The only alarms that annoy me, even a little bit, are when Jobourg announces their traffic and weather updates.

Even in the Solent, it's just possible that I'd be the only vessel able to get to someone who needs help in time. I'd hate to hear about it the next day; "Survivors mentioned a catamaran half a mile away that ignored their mayday call..."

 

[capnsensible]

I think these sort of issues have only become apparent since some people allow the electronic tail wag the human dog....

 

[wonkywinch]

Lovely to see PS Waverly on her tour of the south coast.

Passed us on Tuesday. Thought our friends on the Beneteau First looked close

 

[PaulRainbow]

Passed us on Tuesday. Thought our friends on the Beneteau First looked close

View attachment 183469

She's heading our way and will actually be in the marina where i keep my boat next weekend, unfortunately, we're away that weekend.

 

[CJTurner]

Surely these fixed vhf sets have the ability to disable dsc? My previous and present one do, and it is. But 16 always on. Best of luck calling those ships..be interested to know the outcome!

 

[Iliade]

She's heading our way and will actually be in the marina where i keep my boat next weekend, unfortunately, we're away that weekend.

Time to get some much bigger fenders

 

[MontyMariner]

I think these sort of issues have only become apparent since some people allow the electronic tail wag the human dog....

Yes, like DSC VHF

 

[Babylon]

I turned off all the DSC alarms this weekend... bliss just to hear the odd voice transmission.

The electronic tail is a complete blight on all our lives... and it hits work too, no wonder productivity is so rubbish! The other day I received a total of almost a dozen texts, WhatsApp alerts and emails from DHL for a single non-valuable and unimportant delivery which didn't even need a signature! No-one needs to be kept informed to that level of detail.

 

[Babylon]

As it happens I discovered this weekend that cancelling all alarms that can be cancelled doesn't cancel an actual red-button mayday alarm! Jolly noisy that was.

 

[Daydream believer]

As for the CG only using lat and long…….. having been on the receiving end of the red telephone for over 10 years, distance and bearing from a land mark is almost useless in certain parts of the coastline and given that most vessels now that are capable of responding and offering assistance have the numbers on the screen in front of them, it is not unreasonable to expect skippers capable of navigation to have a means of making note of and plotting a position. Years ago on paper charts, you might have been excused, but in this day and age, if you expect people to monitor ch16, you must hold your end of the bargain and be prepared and able to plot a position in whatever means it is given

Lat & long is totally meaningless to me. I sail in the Thames estuary & do not have a clue what lat & long I might be in because I do not need to know. It is no difference if I sail to , say, the Channel islands. Why should I? I know that I want to sail up the wallet or through the swin Spitway on a certain heading. I know that to cross the Sunk sands i need to find barrow No 2 so need to head at 90 deg with allowance for tidal drift which i do by rule of thumb & looking at the wind farm on my left.
If the CG were to give a distress position as 10 miles due North of North Foreland light, or 5 miles N of the Roustel beacon, I would know immediately where that was. I could paint a picture in my mind.
But rattle off a load of numbers which mean that I have to risk sea sickness trying to get below (Often I cannot in rough conditions) to get a pencil & paper, Try & write it down whilst the boat is bouncing about ( A near impossible task in itself) Then work out where on earth that might be --only to find after half an hour of wasted time that it is 60 miles away just does not make it with me.
No way would I link my radio to my chart plotter. That is far too risky. I have had plotters fail before & I would have nothing connected to VHF that might compromise its operation. Same with the autopilot. It is independent. So do not suggest that I could link the radio. Anyway I only use the chart plotter on longer trips & then principally for its AIS function