Is Your VHF Radio On?

Imagine this scenario - you have been through all your first aid training, know CPR and how an AED works. Your first aid kit has lots of stop-the-bleed equipment, even a tourniquet; you’re ready to save a life. But you find yourself walking down a sidewalk in the city with blinders on and cotton stuffed in your ears. 50 feet away a woman’s husband has collapsed, she is screaming for help, but you just walk past. Imagine how you'd feel knowing you could have saved a life. 

Pretty farfetched, isn’t it? But change the scenario to being out on your boat. Even in my 22’ center console, I have a handheld VHF radio and I have it turned on and tuned to channel 16. Why? Because if I have an emergency, I am going to call 911 on my cell phone, BUT I am not going to rely on just 911, I am going to call for help on my VHF radio. Collier County has MERT, the Maritime Emergency Response Team. Consider this: when you’re on your boat, there are often other boats in the area. If someone on one of those boats has an emergency, from a medical emergency to taking on water and if you’re monitoring channel 16, you could be the closest lifesaver around. Being a responsible boater should include monitoring your radio, even in the background. Trust me, if there is an emergency close by, the yelling on the radio will make itself quite noticeable. And everyone on your boat, just in case you’re the source of the emergency, should know how to use your radio.Let’s discuss that, having your VHF radio on AND tuned to channel 16.  

As always, I like to turn to the experts. For this conversation, I reached out to Sgt, Jim Vliet from the Collier County Sheriff’s Office Marine Patrol and Officer Josh Ferris from the Marco Island Police Department. 

In all your years on marine patrol, what has been your experience with boat emergencies, injuries, boat fires, and sinkings, etc.? Have you seen you, your team and emergency responders respond to a distress call on channel 16 well before the call is dispatched from a 911 call?  

Sgt. Vliet: Channel 16 is known as the international hailing and distress channel. Boaters are unique in that we have the ability to communicate via VHF radios for emergencies as they are taking place. The VHF radio, especially Channel 16, has been instrumental in getting first responders underway to water-related emergencies minutes before the 911 call is dispatched. Colleagues across all sectors of emergency services have responded to calls for help as they are happening. This first-person communication is critical in bringing help quickly because minutes truly matter in water emergencies.  

Officer Ferris: There havebeen many cases over my 10 years on Marine Patrol that I have responded to calls that came out over Channel 16 on the VHF long before our dispatch received the issue. One major benefit to picking up a call on VHF is you often get first-hand information before it gets broken down through the transfer of information. I have responded to calls from vessels taking on water, to vessel crashes, to medical situations that all came through Channel 16. This alert allowed me to arrive at these calls minutes earlier which can often be the difference between life and death. 

Do you feel it is good boating practice for all boaters with a VHF radio to monitor channel 16 when underway? 

Sgt. Vliet:As a Deputy assigned to the Marine Bureau, I feel it is not only a good practice to monitor Channel 16 when underway but to also familiarize yourself with the radio -- how to turn it on, switch channels, volume controls, and squelch. Before every trip, check the components of the radio system. The marine environment is tough, and components such as antennae, buttons, and batteries for handheld radios degrade quickly. The responsibility of owning the radio extends far beyond the purchase and installation date.  

Officer Ferris: I believe it to be essential for all boaters to monitor the VHF. A boater never knows how close they can be to a situation that they could possibly help with. Whether it be a simple medical situation, a vessel taking on water, or simply relaying information to first responders through 911. Boaters are also going to receive pertinent weather information and notice to mariners from the Coast Guard that could save their lives. 

Any suggestions on radio etiquette? Specifically, calling for help and any thoughts on the "radio check" calls on 16, is there a better channel/way to do those?  

Sgt. Vliet: Blind radio checks on Channel 16 are frowned upon, they take up valuable airtime and clog the airwaves when a genuine emergency may be taking place. While we encourage everyone to make sure their radio is in good working condition, take your traffic to a working channel. Many mariners and marinas alike monitor channel 9, for example.  When fueling your vessel or purchasing bait at a local marina on the water, ask them to give you a radio check on their working channel. Commercial vessel tow companies monitor the radio as well; see if you can get them to meet you on a channel other than 16 to complete your radio check. 

Officer Ferris:If a boater is calling for help I can only stress clear and accurate radio communications followed by their vessel name and location (Area/Coordinate). 

Radio checks should be formulated on an open channel like 68, 69, 71, 72, or 78A and should never be made on Channel 16. 

Sgt. Vliet added emergencies on the water are difficult to mitigate. Unfortunately, many mariners spend hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars on navigation equipment such as GPS units, bottom machines, and fancy hardware for their vessels, yet go bare bones on their safety equipment. For example, purchasing life jackets that are not worn, fire extinguishers are not mounted so the mariner knows exactly where it is, and since not required by law, many lack a VHF radio. The United States Coast Guard monitors the airwaves 24/7 for vessels in distress, I have even used them myself while in the Ten Thousand Islands to connect with a vessel tow company when out of cell phone range.Yet, as I previously mentioned, many mariners either do not have the means to call via radio, have a radio that is not operational, or worse yet, don’t know how to use it to call for help.  

When an emergency occurs, we expect help NOW. The priority is to put on a properly fitted life jacket if not already wearing one. If initiated via VHF Channel 16, the person in distress should ALWAYS start with MAYDAY, MAYDAY, MAYDAY (yes, three times). This should be followed by the vessel name or name of the person on the radio and the nature of the distress (for example, fire, sinking, taking on water, etc.). Finish your initial call with the position of your vessel.If known, provide GPS coordinates or at a minimum, a rough location of where you’re located from a known object or point of land. 

I would finish by stating that if you do not have an acknowledgement on your VHF radio, complete your transmission. Blind call again every 5 minutes to 10 minutes or until the emergency subsides or the situation is such that it is no longer safe to stay with the radio.  

So, let’s keep our VHF radios turned on and tuned to channel 16. Remember, safe boating is NO ACCIDENT. And if you have not done so lately, sign up for aCPR/AED First Aid class. Contact me for more information on locations and dates.